Having homeowners insurance protects you from substantial losses caused by the occurrence of covered hazards like fire or theft of personal belongings. However, certain risks may not cross your mind every day, but if they occur, they may significantly hurt your finances. These less common, bizarre perils, such as liability claims for a bad online review, are covered by home insurance, too. Here are some typical examples.
- Wild Animal Damage
- Falling Object Damage
- Campus Property Theft
- Damage Caused by Guests During a House Party
- Fine Wine
- Gravestone Damage
- Negative Online Review
Most standard homeowners insurance policies don’t cover vermin damage. As such, you may not be compensated for damage to your house due to an infestation of rodents, insects, and wild animals. However, the definition of “vermin” may vary widely from insurer to insurer. For example, some policies can pay for damage to your door caused by certain wild animals, while others don’t cover such losses.
The possibility of debris falling from the sky and damaging your roof or injuring someone on your property is very low. Nonetheless, you can’t rule it out completely, which is why most standard home insurance policies provide this coverage.
Standard homeowners policies can cover your college student’s properties like bikes, TV sets, furniture, and clothing against theft within the campus. However, to protect your child’s possession, you must include them in your personal property coverage. Keep in mind that you’ll need to purchase renters insurance to cover your college-going child’s belongings if they live off-campus, say, in a rented apartment. If the covered items are stolen, your policy can pay to replace them.
If you serve alcohol at a house party and one of your intoxicated guests accidentally damages your drywall, you may be compensated for this damage under your home insurance. Another scenario where you might be compensated is when a guest had too much to drink and got injured in a car accident on their way back home. However, you can be held liable for the incident, depending on your state’s social host laws.
It’s always advisable to include your expensive belongings like fine wine in your homeowners coverage. Under your policy’s food spoilage provision, you can be compensated for the loss of wine if a power outage causes it to overheat or freeze. You may also be protected against wine cellar flooding due to a burst water line. As always, covered water damage must result from an unavoidable accident rather than a gradually developing maintenance issue.
Afterlife coverage is part of most home insurance policies and includes items like gravestones. When this property is damaged or defaced, it may be costly to repair or restore, which is why it’s considered eligible for coverage.
While most people write online reviews, they don’t realize they could be sued by the subject of the review. Maybe you didn’t like the experience at a certain hotel, so you expressed your dissatisfaction by writing a negative Yelp review. The hotel owners feel that your comments have spoilt their reputation, so the management files a lawsuit against you. With a homeowners policy, you may be covered for your defense attorney’s fees and any judgment made against you in court.
Does your existing homeowners insurance policy cover these less common risks? Some protections aren’t automatic, so it’s always good to examine your policy and ensure you have the coverage you need. To learn more, contact the experts at Reata Insurance Group today. We can help review your policy and advise you accordingly to prevent coverage gaps.
