Natural disasters can result in devasting damages to your home. To get coverage for your property, you need to purchase the right insurance coverage. However, a standard home insurance policy only covers certain types of natural disasters. This is mainly because the claims during a natural disaster could be too expensive for insurance companies. Thus, you’d need to purchase other coverage apart from home insurance to get coverage for certain natural disasters.
Which Natural Disasters are Covered?
The types of natural disasters covered will depend on the type of policy you have and other factors such as your location. This is why it is important to consult an insurance agent to confirm whether a home insurance plan covers a disaster or not. Typically, many home insurance plans will cover disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, lightning, volcanoes, explosions, and extreme cold.
You can receive this coverage from most dwelling and personal property insurance plans. For example, suppose there is water damage to your home due to wind or hail during a tornado. In that case, you can receive coverage for the damages unless your home insurance does not include such perils. In some cases, if you live in an area prone to tornadoes, you may need a separate deductible for wind or hail. This is known as the disaster deductible. However, a standard home insurance plan does not cover flood damages resulting from a tornado. To get coverage for flood damages, you will need to purchase a separate flood insurance policy.
Apart from tornadoes, hurricanes can also cause damage to a structure and your personal belongings. A standard home insurance policy typically covers wind and hail damage caused by hurricanes. However, it does not include flood damage. For fire disasters, a standard home insurance policy covers both the dwelling and personal property. Usually, there are no restrictions for policy limits except if the fire was set intentionally or if you live in an area prone to wildfires.
Which Disasters are Not Covered?
Some disasters are not covered by home insurance plans. For example, flood coverage is not included in all home insurance policies. This is because many flood events have happened more frequently over the years as a result of climate change. To get coverage for floods, you will need to purchase a separate flood insurance policy through your insurer or the National Flood Insurance Program.
Apart from floods, earthquakes are also not covered by a homeowners insurance policy. You can purchase earthquake coverage at an additional cost.
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