Homeowners insurance policies are long, typically 30 or more pages, most of which deal with what’s NOT covered. Surprise! Before you get to comfortable thinking that you are ‘protected’ by your homeowner’s insurance lets go over the content of that stack of papers.
A typical residential homeowners policy consists of three major parts:
- Declaration Sheet: The Declaration Sheet (“Dec Sheet”) identifies the property, time period of coverage, the coverage limits, deductibles, and the premiums of the policy.
- The Insurance Policy: In Texas, the homeowner’s insurance policy language must be approved by the Texas Department of Insurance. The most common approved form for residential homes is called the Texas Homeowners Policy Form A. Form A contains definitions, losses insured against, exclusions, deductibles, conditions, and your obligations when filing a claim.
- Endorsements: Endorsements are changes that either adds or deletes provisions in the approved form. For example, the Policy Form A might say there is coverage for windstorm damage, but an Endorsement may say that wind damage to awnings or antennas is not covered.
To determine what your Policy covers and what it does not cover you have to read all three sections together. This is a difficult and tedious task, but something that must be done BEFORE you have a loss. For example, a policy may put a limit on the amount of jewelry that will be covered, or there may be a limit or exclusion for business equipment. If you know about the “holes” in coverage, many times you can get the extra coverage from your insurance agent for a small increase in premium. The best time to do this is when you buy a policy or at renewal time.
Part of your insurance premium goes to pay your insurance agent. You are entitled to have the agent explain what is or is not covered by the policy, and what options you have to get more and better coverage. Use this resource.
A good overview of the terms and conditions in a home insurance policy can be found at: https://www.investopedia.com/insurance/homeowners-insurance-guide/.
If you need assistance in determining what your insurance policy covers or does not cover, or if you need help in making a claim, call the Law Office of Elliott Klein for a consultation.