Many people take for granted or just don’t know how their personal insurance works. It is vitally important to know the basics of insurance as a consumer. Of course, your agent should be your resource for more detailed or complicated knowledge on insurance.
WHAT is covered?
There are two ways to look at this question:
The first is a simple look at WHAT possessions are covered and WHAT are not. It is important to note that land is not insurable. You can only insure what is built on the land. In other words, you can’t insure a field, but you can ensure the crops, livestock, buildings or equipment that are in or on the field. There are many items that have limited insurability, such as firearms, fine art, jewelry and furs. Most of these can be scheduled on the policy at a higher value – but this must be done before a claim occurs. Other items such as cash or other securities, family heirlooms, photographs, etc usually have no insured value unless there are also scheduled. A typical homeowners policy will cover the home, the personal property located within the home (usually at 50% of the policy limit) and other structures (detached garage, shed, well, etc, usually at 20% of the policy limit). Personal property and other structures limits can be increased is needed. Your policy will also cover the cost to protect your home from further damage from a claim (such as covering your roof with a tarp when a tree falls in the rain and knocks a hole in your roof) as well as living expenses (hotel, food) while your home is being repaired and debris removal.
The second way to look at this question is in terms of WHAT types of events do I have protection against? This varies slightly from policy to policy, but the typical homeowners insurance policy protects from the perils of fire, lightning, windstorm, hail, explosion, riot or civil commotion, aircraft, vehicles, smoke, vandalism or malicious mischief, theft, volcanic eruption, falling objects, weight of snow and ice, accidental discharge of water, freezing and damage from artificially generated electrical currents. Please note that not all of these perils are covered by every type of policy. It is important to check your policy or call you agent to determine what is covered under your specific policy. Also, note that flooding and earthquakes are not covered – you would need to be separate insurance to cover those perils. Some policies may even be “All-Risk”, which means that any peril is covered unless it is specifically excluded.
Thank you for supporting Judge Fite Insurance Agency. We are here to serve you and your clients with superior knowledge and customer service. Our goal is for all of our clients to be properly covered and properly serviced. Please call us today for insurance information or advice at 214-446-2572 or insurance@judgefite.com.
