Do you have an old shed on your premises? Did you just put up a new 30’x 40’ storage garage? Are you operating a new business out of your garage? Do you board someone’s horses in an outbuilding on your premises? And most importantly, do you know if your homeowner’s insurance provides coverage for these buildings, and if so, is that coverage enough?
Recently a neighbor’s tree demolished their garage in a storm. Not only was it the homeowner’s liability due to being an act of nature, but then the homeowner learned that their “outbuilding limit” didn’t cover the damage. Like most homeowners, they purchased their insurance when we bought our home and then never looked at the policy again.
Lesson learned. Routinely evaluate your insurance needs to ensure your policy covers everything you may need.
Most homeowner’s policies automatically provide coverage for “Other Structures” on your premises. However, there’s a limitation on the amount that would be paid if there’s a loss to the structures. The amount covered would typically be not more than 10% of the limit of liability that applies to your home.
So does your policy provide enough coverage to replace your “Other Structure(s)”? If not, you can purchase additional coverage by adding the form – Other Structures-Additional Limit to your policy.
It’s possible your insurance company may want to limit coverages on some structures, like an old barn. In that case, many insurance companies may only offer actual cash value coverage and limit the amount it will pay for a loss. Or there may be a structure on your premises that’s in poor condition. The insurance company may choose to exclude this structure from coverage until it’s repaired.