Get Coverage For Structural Damage On Your Home
Typically, when people think about homeowners’ insurance, they think about all the things that could happen on the outside and inside of their houses. This can include fire, smoke, a tree falling on the screened-in porch and more. But what they often forget about is structural damage.
What Is Home Structural Damage?
Structural damage negatively impacts the home’s architectural integrity, often to the home’s foundation. This doesn’t mean a few cracks here and there that mar the appearance of the foundation, but rather significant problems and damage to the foundation. Without repair, structural damage will inevitably lead to larger, costlier concerns and possibly the destruction of the dwelling.
Many things can wreak havoc on your home’s structure, including shifts in the earth, moisture in the soil, shoddy or poor original construction, misuse of the soil and even roots of inquisitive trees that start to push at the foundation walls. Obviously, it’s not inexpensive to discover why your foundation is problematic, nor is it cheap to fix the underlying issue as well as repair the damage.
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Is Home Structure Damage Covered by Homeowners’ Insurance?
At the first sign of a structural problem, most homeowners rush to their insurance policies with one question: Does homeowners insurance cover structural damage? What they find is likely to make them feel a little queasy. The majority of policies do not cover any type of structural damage unless it has been covered by a specific event. For instance, if you added a rider to your policy to protect you against earthquake damage, your policy might cover structural damage due to the earth moving. The same goes for another type of manmade or natural disaster that damages the home’s structure, necessitating major repair work or rebuilding.
In many cases, homeowners need to have specific events added to their existing homeowner’s insurance policy or take out a separate structural insurance policy for their home. Why isn’t structural damage covered in most homeowners’ insurance policies? It comes down to a maintenance issue. Most policies don’t govern what’s been happening for years and years behind the scenes. Carriers assume foundation damage is your problem, not something they should protect you from. Plus, carriers probably think the foundation might have been a pre-existing problem — something you should have discovered when you purchased your residence.
Of course, this doesn’t mean all is lost. For instance, if your foundation becomes cracked and a chunk falls off into your basement and damages furniture stored there, you may be able to claim the cost of the personal belongings. Again, this will vary from insurer to insurer, but it’s worth calling your independent insurance agent if you’re in doubt.