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When selecting a plan, it is important to ask, “what does homeowners insurance cover?” Similarly, it might be helpful to ask what your specific policy does not cover. Most basic policies cover six items: dwellings, other structures, personal property, loss-of-use, personal liability, and medical payments. Dwelling coverage refers to protection against damage done to the home’s structure. Essentially, this means anything built into the home, like floors, water heaters, and interior walls. Coverage of other structures means just that. Garages, sheds, and even gazebos are typically protected. Here, it is important to note that a standard policy does not pay for damage caused by a flood, earthquake, or normal wear and tear. Personal property coverage is for damage or theft of your belongings at their actual cash value. This is helpful because the items are covered no matter where the damage was done, and the policy can cover guests’ items if the items were stolen/destroyed on your property. Please note that things like jewelry, firearms, and collectables usually have a dollar limit, such as a policy only paying a maximum of $1,500, even if the item was worth more. Loss-of-use, or additional living expenses, coverage helps cover the cost of living somewhere else, should you need to move while your home is being repaired. There is a time limit to this, so keep this in mind. Coverage for personal liability helps pay for a court defense and court awards if you’re held liable for injury or damage to someone else or their property. So, if your child accidentally throws a ball at a neighbor’s window, you’re covered. Finally, if a guest is injured in your home, they can submit the medical bills to your company. This falls under the medical payment coverage, although it does not include bills for your family members and/or pets.

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One of the final questions to ask when comparing insurance claims is “how are homeowners insurance claims paid?” It does depend on your policy, but to get the full value of your claim, it is important to understand how claim payments work. First, know that the claim payment might be made out to different people. If you are the sole owner of the property, you will get the claim check. If you have a mortgage, the check could be written out to both you and the mortgage company, which means you will need to work with them to get it cashed. The check could also be given to the condo or coop management company, the contractor, or anyone who is named as insured on the policy. Second, you could get several checks during the process of settling a claim. Each claim is handled differently, so check with your homeowners insurance company, so you will have correct expectations. Some other things to note is that you must claim your loss within a certain timeframe, the adjuster will need your current info, and you should keep track of your claim checks to make sure you get paid for everything.