Home Insurance: Additional Coverages To Know About
When you purchase a standard home insurance policy, it typically includes essential coverages for your home, personal property, and liability. However, there are several additional coverages to consider that we highly recommend to ensure full protection. If you bought your home insurance during the home-buying process without consulting an insurance agent, these coverages likely weren’t included—but they can still be added! Here are five crucial coverages every homeowner should consider.
Optional Coverage Part 1 – Service or Utility Line Coverage.
Utility lines, including water and sewer pipes and power lines between your home and the street, are typically your responsibility to repair or replace if they break or are damaged. Adding this coverage usually costs around $50 per year. Contact your agent to learn about coverage limit options, pricing, and specific inclusions.
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Optional Coverage Part 2 – Water Seepage or Leakage Coverage.
In most cases, a home policy will cover ‘sudden and accidental’ water damage (something that happens within two weeks). This additional coverage can extend to continuous or ongoing water seepage or leakage. The cost to add this coverage is typically around $70 per year. Contact your agent to find out the coverage limit options, pricing, and specific inclusions.
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Optional Coverage Part 3 – Personal Offense.
Some people call this ‘Facebook’ coverage. It provides protection against personal offenses, including libel, slander, defamation of character, and invasion of privacy. In most cases, the cost of this coverage is less than $10 per year.
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Optional Coverage Part 4 – Water & Sewer Backup.
When water backs up through, or overflows from, a sewer, drain, sump, sump pump, or any system at the home designed to remove subsurface water from the foundation, this coverage is essential. There are several limits to choose from, and a common cost for $10,000 in coverage is less than $100/year. Note that this coverage does not apply to outside water entering the home; for that, you would need flood coverage.
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Optional Coverage Part 5 – Scheduled Property.
This coverage protects your valuable items such as jewelry, antiques, fine art, guns, media, music, or electronic equipment. Most policies limit the coverage for these items, so we recommend ‘scheduling’ them separately.
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Don’t wait to find out you’re underinsured—call us today to review your coverages and ensure your home is fully protected!
Fine Print: This is a general overview with the intention of bringing awareness to coverage options and general industry standards. Coverage varies between carriers and states. Check your policy for specifics.