Different types of home disasters are handled differently by home insurance policies. Here are some of the common types of disasters that you might face, along with what you can expect from a homeowner's insurance policy.
Fires
Fires are generally covered for your home, whether they are manmade or natural disasters. If your home is completely destroyed by a fire, then your insurance should pay the full amount of your coverage. That gives you a decision on whether you want to insure your home for the value that you paid for it, or the value that it would cost to rebuild it.
Flooding
Different types of flooding are handled differently by a home insurance provider. Some flooding is caused by structural reasons; you might have a plumbing pipe burst, for example. That type of flooding should be covered by a basic home insurance plan. But if you are looking for coverage for natural floods, that can be trickier to add. You may need to get separate flood insurance added to your insurance plan.
Earthquakes
Earthquakes are likely to do damage to the structure of your home, mainly. Some of your items may fall from shelves and break during an earthquake. Whether or not these are covered will depend on whether you elected to get coverage for your personal belongings. Check with your provider to see if earthquake coverage is included in your policy.
Wind Damage
Wind damage to a structure, such as that caused by a big storm, is generally covered. But home insurance tends to cover just your actual home's structure. Wind damage is likely to hit fences and other small structures that aren't attached to your home, which means that they probably aren't covered.
Coverage for Interim Housing
So, your home insurance policy can cover lots of different types of natural disasters. But it can also cover your costs of interim housing while the damage is being fixed. Your home insurance policy may put you up in a hotel or rental home if your house is uninhabitable due to a disaster.
To see how all of these types of home insurance coverages work together, you might want to consult an insurance broker who understands what coverage is included in your plan and which must be purchased separately. A broker will know the best companies to buy certain types of coverage from, saving you a lot of legwork in soliciting quotes from different providers.
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