What Does Homeowners Insurance Cover?

I get it, sometimes a homeowners policy can be a bit more involved than the auto policy that you’re used to, leading you to ask: what does homeowners insurance cover, anyways? Good question! Let me break it down for you, so you can protect your family and your investment. A homeowners policy generally covers four main things:

1. Your house. Some call it the dwelling or the structure. Typically, your homeowners policy covers the dwelling in case of damage caused by things such as a fire, hurricane, lightning or other disasters that are listed in your policy. Most homeowners policies will also cover structures attached to your house, like the garage. Here’s a good rule of thumb that I like to follow when buying a homeowners policy: get enough coverage to rebuild your house – por si las dudas. Oh, before I forget: coverage for floods and earthquakes is not included in a standard homeowners policy, so you need to buy those separately.
2. Your personal property. This refers to the things you own that you keep inside your home. So, if your furniture or your TV are damaged or stolen, your homeowners policy will likely help pay to replace them or fix them. Keep in mind that there are limits to this coverage, so some things like antiques or expensive jewelry may need special coverage.
3. Liability. This basically protects you from lawsuits in case someone who doesn’t live in your home gets hurt while in the house. For example, if a guest trips on the stairs and they fall, liability coverage may help pay for their medical bills and keep you from getting sued.
4. Additional living expenses. Some homeowners policies will include this, and it’s good to have! Known as ALE, this helps you cover expenses for living away from home due to damage caused by something covered by your policy. Imagine your home is damaged by lightning and you cannot be in the house while it is repaired, and this is covered by your policy. In that case, ALE will help you cover hotel expenses (so you don’t have to sleep at your suegros’) up to a certain limit, while your home is being fixed.

I hope this answers the question of what does homeowners insurance cover. But if you want to find out more, stop by your nearest Fiesta location so we can help you get the information you need to protect your home. Home sweet home!