Events not covered by your homeowners policy
Events that may not be covered by Homeowners Policy
Did you know there are some events that are not covered by many insurance policies? It could be a problem if these events occur when not covered by your policy. Claude Singleton, manager at Bray & Oakley’s Lexington, Kentucky location, addresses this problem clearly. In the information below, you’ll get answers to the most frequently asked questions on what is NOT covered in some homeowners policies.
What are the events that may not be covered by homeowners policy?
As we review some of the items and areas that may not be covered, keep in mind that if certain events occur, it could be a serious event for you and your financial investment. Specifically we are covering sinkholes, flooding, and earthquakes. These events are typically not covered by homeowners policy. They’re an exclusion on most homeowners policies. And they are not covered, unless there are special actions taken by you and by the agent to make sure they are added to your existing policy.
Flood Insurance
Flooding would be, in general, groundwater that’s coming across your property from perhaps a major storm. It could have occured from a storm or any event that causes flooding to your property. IS THAT COVERED? No, it’s not covered, unless you’ve got specific flood coverage on your policy. Flood insurance is provided by FEMA. As with any insurance, this has to be added in advance of something happening. We work with property owners who are in known flood areas everyday at Bray & Oakley. If you need assistance, we are glad to walk you through it and answer your questions.
Earthquake Insurance
Earthquakes are probably something that you’re not considering, unless you live in California or a more common area for earthquake activity. Many people think there’s no need to have that type of coverage. Well, that’s actually not the case. There are faults in Kentucky, and there are faults in West Virginia that can cause serious damage to your home. We talk about earthquake insurance in every conversation we have about homeowners insurance.
In Central Kentucky, there are earthquakes that happen. In Western Kentucky many years ago, the New Madrid earthquake occurred that shook up things terribly. And it was a major earthquake, larger than the San Francisco earthquake.
Yes, it can still happen. Claude says, “If I don’t mention this type of insurance to you, shame on me. This can still happen in places where you wouldn’t consider having it, and I feel responsible to make sure you at least know about it and the options.”
Claude 00:13
We’re reviewing through your homeowners policy. And I’m actually looking at my own personal declarations page right here, the home insurance, there are some things that are not covered by many insurance policies. And if these things occur, it can be a serious event for you, which could be tragic from a financial standpoint. And that would be things like a flood, or an earthquake, or a sinkhole. And those are coverages that are typically not covered by homeowners policy, they’re an exclusion on the homeowners policy. And they are not covered, unless they’re special action taking Kate taken by you and by the agent to arrange that on your policy. Now, I’m speaking in general statements, of course, that’s what I have to do on this type of video. And there may be specific things related to you and your particular circumstance that we should visit further about. But in general, these statements are quite accurate. That earthquake and flood, and sinkhole are not covered by your policy unless they’re specifically covered, unless they’re specifically shown in your declarations page. So if you’re looking through, then you go, I’ve got a concern, I don’t see those coverages, then they would be worthwhile to talk about this. Let’s talk about those risks. Flood would be in general, groundwater that has occurred that’s coming across your property, from perhaps a major storm that’s happened above you, or to the north of B or whatever, whatever direction would be. But it’s suddenly coming your way or could be bursted. Damn, it could be something like that. I was not from a storm, but something else happened. Is that covered? No, it’s not covered, unless you’ve got specific flood coverage on your policy. And that has to be done. Flood insurance is is provided by FEMA. It’s a federal part of the federal government. And this has to be arranged in advance of something happening. But if you are concerned about flood insurance, let us know we’ll be glad to look into that and make sure what can be done in your area. So that earthquake, earthquake is probably something that you’re considering, unless you live in California, that there’s no need to have that type of coverage. Well, that’s actually not the case. There are faults in Kentucky, and there’s false in West Virginia that that can happen that can cause serious damage to your home. And so we can talk with you about earthquake insurance, if you’d like. It’s a very good thing to have. I visit with her about earthquake insurance, every every conversation I have about homeowners insurance. And in our area, I live in central Kentucky. In our area, there are quakes that happen in Western Kentucky many years ago, there was something called the new Mandroid of pronounced mattered, not Madrid, New Madrid fault that occurred that shook up things terribly. And it was a major earthquake, larger than the San Francisco earthquake, which which we’ve heard of in history has been just a terrible thing, terrible event. Well, thankfully, in Kentucky, there were less people in the area. And it happened in kind of a rural zone that rerouted the Mississippi River, it had all sorts of things, there’s something called Real foot lake out there. All that’s because of an earthquake, it’s a real thing that really didn’t happen. Well, the the that fault is still there, and can still happen. Yes, it can still happen. If I don’t mention that to you. Shame on me. And I recommend that you visit with us. We’ll be glad to help you about that and just show you pricing. Is that something you want to consider? After I’ve talked with people about earthquake insurance? About half of them take the earthquake insurance and half of them say no, don’t want it and that’s okay. Whatever person chooses, that’s okay, as long as I’ve shared that with them, and that they can make their choice. And I’ll say that’s 50% Take it 50% Don’t take it. I’ll say that half my customers are pretty smart. I just can’t tell you which half Okay, that’s insurance humor there.
