Beware of These 6 Coverage Gaps When Buying Home Insurance

1. Homeowners need to purchase Flood Insurance: The peril of flooding is NEVER covered by home insurance. This coverage is underwritten by the United States federal system and must be purchased separately. But homeowners need to be aware that flood insurance does NOT cover sewer back-up losses.
2. Back up of Sewers and Drains: Sewer and drain backup coverage is not covered by home insurance. This coverage is added to a home insurance policy by endorsement usually with a specific limit. This insurance coverage is especially valuable to homeowners who store possessions in their basement or who have renovated their basement for use. You must make sure that you purchase the coverage AND that the limit is sufficient to cover damages, take an inventory of all the contents of your basement including appliances such as laundry washers and dryers, water heaters, furnaces or boilers. Talk to your insurance agent about the limits of this coverage and your specific needs.
3. Increased Liability: Home insurance policies provide coverage for different classes of property under different types of policies. Most homeowners are aware that common personal possessions such as clothing are in one class, jewelry and antiques are in another, but are not clear about their liability coverage requirements when they own trailers or recreational vehicles which present several different types of risk that the insurance company may have special limits to cover.
4. Personal Liability Coverage for Rental Property: When you have a section of your home that you use as income property, you need additional liability insurance to protect you from lawsuits that result from the use of the rental property. This home insurance coverage is not expensive, but the potential risk to your valuable assets without this coverage can be costly.
5. Personal Liability Coverage for Personal Injury: The home insurance coverage provides the homeowner with protection against libel & slander, false arrest and defamation of character. This coverage can be particularly valuable to homeowners who work in mass media related professions.
6. Other Structures and Limit Adequacy: Some homeowners have built fencing, gazebos, tool sheds or a guest house that is not used for rental on their property which may not be sufficiently protected by 10% coverage for other structures in their policy, due to their size or large design. Discuss the limits of this coverage with your agent to discover how much the home insurance coverage for other structures can be increased by endorsement.