What Does Your Home Insurance Cover?

Think you know everything that is covered by your home insurance? You may be surprised to find out which items are protected by your insurance policy. Although your policy may be different, generally the items that are protected your home insurance include any extensions or attachments to your house, for instance your garage. Do you have rental units as part of your home? If you do, your insurance policy will most likely include coverage for them.

1. Many homeowners do not realize that the space around their home, (what we call the "outdoors") their acreage that includes the lawn, trees, shrubs and flower gardens are included in their insurance coverage. In addition, your tool shed, gazebo, pool or guest house and free standing garage or any other structures built on your property but not attached to your home are protected.
2. The living expenses for you and your family are protected by your home insurance as well. If your home is rendered unlivable due to extensive damage, or if you rent part of your home to tenants and this area is damaged to the point it is uninhabitable your rental payments are covered.

Some of these benefits are not part of the standard policy, for example, your personal property by definition in your home insurance may not include expensive jewelry. You need to read your policy carefully and be sure that everything that needs insurance protection has coverage.

3. Your possessions and those of your family, the possessions that belong to other family members or friends, the personal contents of your home, and the personal possessions of your guests along with any additional structures on your property when the disaster took place. Unfortunately, many home insurance policies DO NOT cover the possessions of tenants that live in your home.

Home insurance can be customized to fit your needs, but many people do not take the time to read their policy to see what coverage they are paying for and what protection they need to add to it. In addition, having a clear picture of what benefits you are entitled to claim and help you to maximize your investment in home insurance. By knowing the full extent of your coverage you can have more peace of mind; the security of yourself and your family is why home insurance is so important. Take a few minutes and read your policy again, you might be delighted by what you discover.