{"id":13529,"date":"2023-05-25T06:12:08","date_gmt":"2023-05-25T10:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/news\/how-your-homeowners-insurance-can-bail-you-out-in-some-surprising-situations\/"},"modified":"2023-05-25T06:12:09","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T10:12:09","slug":"how-your-homeowners-insurance-can-bail-you-out-in-some-surprising-situations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=13529","title":{"rendered":"How your homeowners insurance can bail you out in some surprising situations"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

This <\/em>article<\/em> is reprinted by permission from <\/em>NerdWallet<\/em>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

You probably already know that homeowners insurance covers your house and everything in it, but there\u2019s actually a lot more to your policy. Depending on the circumstances, your homeowners insurance could also pay for a hotel stay, a suitcase stolen on vacation or even a lawyer to defend you in a lawsuit. Here\u2019s a peek at a few useful features that might be available in your policy.<\/p>\n

\n

1. Living expenses if your home is damaged<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Say an electrical fire leaves your home unsafe to live in. You don\u2019t have to pay out of pocket for a hotel or crash on a friend\u2019s couch for months on end while waiting for repairs.<\/p>\n

Instead, turn to your\u00a0loss of use coverage. This part of your policy can help you \u201cmaintain your normal standard of living,\u201d says Justin Skipton, a vice president for the National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters.<\/p>\n

For example, your policy could pay for an extended-stay hotel or a rental apartment where you can have a full kitchen plus space for kids and pets, Skipton says. You can also get reimbursed for things like extra transportation costs if your rental home is farther away from work or school.<\/p>\n

Your insurer will often cap your expenses at a certain percentage of your dwelling coverage limit, says Alaina Hixson, director of sales and operations at The Churchill Agency in Brentwood, Tennessee.<\/p>\n

So if you have $200,000 of insurance on the structure of your house and your loss of use coverage is 20%, you\u2019d have up to $40,000 to put toward living expenses while you\u2019re away from home. Time limits may apply, such as 12 or 24 months.<\/p>\n

Note that your costs should be reasonable. \u201cIf your $150,000 house burns down, you\u2019re not going to be able to stay at The Ritz-Carlton or some high-end hotel for a year while you rebuild,\u201d says Rich Johnson, director of communications for the Insurance Council of Texas.<\/p>\n

Also see:<\/strong> U.S. house prices experience the largest yearly decline since January 2012<\/p>\n

2. Your belongings away from home<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If someone breaks into your hotel room and steals your stuff while you\u2019re on vacation, your homeowners insurance may pay to replace the lost items.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost insurance policies give you coverage for your personal property anywhere in the world,\u201d Skipton says. \u201cBut sometimes they\u2019ll limit the amount of that coverage.\u201d<\/p>\n

For instance, your coverage amount for items outside your home may be 10% of your total limit for\u00a0personal property coverage. If your belongings are insured for $100,000, you\u2019ll have $10,000 worth of coverage for items outside your home.<\/p>\n

In addition to travel, this coverage could be useful if you have stuff in a storage unit or a child living in a college dorm. Check with your agent or read your policy to see what limitations apply.<\/p>\n

Note that personal property coverage generally comes with a\u00a0deductible, an amount subtracted from your claim payout. So if someone steals your $500 laptop from a cafe but you have a $1,000 deductible, you won\u2019t get any benefit from filing a claim.<\/p>\n

Also on MarketWatch:<\/strong> Kia and Hyundai settlement: See if you qualify for part of the $200 million payout<\/p>\n

3. Lawsuits and liability claims<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Few homeowners expect to be sued \u2014 but if you are, your insurance company might have your back.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0personal liability\u00a0section of your policy covers you if a member of your household is responsible for someone else\u2019s injury or property damage. That could include scenarios like your dog biting someone at the park or a delivery person slipping on your icy front steps. Your policy can cover medical expenses as well as lost wages if the injured person has to miss work, Johnson says.<\/p>\n

If the other person sues you instead of just filing a claim, your insurance company will generally pay to defend you in court, Hixson says. It will also cover legal damages up to your policy limit.<\/p>\n

Note that some companies won\u2019t insure dog breeds they consider aggressive, such as pit bulls, Johnson says. And liability coverage covers accidents or negligence \u2014 not crimes or intentional harm to others.<\/p>\n

Plus<\/strong>: Americans can now put a lot more in health savings accounts. Here\u2019s how much they can invest.<\/p>\n

4. Unusual losses<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Homeowners insurance also covers a few oddities, including space debris and burial plots in cemeteries.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a satellite falls on your home, you\u2019re covered,\u201d Johnson says. That\u2019s because standard homeowners insurance pays for damage from falling objects. Meteors and asteroids could also fall into this category.<\/p>\n

In addition, your policy may cover headstones, mausoleums and other grave markers that you\u2019re responsible for, Skipton says. For example, if you purchased a memorial for your deceased spouse and someone vandalized it, your policy could pay for repairs.<\/p>\n

Your own homeowners policy may hold even more surprises. To discover them \u2014 and to make sure you have the coverage that\u2019s most important to you \u2014 reach out to your agent, Hixson says. \u201cMake sure you\u2019re asking questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

More From NerdWallet<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sarah Schlichter writes for NerdWallet. Email: sschlichter@nerdwallet.com.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article is reprinted by permission from NerdWallet.\u00a0 You probably already know that homeowners insurance covers your house and everything in it, but there\u2019s actually a lot more to your policy. Depending on the circumstances, your homeowners insurance could also pay for a hotel stay, a suitcase stolen on vacation or even a lawyer to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[236],"tags":[83],"class_list":["post-13529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-featured","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"yoast_head":"\nHow your homeowners insurance can bail you out in some surprising situations | iFintechWorld<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This article is reprinted by permission from NerdWallet.\u00a0 You probably already know that homeowners insurance covers your house and everything in it, but\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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