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Blog
A standard home policy covers some natural events, excludes others outright, and handles a third group only if a separate endorsement has been added. Households usually discover which is which at the worst possible time.
Usually included
- Windstorm and hail, though coastal properties often carry a separate, percentage-based deductible for named storms
- Fire, including wildfire in most regions
- Falling trees and debris
- Weight of snow or ice
Usually excluded
- Flood — surface water entering the property, from any source
- Earthquake and ground movement
- Gradual damage, such as damp, subsidence and long-term water ingress
Flood is the one that catches people. It is excluded from almost every standard home policy, and being outside a mapped flood zone reduces the likelihood without changing the exclusion.
What to do about it
Check three numbers on your schedule
- The building sum insured — is it a current rebuild cost, or a figure from the year you bought?
- The windstorm deductible — is it a flat amount, or a percentage of the sum insured?
- The additional living expenses allowance — would it cover a year of rent locally, or six weeks?
Add the endorsements your geography needs
Flood and earthquake are bought separately. Both usually carry a waiting period before cover begins, which means they cannot be added in the week a storm is forecast.
Document the house before anything happens
Photograph every room, open every cupboard, and keep the file somewhere that is not in the house. A contents claim settled from a photographic record is a different experience from one settled from memory.
Mitigation is also priced. Storm shutters, a reinforced roof, defensible space around the building, a leak sensor on the main — several insurers discount for them, and all of them reduce the loss whether or not there is a discount.
After a warning is issued
Move what you can upstairs or off the floor, photograph as you go, and keep the receipts for anything you buy to protect the property. Reasonable costs incurred to prevent further damage are normally recoverable.
