Common Myths About Insuring A House

By Author: Marcus Stalder
Total Articles: 491
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There is a set of myths that surrounds different types of insurance. Some of these myths can be harmless yet others can lead to serious misunderstandings and lack of coverage, which will force you to pay for the damage out own pocket. So if you don't want to rely on myths and need hard facts, here are some of the most common misunderstandings about insuring one's house and the truth behind each of them.

Myth: Flood damage is covered by standard policies.

Fact: You will never have flood damage covered by a standard homeowners insurance policy no matter what provider you're buying from. It always requires a separate insurance policy or a weaver to be purchased in order to be covered against floods.

Myth: The medical payment provided by the homeowners insurance policy will cover me and my family in case of injury.

Fact: The medical payment portion of the policy has a whole different purpose. It's included with standard policies in order to pay for the medical costs to third parties subjected to injuries within your property. Say a visitor or a neighbor gets injured while being in your house. The medical ...
... payment will settle the costs and eliminate the risk of being sued by the third party. In case you or any of your family members are injured on your property it's the health insurance policy that will settle the medical costs.

Myth: The insurance company will pay for everything I tell them in case my house is completely destroyed.

Fact: If your house gets destroyed and it's impossible to indicate the items that were lost the insurance company will require you to provide a list of all the items with exact purchase date, price and serial number. And it's evident that if you will start making up things you risk getting denied coverage because of fraud. That's why you should always keep a detailed inventory of your house contents when you have home insurance.

Myth: If any valuables (such as jewelry) will be stolen the policy will cover their entire value.

Fact: All policies have a limit on how much coverage can be provided on lost jewelry. These limits usually vary from $1,5000 to $2,000 depending on the company. If you feel like that's not enough to reimburse the price of valuable were they stolen or destroyed you will need to purchase an additional coverage for each item with exact value of coverage to make sure that everything is insured adequately.

Myth: The policy will cover damage caused by poor maintenance.

Fact: Home insurance policies of any types do not provide coverage on damage caused by poor maintenance. So you will have to make sure that your house gets all the minor fixes on time. Because, otherwise the insurance company may deny your claim if they find out that a plumbing leak or fire were caused by simple wear and tear you didn't address.

Myth: The amount of coverage should be equal to the price I've purchased my home with.

Fact: The purchasing price of your home is a wrong way to go when determining the exact amount of coverage you should get with your home insurance policy because construction prices fluctuate significantly. Instead you should take your overall square and multiply it by current local construction prices per square foot. This way you will get a figure that will reflect the cost of rebuilding your house from scratch were it destroyed the next day.