Homeowners insurance is one of the most frequently purchased forms of coverage among U.S. residents. As their name suggests, these policies provide critical financial protection for your home, family and belongings. However, homeowners insurance coverage can also be a complicated subject. Although these policies may be common, they can vary significantly in their details and capabilities. As such, it’s critical to conduct your due diligence and ensure you thoroughly understand your homeowners insurance policy and the coverage it provides.

Different Types of Homeowners Insurance Policies

There are many types of homeowners insurance policies for you to choose from. The form you select plays a significant role in determining the financial assistance available to you following losses. Some policies may only provide coverage for the physical structure of your home, while others may provide more extensive coverage. Similarly, some types of homeowners insurance can render financial assistance in response to a wider variety of perils than others. This article focuses primarily on HO-3 homeowners insurance policies.

An Overview of HO-3 Homeowners Insurance

According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, HO-3 homeowners insurance policies are the most common type of homeowners coverage. This form of insurance casts a wide safety net across many risks and exposures that may affect your home while also providing coverage for many aspects of your life. Generally, HO-3 policies are composed of the following primary components:

• Dwelling coverage—Your HO-3 homeowners insurance can provide financial assistance if the physical structure of your home is damaged or destroyed by a covered peril. This may include its roof, walls, floors, foundations and attached appliances.
• Other structures coverage—This includes coverage for additional structures on your property other than your primary residence, such as detached garages, tool sheds, gazebos, guest houses and fences.
• Contents coverage—This coverage can provide financial assistance for losses related to your personal belongings, including furniture, clothing and electronics.
• Loss-of-use coverage—If a covered event damages your home or makes it uninhabitable temporarily, this part of your HO-3 insurance policy can help pay for resulting expenses, including dining at restaurants or staying in hotels. This coverage may also compensate you for lost income if you rent out part of your home but are unable to collect rent due to property damage.
• Liability coverage—Your insurance can provide financial assistance if you or your family (including pets) are at fault for another party’s losses. This may include bodily injury and property damage costs, such as the affected party’s medical bills or lost wages. This coverage also provides financial assistance for legal expenses arising from such incidents.

Common Endorsements or Additional Coverages for HO-3 Homeowners Insurance

Although the core components of HO-3 homeowners coverages can provide ample financial protection in many situations, you should also work with a qualified insurance professional to identify any remaining coverage gaps. Certain perils and incidents may be excluded from standard HO-3 policies, meaning you would have to pay out of pocket for resulting losses.

Fortunately, you can augment your homeowners insurance with additional coverage by purchasing endorsements. These investments can prove invaluable, as they enhance your HO-3 policy to cover losses that might not otherwise qualify. Common endorsements to consider include the following:

• Water/sewer backup coverage—If your plumbing or sewer line backs up and causes water damage, this endorsement can help recoup your losses.
• Scheduled property coverage—Although the contents coverage generally included in standard HO-3 policies can protect some of your belongings, particularly valuable items, such as jewelry, art and collectibles, may require this endorsement to be fully covered.
• Service line coverage—If your phone, power lines, sewer, gas lines or water pipes are damaged on your personal property, this endorsement can help cover the cost of repairs or replacements.
• Flood coverage—Property damage from external water entering your home (i.e., due to flooding) is not generally covered under a standard policy. Check with your agent to determine if you can add flood coverage to your policy via a policy endorsement, which is the case in some areas of the country. However, most often, you’ll need to purchase a stand-alone flood insurance policy, which your agent should be able to assist you with.
• Earthquake coverage—Losses caused by earthquakes are typically excluded from HO-3 policies. To ensure coverage for these perils, consider adding an endorsement to your homeowners insurance or acquiring a separate earthquake insurance policy.
• Windstorm coverage—In many cases, such as if you live in areas prone to tornados and hurricanes, coverage for losses arising from severe windstorms may not be covered. As such, you may need to add a windstorm endorsement, if available where you live, or talk to your agent about purchasing a windstorm insurance policy to gain appropriate coverage.

Acquire Optimal Coverage

Without fully understanding your homeowners insurance policy, it’s impossible to ensure your coverage is adequate. With that in mind, working with a qualified insurance professional to assess your circumstances, explore your options and assemble ideal homeowners coverage is necessary. Contact Rinehart, Walters & Danner for more information.

Dealing With a Homeowners Insurance Claim

If you’ve had a fire, water damage or another unfortunate event in your home, don’t fret. We have all the information that you need to get your claim underway so you can get your life back to normal.

