Is Your Home Covered for Disaster?

With hurricane season approaching and any number of home threats waiting in the wings, it’s wise to take a closer look at your home insurance coverage. Many home insurers are minimizing their exposure to risk by trimming out standard elements that would otherwise do the same for you. Meanwhile, the premium for what’s left in your policy could rise dramatically, and you’ll be spending even more if you have to buy supplemental coverage to replace what’s subtracted from your basic policy.

Home insurance changes tend to creep in at policy renewal time, so if you’re about due for yours, be alert. Here are the top three kinds of coverage that are beginning to disappear from standard policies.

Home infrastructure: Your home’s foundation, roof and sewers are all at risk for reduced coverage. As a result, the cost of recovering from a leak or water backup can be much higher than you’d expect, and help for repairing a damaged roof depends on the kind of storm that’s done the damage.

Wind damage: Coverage for damage caused by strong winds or hurricanes is being dropped from many policies. Also be aware of any anti-concurrent causation clauses in your policy, which void coverage for wind damage if a flood or other non-covered event happens about the same time.

Sinkholes: Having the ground fall out from under your home can be a costly shock, especially with the reduced personal liability coverage and rising deductibles associated with sinkholes. Depending on where you live, there could also be a shrinking window of time in which to file a sinkhole claim, and a strict classification of sinkholes as structural damage.