What does home insurance cover?

Insurance makes sure you’re covered if the worst happens, but for home insurance, the coverage you need will depend on where you live and the nature of your home. Carefully consider all of your options to help build a home insurance policy customized to your needs.

What home insurance coverage can I get?

What other coverage add-ons can I get?

What does home insurance cover?

Most base homeowners insurance policies are made up of the following coverage elements:

• Dwelling. Covers the structure of your home, such as the ceilings, floors, roof and walls. It also covers items that are permanently attached to your home, like windows and doors.
• Other structures. Protects other structures on your property, like sheds, fences and mailboxes.
• Personal property. Provides compensation for damaged or lost personal property anywhere in the world, if it belongs to your home. High-value belongings like jewelry, high-tech electronics and fine art aren’t covered and should be scheduled separately as part of a rider or individual policy.
• Loss of use. If your home becomes unlivable because of damage, this coverage provides compensation for any food and lodging costs that are more than your typical living expenses.
• Personal liability. If negligence causes an injury to a guest or damages their property, this covers compensation for them.

What home insurance coverage add-ons can I get?

Depending on where you live and what kind of house you own, you may want to consider this additional protection:

• Medical payments. Covers any medical costs for anyone who is injured on your property, regardless of who is at fault.
• Identity theft protection. This protection sometimes comes with a credit monitoring service. But it only applies if your personal information is used to defraud or open new accounts, which according to the Department of Justice, only makes up 6.6% of cases.
• Natural disasters protections. Often your standard policy doesn’t cover natural disasters like floods or earthquakes, but you can elect to purchase endorsements that provide this protection.
• Scheduled personal property. This add-on is designed for high-value personal property. It allows you to submit appraised values so that you can insure items individually and be covered for their full value.
• Equipment breakdown. Covers damaged appliances, home systems and smart home devices.
• Siding protection. Under a standard policy, only damaged siding is replaced. But if weather or age has caused the colors to fade, or if your original siding isn’t available anymore, this add-on provides extra money to help replace all of the siding so that the colors and textures match.
• Sump pump and water backup coverage. With this addition to your policy, flooding damages caused by sump pump failures or backups are covered.

Compare home insurance companies

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Name	Product	Storm & water backup	Valuable property	Enhanced rebuild	Homeshare coverage	Available states
Lemonade home insurance						AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, GA, IL, IN, IA, MD, MA, MI, MO, NV, NJ, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, TN, TX, VA, WI	Enjoy straightforward pricing, transparent flat fee from this completely digital insurer.	Go to site More Info	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Allstate home insurance						All 50 states	Protect your home and belongings and save even more by bundling insurance with Allstate.	Go to site More Info	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
USAA home insurance						All 50 states	Enjoy great rates and wide coverage with USAA. Available to military members and family.	Go to site More Info	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Policygenius home insurance						All 50 states	This online marketplace does most of the work for you, matching you with quotes from 14 highly rated home insurers.	More Info	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Liberty Mutual home insurance						All 50 states	Invest in affordable insurance that protects your home and your property from damage no matter where you live.	Go to site More Info	Compare	loading Fetching your data...

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Home insurance coverage breakdown

For a standard homeowners policy, you can expect to pay around $35 per $100,000 value of your home, depending on where you live. And if you’re carrying a mortgage on the property, your bank can dictate what kind of coverage is required while you pay off the loan.

Below we’ve listed out common insurance coverages with estimates of their cost. Keep in mind that these are estimates and may not be accurate to where you live.

Bottom line

The nice thing about homeowners insurance is that it’s customizable to your needs. To best compare home insurance policies, balance out what kind of coverage you’re looking for with the amount that fits your budget. And don’t forget to ask about available discounts.

Common questions about home insurance coverage

• What kinds of discounts can I get on my homeowners policy?

  Every insurance company offers discounts, here are some to ask about:

  • Bundled insurance. Bundle your home policy with any other insurance offered at your insurance company and you can typically save 20% or more.
  • Generational discount. If your parents have a policy at your insurance company, you could qualify for a discount.
  • Home renovation. Replacing the roof or one of the major systems in your house, such as plumbing or electrical, within a certain number of years can earn you this discount.
  • Loyalty. Once you’ve been a customer for at least a year, ask your agent if you’re eligible for a discount.
  • New home. Some companies offer discounts on newer homes.
  • Smart home. To snag this discount, install smart home security devices like a video doorbell or home hub device.
  • Anti-theft and safety discounts. If you’ve installed alarm systems for burglary or fire to your home, you could save with this discount.

• How is a dwelling policy different from a homeowners policy?

  For those properties that don’t qualify for a homeowners policy, a dwelling policy can be purchased separately to provide limited coverage. Dwelling policies do not always meet the bank requirements for a mortgage.

• What is a home insurance binder?

  A binder provides temporary immediate coverage while a homeowners policy is being approved. This allows you to meet the insurance requirement to apply for a mortgage.

• What is the difference between actual cash value and replacement cost in homeowners insurance?

  The replacement cost is what you paid for it, or it’s appraised value. The actual cash value is the replacement cost minus depreciation. So if you bought a television five years ago for $400, it might cost you $400 to replace it, but it’s actual cash value would be depreciated over five years.