Whenever we purchase our own home, we want to make sure we get the best insurance policy available. This will help us protect our house and our future in case of an unfortunate event. There are many home insurance myths and misconceptions people tend to believe. Thus, it’s important to check with our insurance company what exclusions might come with the plan. This way we’ll get a full understanding of what our policy does and doesn’t cover.
Knowing exactly what kind of coverage we’re getting will also help us save quite some money in the long run. The more we understand our coverage and the more questions we ask our insurance agent, the better. In addition, being aware of the possible risks that come with the area we live in is a must. For example, if floods or earthquakes are frequent if termites or other plagues could live in the area, even if we often have people over. These are the three home insurance myths will talk about today.
Home Insurance Covers Floods and Earthquakes
Natural disasters like floods and earthquakes can only be foreseen to a point, which forces us to be as preventive as we can in case an incident like these happened to damage or, worse, destroy our house.
Many Insurance companies will consider natural disasters to be Acts of God, and usually, coverage for this type of situations is not part of your home insurance, and instead, companies will offer a separate Flood Insurance add-on to your Home coverage as an additional way to stay protected should you be affected by one.
Home Insurance Protects Me Against Termites and Plague Damage
Preventing damage that a plague might cause to your house might take more effort than we would like. Nevertheless, being cautious and doing all we can to keep infestations from destroying our home will be a wise decision. Also, it would be a smart investment, since most home insurance policies do not cover such damage. The most common and destructive infestation is termites, damaging the structure of our house, especially if made out of wood. Termites can also damage furniture, plaster, metal, clothing, and almost anything that comes in their way.
According to the National Pest Management Association, termites generate a damage of $5 billion dollars every year.
The only scenario in which your Home Insurance company might be able to cover the damages might be if the termites damaged a gas pipe, for example, causing a fire and resulting in partial or total loss of your property, but the best option is making sure we have constant check-ups and repairs to our home, as it is estimated that significant termite and plague damage takes up to 3 years to start being noticeable, which will make it way less manageable and in that case, less likely for your insurance to intervene.
I Don’t Need A Valuables Inventory
A very common myth is to assume that our insurance company will replace our belongings in case of loss. Some even think that we can lie to our insurance company about the valuables that were part of our property. This is not necessarily true, as many items such as furs, jewelry, fine art, etcetera, need a separate coverage plan.
For those valuables that are part of your insurance, you want to make sure you are as specific as possible when keeping record of your goods. A good idea is having an inventory, and update it regularly, making sure you have the corresponding information and documentation about your items, like serial numbers, and receipts
