Property Damage & Homeowners Insurance

At ASJ we work with insurance companies every day to provide a good number of our services. Nearly all of our property damage restoration work is paid out by a homeowners insurance company. But a lot of the time the deductibles can really hurt a family’s finances, or even worse, the policy won’t cover the damage at all! As a certified restoration company we highly recommend having solid insurance coverage that fits with your needs, but knowing what that is can be difficult.

So, What Does Homeowners Insurance Cover?

Well, we aren’t an insurance company so we turned to the experts. Joe Duffy from Duffy Insurance provided this insightful information for us.

Broadly speaking, insurance covers you for potential loss resulting from risks such as burglary or theft, severe storms, fire and also your personal liability. The specific risks you may face as a home owner could include floods and earthquakes, which you must cover with separate policies, as these disasters are not included in home insurance.

Your home liability coverage protects you in the event that someone is injured on your premises or you are responsible for damage to someone else’s property. You homeowners insurance can even protect you against injury you cause to another person off-premises under certain circumstances. Note that liability insurance will not cover acts of violence or intentional damage.

Your liability insurance would also typically provide coverage if:

• Your child throws a baseball through the neighbor’s window
• Your dog bites a visitor to your home
• A visitor is injured on your backyard swing set or trampoline, or by falling on your icy sidewalk
• A dinner guest gets food poisoning and is hospitalized

If someone files a liability claim against you, your insurance can pay for property repairs, medical or funeral costs or even a lawsuit if the injured party chooses to launch a legal process.

When evaluating the amount of liability coverage that makes the most sense for you, be sure to fully discuss your limits and deductibles with your agent. Take time to understand your risks, and determine whether you will be well covered in various circumstances. In the event of a disaster, the costs of recovering can devastate household finances. Quality home insurance can make a difficult situation bearable and help you get your life back on track.

So make sure you evaluate your homeowners insurance closely with an experienced professional. It might make a major difference if you were to face tragic issues like flood damage, fire damage or just an undercooked chicken breast!