Homeowner’s insurance is one of those seemingly ‘little things’ most of us seem to give little thought to………until we need it after some disaster has occured and it’s too late to change your policy.

Here’s what the Insurance Information Institute defines as homeowner’s coverage:

“What is homeowners insurance?

Homeowners insurance provides financial protection against disasters. A standard policy insures the home itself and the things you keep in it.  

Homeowners insurance is a package policy. This means that it covers both damage to your property and your liability or legal responsibility for any injuries and property damage you or members of your family cause to other people. This includes damage caused by household pets.

Damage caused by most disasters is covered but there are exceptions. The most significant are damage caused by floods, earthquakes and poor maintenance. You must buy two separate policies for flood and earthquake coverage. Maintenance-related problems are the homeowners’ responsibility.

So your homeowner’s insurance policy actually covers you for several things such as damage to the home itself, damage to your personal possessions (furniture, clothing, tools, etc.), but also liability from legal actions such as if your dog bites someone and injures them.

However, depending on your policy and insurance carrier, there may be some things that are not covered.

For instance if you own a certain breed of dog you may have to pay more for coverage. From the Center for Disease Control here’s a list of the breeds most responsible for dog-bite fatilities listed in declining order of fatalities.

  • Pit bull-type
  • Rottweiler
  • German Shepherd
  • Husky-type
  • Malamute
  • Doberman Pinscher
  • Chow Chow
  • Great Dane
  • Saint Bernard

A standard, but little known item not covered in most insurance policies is water damage from sewer backups, sump pump failures, and most type of drainage failures. However you can purchase a separate endorsement that will cover these occurances.

If you should have a total loss of your home due to, for example, a fire, your policy would rebuild your home but it may not cover any upgrades to comply with existing building codes.

Most all insurance cap their total liability for a “standard” policy. Because of those limits it’s very, very important to know what your coverage limits are and consider purchasing additional riders or shopping for a different company

So if you’ve just bought a new home in the greater Knoxville, Tennessee (or most anywhere else) you need to consider sitting down with your insurance agent and going over exactly what coverage you have, and maybe more importantly, what kind you don’t have.

This advice also applies to current homeowners no matter how long you’ve owned your home.

If you’re thinking of buying or selling I would like to help you.

You can get some great selling tips as well as view all the Knoxville area’s Realtors listings at www.KnoxvilleMLS.com.

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