The majority of people who have homeowner’s insurance don’t bother to read through the fine print unless their home has been seriously damaged. Even then, they’re mostly finding things that are not covered that they were sure they could claim on their insurance. However, a standard homeowner’s insurance policy normally has a variety of endorsements and extras that you wouldn’t expect. While the surprising items I list below may be in your policy too, it’s important that you read through the fine print on your homeowner’s insurance to figure out just what great perks are buried waiting for you to discover.
1. Dog Bites
In the unhappy event that your beloved furry friend gets spooked and bites another person and causes them injury, nearly all homeowner’s insurance policies will cover the bitten person’s medical expenses even if the bite didn’t happen on your property. Most policies will even pay for your legal expenses if you are sued by somebody bitten by your pet.
2. Identity Theft
This can be a massively valuable benefit if your identity is stolen. Many times identity theft can cost you thousands of dollars and dozens of hours dealing with lawyers, police, and financial institutions to get your life back in order. Most homeowner’s policies will reimburse you for the expenses you incur when working to resolve an identity theft case, including legal bills, some travel costs and in some cases lost wages if you have to miss work.
3. Your Bicycle, Anywhere In The Country
Most policies include what’s called “off premises” coverage for your personal property that can travel with you. For example, if you’re on an epic bike trip 3,000 miles from home and your bike is stolen you can call your agent and file a claim for your bike and in many cases get your money to buy a new bike without even having to go back home first. This coverage also includes liability protection so if you were to crash your bike into a parked car while taking in the scenery your policy would cover damage to the vehicle caused by your mishap.
4. Your Child’s Items While At College
Nearly every policy considers anyone in your household as covered by the policy, but also includes children up to age 24 who are studying away from home at college. Using the same “off premises” coverage as I just mentioned above, your child’s items are covered for theft and damage while they’re away at school. Some policies exclude students living in dorms, because it seems that more items are damaged or stolen there, but it’s worth checking your policy to see if your child is covered.
5. Spoiled Food
No, I don’t mean those leftovers you forgot in the back of your fridge, but a typical policy will cover several hundred dollars of spoiled food due to the failure of your refrigerator or freezer during a mechanical malfunction or a power outage.
6. Volcanic Eruption
Considering how few active volcanoes there are in the US this probably won’t be a worry of yours, but surprisingly the majority of policies cover damage due to lava flows or volcanic eruptions. However, keep in mind that most policies do not cover earthquakes without an additional rider so if you live in an earthquake prone area make sure to ask for this additional coverage.
7. Flood Damage
Normally flood damage is not covered by insurance unless you bought separate flood insurance. However, many policies actually do cover flooding in limited circumstances like broken pipes or a broken sump pump. Flood damages can cost thousands to fix so always make sure you have flood insurance but read the find print on your current policy to see what you may be covered for today.
8. Tombstones
If the tombstone of your family member is damaged your insurance will typically cover repairs up to $5,000. This is a little trickier to claim than some other items I’ve listed above, but as long as the tombstone is established as your personal property because you bought the marker and the plot then you should be covered if anything happens to the tombstone.
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