When you have a homeowners insurance claim, your actions can make all the difference. Here’s how to maneuver through the claims process with ease:

• If you were away from your home when the incident occurred, exercise caution when entering your property. If your property has sustained major damage, contact your local government officials to determine how you should proceed.
• Report downed power lines to the utility company, and keep your electricity off if there is standing water in your home.
• If it appears as though it is not safe to be at your home, leave.
• Contact us to report how, when and where the damage occurred. Make a note of the claim handler’s name, telephone number and identification number when you call.
• Protect your home from further damage without putting yourself in danger. This may include boarding up windows and salvaging possessions that did not sustain much damage. Your claim handler can advise you on how to do so safely
• Prepare a list of damaged or lost items from your home.
• Keep damaged items in your home until the claim handler has come for an inspection. Also, consider documenting the damage with pictures or video.
• Provide receipts for damaged items if you saved them.
• If you need to temporarily relocate, save all your receipts for additional expenses. Your policy may cover you for additional living expenses during this time.
• Once you’ve reported your claim, the claim handler will send you some documents to complete within a specific period of time. Contact us if you have any questions, and return these forms promptly.
• Contact your mortgage lender to notify them of your loss and to discuss potential contractor bids. Your lender may want to inspect a contractor’s job before making a final payment.

Let us help you throughout the process—contact us if you have questions or concerns. If you have not reviewed your homeowners insurance policy lately, please do so soon. It’s better to review your coverage before you need it. 

Click here to read more about homeowners insurance coverage. 

Every year, storms are responsible for knocking over or breaking off limbs of numerous trees. Unfortunately, sometimes, a limb or tree falls on our house or other property. Cleaning up the damage from a storm can be a difficult task, both physically and emotionally. And things can become especially tense when you discover that it’s your neighbor’s tree that damaged your house.

To make matters worse, many homeowners are surprised to discover that if a neighbor’s tree falls on their house, it’s usually their own homeowners policy—not their neighbor’s—that will cover the cost of the damages. What follows are general guidelines for who pays what in various situations. However, you should also check your homeowners policy for coverages and exclusions. (Click here to learn more about homeowners insurance policies)

Your Property, Your Policy

Generally speaking, if your property is damaged, you are responsible for the damages. It doesn’t matter if the tree or limb came from your property, your neighbor’s property or even municipal property. Keep in mind that a windstorm isn’t anyone’s fault; it’s an act of nature. If a tree does damage your property during a windstorm, your policy will cover the damages. After all, that’s why you purchased a homeowners policy. To protect yourself against unforeseen losses like a tree damaging your house.

Their Property, Their Policy

It might seem unfair that if it’s your neighbor’s tree that damages your home, you should have to pay. Fortunately for you, that standard applies both ways. If a storm rolls through and your tree falls and damages your neighbor’s house, his or her insurance is going to cover the damages.

Negligence and Liability

So far, these scenarios have been fairly straightforward. But what happens when it wasn’t a storm that made the tree fall? Instead, your neighbor’s tree was hollowed out from years of disease, and he’d neglected to do anything about it. In fact, it was so diseased that you expressed your concern to your neighbor that it might topple over and damage your property. Unfortunately, one day, that’s exactly what happens. What then?

Your insurance carrier is still going to be the one paying your claim. However, if you can prove your neighbor knew that the tree was diseased and that he or she neglected to fix it your insurance carrier would probably attempt to collect from your neighbor’s insurance. If your carrier is successful, you could be reimbursed for your deductible.

Remember, though, this rule also applies the other way. If you have diseased or damaged trees on your property and they damage your neighbor’s house, he or she can try to prove your negligence. Your property is your responsibility. So it’s best to inspect your trees every year for signs of disease or damage. If you’re not sure what you’re looking for, consider having a professional arborist examine your trees.

Other Structures

If the tree doesn’t damage your house but instead damages your fence, are you still covered? Generally, you are. Most homeowners policies distinguish between two different kinds of structures on your property. The “dwelling” refers to your house and any attached structures (like an attached garage), as well as any fixtures attached to the house. “Other structures,” including detached garages, sheds, fences or gazebos, are also insured, but typically only for 10 percent of the coverage on your dwelling.

Vehicles

If, in the aftermath of a storm, you discover that a tree has fallen on your car, your homeowners policy doesn’t apply. Instead, you’ll be looking at your auto policy. If you have comprehensive coverage on your vehicle, your auto insurance carrier will pay for the damages, after you pay your deductible. The same rule would apply to a guest’s car. Hopefully, he or she took out comprehensive coverage, too.(Click here to learn about auto insurance)

Removal and Cleanup

What if the tree fell but didn’t hit anything? Would you be covered for removal costs? If the fallen tree blocks a path to your front door or driveway, then many homeowners policies would pay for removal. Generally, the maximum coverage is around $500. If the tree simply falls in the middle of your yard, your policy likely wouldn’t cover it. Unless the fallen tree damaged insured property, there is no loss to file a claim for.

Replacement

Replacing the trees themselves can be more complicated. Trees that have fallen due to wind damage may or may not be covered, so it’s best to check with your broker. Most policies offer limited coverage for trees that have fallen due to fire, lightning, explosion, theft, vandalism, malicious mischief or aircraft. Amounts and exclusions will vary. It’s important to read your policy and check with your broker if you have any questions.

Making Sure You’re Covered

Hopefully, your trees grow and endure. In the event that they fall, it’s important to know that you’re covered. Contact our office today to make sure that you have sufficient coverage for whatever might blow your way.