The other night I was awoken by a pretty severe thunderstorm. Bright lightning and heavy rains lasted throughout the night. By daybreak, it had rained nearly three inches in the span of six hours.
Naturally, I thought, “time for an article.”
The heavy rain made me think about what would happen in the event of a flood. The reason why is that most home insurance policies specifically exclude damage from flooding. That is, if water seeps into a basement from heavy rains and damages the area, homeowner’s insurance would not apply. A specific flood insurance policy is needed.
However, flood is not the only peril home insurance policies will generally exclude. In many cases, most home policies will exclude the following perils.
- Flood
- Earthquake
- Neglect
- Termites
- War
- Intentional loss
Additionally, most home policies (including renters or condo insurance) will exclude or limit coverage on personal property for the following.
- Business Property
- Cash
- Antiques
- Jewelry
- Coins
- Collections
- Art
- Firearms
- Intentional loss
- Automobiles (covered under auto insurance)
Lastly, many home policies will exclude or limit the amount of liability coverage on the policy from the following.
- Business Use
- Pools
- Trampolines
- Certain Pets (such as dogs deemed “vicious”)
- Intentional acts
- Illegal Acts/Activities
Many companies do allow policyowners to endorse their current policies. This means providing coverage separate from the home policy, for a specific item such as a wedding ring, firearm, painting, coin collection, etc.
If you’re in doubt, feel free to let us know or speak to your insurance agent.
Sterling Raskie, MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®
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And if you’ve come here to learn about queuing waterfowl, I apologize for the confusion. You may want to discuss your question with Lester, my loyal watchduck and self-proclaimed “advisor’s advisor”.
Subsidence/sink hole usually requires a rider, doesn’t it?
Generally, yes. Some companies will require it such as here in Illinois as there are many neighborhoods built over existing mines.