Home Insurance Incentives
In Part 1 of this short series, we discussed unexpected items that are covered by standard home insurance, which included spoiled food, pairs and sets of items, code requirements and valuables. In Part 2, we investigate additional items and events that a basic home insurance policy covers.
Interior Design
When people think of what a home insurance policy covers, many assume the price of their home and their belongings. In some cases, the policy will also cover the cost of an interior decorator. Coverage only applies if an interior decorator was used to create the home design prior to the damage and if the possessions selected by the decorator get destroyed. You should document any work an interior decorator completes for you, including compiling a list of the specific items they procured to keep for your records.
Damage from Above
A standard home insurance policy does cover damage caused by falling objects. Coverage can include unlikely events such as a meteorite or decommissioned satellite striking your home. A more typical case would be a tree branch in a storm. Additionally, damage caused by the weight of snow on your roof is covered. In any one of the situations, the coverage includes repairing the structural damage to your home and repairing or replacing any possessions inside your home that get damaged.
Loss of Use
If your damaged home is not fit to be occupied while repairs are being made, your policy will pay for the additional expenses incurred by you to stay in alternate accommodations. The accommodations must be consistent with your current standard of living and may be subject to monetary or time limits. Your insurance company will reimburse Additional Living Expenses (a.l.e.) only after you have incurred them and provided sufficient documentation to your adjuster. ALE Solutions, Inc. is a third party company that provides short-term accommodations for displaced policyholders. We specialize in securing the unique housing solutions that meet your specific needs. A major benefit is that ALE pays all covered housing expenses on your behalf and is repaid directly by your insurance company.
Riots
A riot or civil unrest can sometimes spin out of control and lead to property damage. Damage to your home or possessions will be fully covered if such an event directly affects you.
At ALE Solutions, we help people impacted by disasters, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, house fires and more. At no cost to the policyholder, we provide disaster response, including locating temporary housing options.
Photo credits: ©iStock.com/andresrimaging, nicepixel, AwakenedEye, chuckmoser
I learned a lot about homeowners insurance from this post. I had no idea that a policy could cover the cost of an interior decorator so I’m glad that you mentioned that. I will be sure to keep these points in mind as I’m shopping for the right homeowners insurance!
My husband and I are wanting to get into our first home this year, so I appreciate this information on homeowner’s insurance. I like how you point out that homeowner’s insurance will cover the cost of staying in alternate accommodations if your damaged home is not fit to be occupied while repairs are being made. I imagine that in order to get all of the best features from a policy, it will be important that we look around and make sure we are going with the best company. Perhaps looking at their reviews online will be a good place to start.
I was amazed to read that a homeowner’s policy will also cover the cost of an interior decorator. My cat has been destroying our curtains and our wall for two months now! I will be sure to get in touch with my insurance to see if we can benefits from this!
Home insurance sounds great. I had no idea that standard home insurance actually covers damage from falling debris. It snows a ton where I live, so that is important to have.
I never took into account the fact that homeowners insurance can protect from any stray object falling from above. Interestingly enough, the worst property damage that I’ve ever seen, has been a tree falling onto a house following a bad storm. It’s good to know that homeowners insurance can cover for things like that, and also the occasional meteor that falls to our planet. Thanks for helping me understand the lesser known benefits of owning home insurance.
My husband and I just bought our first home, and we are looking into getting homeowners insurance. But we are curious to know what the different things that it covers would be. I like how you pointed out that one thing that probably most people don’t is it covers from damage from above. It’s great to know that if something follows onto our roof, whether it be a tree branch or a meteorite, it would be great to not have to worry about paying for the damages.
I didn’t know that home insurance covers the damages done to my home by falling objects like a branch during a storm until I saw it in this article. We live in a location with many trees and frequent storms. Combine those two, and it’s a recipe for disaster. Thanks to you I know that now. I’ll make sure to talk to an insurance provider and see what I can do.
It’s good to know that a normal home insurance policy covers damage from falling things. We just bought a new house and the hail can get pretty intense in this area sometimes we’ve heard. There is still a need for us to get a policy on this house so we’ll have to remember that this is something that is covered.
I like how you said your home insurance could actually help to protect your decorations as well as other belongings. This would be really nice for us because a lot of what we have is family heirloom given to us by my wife’s mother. We’ll have to be sure to have a good policy that is up to date.
Wow, I had no idea home insurance could possibly cover the cost of an interior decorator. My house is a fixer-upper, so I’ve been focusing on remodeling and updating each room one by one, but my roof leaked and ruined a lot of the materials I’ve been using. Thank you for the information about how coverage only applied if an interior designer was used to create the home design prior to the damage and if the possessions damaged were selected by that decorator.
This is some really good information about home insurance. It is good to know that it would be smart to think about having coverage from above. That is good to know because I am planning on buying a home this next month.
That is interesting that homeowners insurance may cover the cost of an interior decorator. That is something I would want to have if I were a homeowner. This way, I would have someone to help me redesign the interior of my home if something was to happen to my home.