If you’ve recently purchased homeowners insurance for your Tacoma home it can be hard to understand exactly what’s covered in each part of it. Dwelling coverage is the part of your home insurance policy responsible for possibly helping pay for repair or rebuilding costs for your home in the event it is damaged or destroyed due by a covered peril. Read on to learn exactly what’s covered by the dwelling coverage portion of your insurance policy.
What Does Dwelling Coverage Protect?
The Insurance Information Institute (III) sites specific perils that most standard home insurance policies are required to cover. Each policy is different, but damage sustained by the following perils or hazards is typically protected by dwelling coverage:
- Theft
- Vandalism
- Lightning strikes
- Windstorms
- Hail storms
- Fire or smoke damage
- explosion
- Snow or ice damage
- Damage from a vehicle
- Damage from aircraft
If another structure on your property not associated with your home (dwelling) is damaged by one of these covered perils, you are still liable for coverage. This would go under the ‘other structures coverage’ part of your homeowners policy, which has to do with covering damage to other structures like sheds, fences, or barns.
What Doesn’t Dwelling Insurance Cover?
It’s important to remember that certain perils aren’t covered by standard home insurance policies. That means that, in some situations, your dwelling may not be eligible for coverage. Some hazards not covered by standard homeowners insurance policies include:
- Damage sustained by seismic activity
- Damage sustained by volcanic activity,
- Tornado damage, or
- Hurricane damage
If you live in a high-risk zone for any of these perils, it may be a good idea to invest in an extra insurance policy to further protect your home.
Are you in the Seattle Tacoma area and unsure if you’re at risk? The Washington State Department of Natural Resources has helpful volcano threat and tsunami hazard maps available to help you assess risk.
Dwelling Insurance Coverage Limits and Deductibles
A deductible is how much you pay towards a covered claim.
Your limit is the maximum amount your policy will pay for a covered claim or loss.
You choose your own limit when it comes to dwelling coverage.
When you choose this you need to be aware of how much it would take to rebuild your house if it come to that. Think about all aspects of your home, including renovations, to calculate your limit.
Things to Keep In Mind:
In some cases your dwelling coverage limit can influence other limits on your home insurance policy, such as your personal possession coverage limit or your other structures coverage limit. For example, your limit personal possession coverage may be a certain percentage based on your dwelling coverage limit.
To get started or learn more about the services we offer or about your current homeowner’s insurance policy, talk with one of Pfarr Insurance Agency’s agents by giving us a call or scheduling an appointment online.
