We all have a fairly clear idea of what our homeowner’s insurance policy covers and what it excludes.
For example, everyone knows their policy will repair or rebuild their home if it’s damaged or destroyed by fire, hurricane, hail and lightning. Most homeowners also know their policy won’t cover earthquake or flood damage.
Although every policy is different, many policies cover other items that would surprise most homeowners. Here’s a list of six, ranked from most commonly seen to the seriously far-fetched:
1. Your college student’s property. If your child is a full-time student living on their college campus, their laptop, clothing and pretty much everything else they own is covered by your homeowner’s policy. This doesn’t apply if your child lives in an off-campus apartment. In that case, they’ll need renter’s insurance. Oh, and hey, grad students may not be covered, either. Age limits apply.
2. Spoiled food. When they happen, your power company does its best to keep outages brief. But when repairs take longer, a freezer full of food can go bad. The good news is that most policies will pay you for up to $500 in steaks and milk that have spoiled.
3. Gravestones. They’re considered personal property, so in cases of vandalism or damage, they’re covered, regardless of whether they’re on your property or not. By the way, this includes damage caused by cemetery workers.
4. Falling objects. We’re not talking about bowling balls that roll off shelves and shatter your TV. But your homeowner’s will take care of putting things back in place in case of a “blue ice event.” What’s that? Every once in a while, the holding tanks on passenger jetliners rupture and leak. Their contents spew out and immediately freeze into solid chunks of nasty “blue ice,” fall to earth and slam into your home. That’s when your homeowner’s policy kicks in. Same goes for those super-rare instances of falling meteorites. Good to know, right?
5. Stampedes. OK, this is definitely one of those rare events, we know. But just imagine living next to a ranch. What if the cattle got spooked and ran right through your living room? The rancher’s insurance company will probably cover it. But if not, well, pardner, your homeowner’s will take care of it.
6. Volcanic eruptions. Weird, right? Not if you live in Hawaii, of course, but certainly if your home’s in, say, Denver. Still, if your house happens to be in the path of a lava flow, most homeowner’s policies will take care of it. Your policy might also take care of restoring things in case your home is damaged by ash from a volcanic eruption.
Sue Houston is a CCIG Personal Lines Account Manager. Reach her at SueH@thinkccig.com or 720-330-7912.