What Does Homeowners Insurance Usually Cover?

Home insurance covers the loss of your property and personal belongings through fire, theft and various other events. The degree of cover will vary from one plan to the next but, generally, a plan will provide cover for part or all of the cost involved if your home or belongings are destroyed, damaged or stolen.

We cannot list precisely what will be covered by your policy because this will depend on the insurance company selected and the terms of your plan. Virtually all policies are however going to cover you for some or all of the following events:

Fire
Riot
Unauthorized use of credit cards
Hail
Lightning
Explosion
Windstorm
Falling objects
Vandalism
Freezing of plumbing
Smoke
Heating system malfunction
Hot water heater bursting
Theft, including check forgery and counterfeit currency
Ice, snow, or sleet weighing on vehicles
Power surges
Flooding due to plumbing overflow
Volcano

There are a number of different sorts of home insurance plan, normally referred to as a 'form' and the commonest forms are:

The Dwelling Fire Form. This type of homeowners insurance plan provides cover for simply your dwelling and does not cover your personal belongings. Furthermore, it does not provide cover for any personal liability. As its name implies it only offers cover for limited events which usually extend to fire, smoke, windstorm, hail, lightening, explosion, vehicles and civil unrest.

The Basic Form. This type of home insurance extends your coverage to include the theft of your personal belongings and vandalism.

The Modified Coverage Form. The modified coverage form provides cover which is identical to that given under the basic form but this form of cover is applied to older properties where the cost of rebuilding is higher than the market valuation for the property.

The Broad Form. The broad form of home insurance extends cover beyond that provided in the basic form so that it includes damage resulting from falling trees and other objects; damages resulting from the weight of snow, ice and sleet and the freezing, rupturing or sudden accidental overflow of a plumbing, heating, air-conditioning or fire sprinkler system or a household appliance.

The Special Form. The special form is the most popular sort of house insurance and covers you against all risks unless they are excluded specifically within the terms of the plan. Perils which are ordinarily excluded include flooding, earthquake, war and nuclear accident.

On top of the forms of house insurance listed above there is also the tenants form for renters and the condominium unit owners form for owner-occupiers of condominiums. Furthermore, owners of townhouses could arrange an individual plan or might be able to take coverage through an association master plan. Lastly, in virtually all states mobile home owners whose home possesses wheels and does not rest on a permanent foundation will need to purchase some sort of auto insurance instead of house insurance.