The Different Types of Home Insurance Riders

A standard home insurance policy is limited in the amount of protection it provides for your home and personal possessions. Insurance companies can extend the coverage of your policy by adding a "rider' which provides the statement of terms for the coverage benefits of protection of your other possessions that were excluded under the main policy contents insurance.

You may expect that expensive personal property such as furs, diamond jewelry or sophisticated electronic equipment would be included in a home insurance rider. But there are other items that also would qualify for this type of coverage such as:

Your Home Office: If you work from home, you will want to protect the equipment you use, but you should also discuss whether you need separate liability coverage with your insurance agent. If your business requires clients to visit your office you risk liability exposure if a client is injured; your standard homeowner policy may not cover their injuries and loss.

If your home business involves product inventory, a home insurance rider will protect the replacement of these products, office supplies and raw materials used to produce your goods that you keep on the premises for use in your business.

Fine Art or Antiques: A home insurance rider will increase the protection of your personal possessions including your fine art or antique furniture. You may be surprised at the cost of this additional insurance for fine art; $1 in fees provides you with $400 of insurance coverage for fine art pieces.

Oriental Carpets: Many homeowners do not realize that expensive Oriental carpets need to be insured under a separate rider. But without this coverage if your Oriental carpet is damaged as a result of a water pipe that breaks, you may not qualify for reimbursement or the amount you receive may be limited.

An Older Home: Many people invest in older homes to preserve a piece of history without realizing that their home insurance coverage may not sufficient to pay for rebuilding it to meet the current building codes.

Rebuilding an older home after a disaster can include the need to lay a new foundation or to install safety features that were not invented during the time the original home was built. Homeowners who want to be sure that they will have sufficient coverage should invest in a rider to provide building code coverage and the other provisions that you may need to protect your investment.