Okay, next thing, we’re gonna talk about a sinkhole. If you live in an area that’s got a lot of limestone. And here in central ticket, there’s a lot of limestone. There can be sudden sinkholes that you’ve not seen before, to where the water is leached away the foundation over a period of time. And that can be a serious problem when suddenly your house has been encroached upon by this big ol hole in your backyard that appeared out of nowhere. And is there coverage for that. In general No, there’s no coverage for that unless you pre arranged sinkhole coverage and sinkhole is available and center protected And then other places as well. And we could talk with you about that. And that really depends on your specific, your personal specific concerns. Another thing that we should mention, perhaps in passing, there’s something called Mind subsidence. That is in some counties in southern some in West Virginia and Kentucky. There’s a real need, you’re required to have mine subsidence coverage. That’s when there’s been underground mining. Many types of many, many feet below the surface that you’re not even aware of. But certain counties are required to have that coverage. And certain counties there’s, there’s no need that you cannot get that coverage. But all those things you need to look at you need to be aware of and let us know we’ll be glad to help you review your policy. Right Oakley insurance has several insurance companies to choose from and we work hard to do things right for you. So give us a call
Sinkhole Insurance
If you live in an area that has a lot of limestone, such as central Kentucky, you can be affected by sudden sinkholes. Water can wash away the foundation over a period of time and that can be a serious problem. Suddenly, your house can be in danger by a nearby sinkhole on your property.
Is there coverage for that? By default, no. There’s no coverage for that unless you add sinkhole coverage. This is something you should at least discuss with your agent at Bray & Oakley.
What is Mine Subsidence Coverage?
Mine subsidence is when there’s been underground mining nearby, many feet below the surface that you’re not even aware has happened. These areas are required to have this coverage. Yet in other areas there’s no need to get the coverage. Talk to your agent to see where your property falls in the requirements.
Claude advises, “Let us review your policy. We’ll be glad to help you determine if you have the best coverage for your situation. Bray & Oakley insurance has several insurance companies to choose from, and we work hard to do things right for you. So give us a call.”
Equipment Breakdown Coverage
Equipment Breakdown in home can be very expensive to replace or repair. HVAC units, hot water tanks, dishwashers, stoves, and refrigerators are some examples of equipment that could possibly break down. Some of these items have a manufacturer’s warranty; others could possibly be covered under a special coverage.
Underground service line Coverage
There’s something called underground service line coverage. You’ve probably received mailings from your utility company a couple of times a year to tell you just add this to your billing each month and we will protect you from underground service line damage to your property between your house and the main service provider. There’s a possibility that your homeowners policy could have that coverage on it as well.
00:13
We’re talking about your homeowners policy. And I’ve got my doc page right here. Hopefully you’ve got yours available that you can check on some things. I’d like to visit about some other coverages that may be on your policy, or they may not be on your policy that you might check with your agent about. And I’ll just tell you, we’re glad to review your policies. And we’re glad to talk talk through potential coverages for you. These are some things that if if your claim was to occur, you would be very glad that you had this this coverage, these are additional things. And sometimes you’ll find this type of coverage under a packages, packages of coverages or options that you have. I’m speaking of Equipment Breakdown, that’d be where there would be a mysterious type of loss to your equipment, like HVAC equipment, any type of electronic system in your home, and it suddenly stopped working under normal circumstances, you would have to be showing, it would have to have shown an event that occurred that to be an insurance claim, if it just stopped working. In many cases, if it just stops working, because it’s old, or deteriorate or whatever, then sorry, that’s not covered up. There’s a manufacturer’s warranty. But it’s possible if you’ve got Equipment Breakdown coverage on your homeowners policy, it’s possible for that to be considered. Now I’m not right now making a blank statement, or every time it will be whatever. I’m not saying that, because I have to use general statements in this type of video. But your specific thing might be different, but Look carefully. There’s an Equipment Breakdown coverage on your policy. If so, you might also find that your HVAC unit that stopped working suddenly, May will be covered by that. But there’s there’s things that you need to do steps that you need to take the first thing if you do have that concern, call your current agent and find out about that, if you’d had that occur. If you’ve not had that to occur, and you just want to visit about it. Let us know we can talk through things with you. And see if you that’d be something you’d be interested in having. Also, there’s something called underground service line coverage, you will probably receive mailings from your utility companies a couple of times a year to tell you just add this to your billing each month. And we will protect you for underground service line damage to your to your property between your house and and the main drain or the main whatever system out in the road. There’s a possibility that your homeowners policy could have that coverage on it as well. Underground service line coverage covers different types of utilities or water, sewage, electricity, cable, things like that. It’s between your house and the street. And the specifics, we can give you more specifics on if you’d like. But in general look for that, to be on your policy most often is is not there. But let us know we’ll be going to be glad to show you this. Identity theft is another one that is a form of loss. It’s something that might be electronic in nature as how they got to your identity. But what has occurred has been a real loss to you financially. And it’s possible that your homeowner’s policy might have that type of coverage on there as well. And look for look for your deck page, or give us a call. We’ll talk through it with you. There’s also something called Cyber coverage, which is a type of bet in depth as well. It’s just another step up that some of the companies are recognizing and providing additional funds to help you recover from your loss of an asset which is your identity and perhaps some expenses involved with that. Some other coverage would be water, backup sewer, sewer and drain backup. And this would be not groundwater, groundwater that affects your home. That’s a type of flood and that’s a different item that we need to discuss at another time. But this will be one inside your home. The drain from the sewer or inset from the commode just came up and and overflowed with with stuff from the city that is missing. That may be on your policy and may not be on your policy look for it. If it’s not on your policy, chances are being excluded item they will not be covered item but sewer and drain backup can be very messy. And I’ll just give you a tip that I talked with my insurance my clients about that is this. How nice is your lowest floor? If you’ve got a very nice, finished basement, or your first level is your last floor you’re your main reinforce your lowest floor, and how’s your furnishings in there? If that’s got, you know, the black water element, what how much of a problem is for you? That’s a significant problem. So consider that coverage. And again, when you’re looking at these these in your, in your documents, look for sewer and drain backup. If you have questions about this, we’re glad to get more specific with you. We’re glad to do so.
Claude 05:26
And we at Bray & Oakley, have several companies to work with. We’re independent agents. And that helps a lot and we’re here to help you. So give us a call.
