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Basic Homeowners Insurance -
An explaination of whats covered in a standard policy
Homeowners insurance is something that every homeowner should
have. It takes most people anywhere from 15 to 30 years to pay
off their home. With an investment of this size insurance is a
necessity. This article is going to talk about what is covered
and what is not covered in a basic homeowners insurance policy.
There are seven standardized homeowners insurance forms provided by the
Insurance Services Office or ISO. Of these seven different forms
HO-1 is the most basic. HO-3 is the most common.
Every homeowner's insurance policy has four basic areas of
coverage. 1 would be the structure, the house itself. 2
would be your personal property. 3 is liability coverage. 4
would be additional living expenses. I'm going to talk about each
of these briefly starting with the structure and personal property.
The most basic homeowners insurance policy available will cover your
dwelling and possessions against fire or lightning, wind storm or hail,
explosions, riots or civil commotion, smoke, vandalism, theft, broken
glass, and damage caused by aircraft or vehicles. The more common
HO-3 policy covers all of those things and in addition will protect you
against falling objects, building collapse, damage caused by the weight
of ice or snow, damage of a water heating system, leakage or overflow
of water from within a plumbing, heating, or air-conditioning system,
and will generally have better liability coverage.
There are certain things that are not covered in any of the standard
homeowners insurance policies but may be purchased separately.
Things such as floods and earthquakes will require additional coverage
over and above a basic homeowners insurance policy.
A basic homeowners insurance policy will also give you some liability
coverage in case someone is injured on your property, your insurance
company may provide legal defense up to a certain dollar amount.
This is something you would have to talk over with your insurance agent
to make sure you have adequate liability coverage.
The last major area of coverage in a basic homeowner's insurance policy
is additional living expenses. This would come into play if you
were displaced from your home due to an event covered by your insurance
policy. For example if your home caught on fire you may have to
move out of your house until the damage can be repaired. Most
insurance policies would pay to put you up in a hotel or an apartment
up to a predetermined dollar amount.
These are the basics that are covered under most home insurance
policies. There are lots of variables that you need to discuss
with your insurance agent before choosing a policy that you feel is
right for you. It's always a good idea to do your homework to try
to make sure you're getting the best deal.