Home insurance protects your assets from potential challenges, but the policy that you need and the type of plan that is best for your goals can vary. Recognizing your options can make it easier to determine the best plan for your situation.

HO-2 Plans

A HO-2 policy is a basic home insurance plan that protects against common perils. It will pay for damages to your house and the loss of property when a situation arises that is covered in the plan.

The downside of the policy is that it does not cover every possible situation that may arise. It only provides coverage for the situations that are specifically listed. As a result, you may need to purchase additional protection for certain concerns that may arise. Before you assume that the plan is appropriate, determine the perils that are covered.

HO-3 Plans

When you want a more comprehensive plan, a HO-3 policy may be appropriate. The plan is designed to address the majority of your concerns and most situations. Instead of listed situations that are covered, the policy will protect against most problems unless it is specifically excluded from the policy.

Generally, flooding and earthquakes are excluded from the plan, so you should expect that the policy will not pay for those situations. Other storms, fires and break-ins are usually covered under the policy. You can make a claim in most situations, but you may want to purchase additional protection if any exclusions are a concern.

There are a variety of options to protect your house, but the most common choices are designed to protect against common perils and problems. The key is selecting the right plan based on your budget and concerns. To learn more, contact us to talk to an agent today.

It’s important that you know the difference between homeowners’ and flood insurance policies, so you can choose adequate coverage for your property. Don’t get caught with insufficient insurance coverage. Call our offices so a knowledgeable agent can discuss the difference and help you choose the best protection for your home.

Flood Insurance Coverage

To be considered a flood, water must reach ground that is normally dry. Flood loss occurs when the flood rises over dry land and flows onto your property. These damages might occur after events such as heavy rainfall, mudslides and overflowing lakes and rivers.

If a flood caused damages in your property, your flood insurance policy takes care of your loss up to your policy limits. Your homeowners’ insurance policy doesn’t cover flood losses. You can get coverage for this loss through an insurance agent, but the National Flood Insurance Program writes the policy. You also can get the coverage through Federal Emergency Management Office.

Homeowners Insurance Coverage

Your homeowners’ policy covers losses caused by water that did not touch dry land first. So, if rain filters through your leaky roof and damages your home, you’re covered under your homeowners’ insurance policy. If the storm smashes your windows and rain gets in, your homeowners policy also covers your losses. If your washer overflows, your homeowners’ insurance policy pays for the repairs up to your policy limits.

Coverage for Low-Level Areas

Flood insurance covers flood-related cleanup of items installed in specific areas and connected to power sources, including items such as your washer and dryer, deep freezer and air conditioning units. This limited coverage also applies to basements. Homeowners insurance pays for accidents that cause overflows, including food in your deep freezer and the carpets in your basement.

If you are tired of looking at your outdated kitchen and decide to do a remodel, you will need to budget for the expense. You can get the money from your savings, you can borrow it from friends, or you might even take out a home equity loan. You can not file a claim or ask your home insurance company to pay to finance the costs of home repair or home construction in such a scenario.

In a similar light, if you hire a contractor and he does a terrible job on your remodeling project, you have no basis for filing a claim under your homeowners policy. Your action would be against the contractor for the shoddy work he did. Insurance is not there to protect you against poor workmanship when the home repair is not related to a covered loss.

Now, your homeowners insurance may pay to cover the cost to repair your home due to a poor construction remodel if it was related to damage suffered by a covered peril. For instance, if a storm tears off half of your roof, you are entitled to have the roof repaired or replaced so it is in the same or better condition as it was in before it was damaged.

It is not unusual for an insurance company to require you to hire an approved contractor before they will issue a check for a home repair that is covered under your policy. They may even pay the contractor directly as the work is completed. If it is later discovered that the roofing work was not done correctly, and the roof starts to leak, you should not have to pay to fix the problem. In such a case, your insurance company will pay to have the job done right and then have the option of seeking restitution from the original contractor.

A snow storm can cause a variety of damages to your house, and sometimes the damage may cost more than you are ready to pay out of pocket in Plano, TX. Fortunately, many home insurance policies will pay for the cost of repairs when a tree falls on your shed as long as the plan does not have exceptions or clauses to prevent the claim.

Shed Repair Claims

Even though your insurer may allow you to make a claim for the repairs to your shed, it is possible that your home insurance may have a limitation on the amount that you can claim. Every insurer is different, but most have a set percentage of your total policy that they allow you to claim for sheds, a detached garage or any other additional building that is on your property.

In most cases, you can claim five to ten percent of the total coverage for your home. Read your policy to determine that exact amount that your insurer allows you to claim for sheds or similar detached buildings on your property.

Exceptions

Keep in mind that every home insurance policy is different, so there may be exceptions in your plan that prevent you from making a claim to repair your shed. Review the exceptions and clauses to ensure that your home is covered from trees falling on the property or damage from storms. Even if many insurers offer protection against damages from snow storms, some may have clauses or exceptions to prevent claims in certain situations.

It can seem complicated to determine if you have coverage for specific concerns, but your policy will usually have clear details regarding the situations that are covered. Contact us to talk to an agent for more information about making a claim.