What Perils are Covered by Home Insurance? | HUB International Home Insurance
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What Perils are Covered by Home Insurance?

What Perils are Covered by Home Insurance?

If a disaster strikes, will you be covered?

At HUB International, we hope you never have to experience even the slightest mishap at your home. However, with a rise in natural disasters, weather extremes and even vandalism occurring across New England, we think it’s critical that you are prepared and knowledgeable about how your home insurance will go to work for you in case you are a victim of any of these unpredictable events.

What perils are covered by a standard homeowners policy?

From fire and lightning strikes to windstorms and hail, even the most basic level of home insurance coverage (called an HO-1 in insurance speak) can provide New England homeowners like you with protection for your property and personal possessions against several types of disasters.

However, it’s more common – and from our experience, much smarter – for today’s homeowners to have a broader form of home insurance coverage (called an HO-3) that will provide you with financial protection against a much wider variety of mishaps that can threaten your home, including damage caused by falling objects, frozen pipes, and the weight of ice, snow and sleet.

Below is not only a comprehensive list of the covered perils you will typically find in an HO-3 policy, but also additional coverage details for eight common disasters that seem to weigh most heavily on our clients’ minds. Our goal as your insurance partner is to make sure that you understand how your homeowners policy will provide support in case you have to face any of the following events:

While there’s not much that can console a homeowner who experiences a fire in their home, hopefully some comfort can come from knowing that almost every type of fire is covered under your standard home insurance and that your policy can provide financial support in a variety of ways. In fact, your insurance carrier may be able to help you get through this challenging time, and reduce some of your stress, by giving you an advance payout on your claim to buy basic necessities, like toothpaste, shaving supplies, and clothes for work and reimbursing you for additional living expenses, like restaurants, hotels and even kennel fees for your pet, that you may incur due to being evacuated from your home.

There are two situations in which fire damage will not be covered by your HO-3. If arson is committed by a homeowner, then, for obvious reasons, there will be no insurance payout. In addition, damage caused by fire will not be covered if the home was vacant at the time of the fire. While a vacant home is typically defined by insurance companies as one that is left empty for 30 days or more, this definition can vary among insurance providers, so, if for any reason, you plan to leave your home unoccupied for multiple consecutive days, you’ll want to discuss this with your insurance professional who may recommend adding a vacant home insurance endorsement to your existing home insurance policy.

At HUB International, we are glad to provide you with this list of what’s generally covered under a standard homeowners insurance policy; however, please be aware that coverage details often vary between carriers, and policy to policy. So, whether you’re our current client or a homeowner who just wants additional peace of mind, we recommend contacting a HUB International professional to walk you through exactly what your specific home insurance policy lists as covered perils, and, as important, what it does not.

In addition to the exceptions that we pointed out above, the following perils and mishaps are not typically covered by your standard homeowners policy, and thus, may require a separate endorsement:

  • Earthquakes
  • Water and Sewer Back-up
  • Mold (unless mold results from damage due to a named peril)
  • Infestation from termites or other pests
  • Fallen tree removal (unless the tree has damaged your home or other structures or if it’s blocking a driveway or ramp for the disabled)
  • Flood damage
  • Sinkholes
  • Termite Infestation
  • Damage caused by war or nuclear hazard
  • Home systems breakdowns

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