While you hope to never experience a home fire, having property insurance usually protects you in case of damage and losses. Property insurance coverage usually includes damage to your house, your belongings inside and temporary living expenses you may incur as your property is undergoing fire damage cleanup and repair. Most policies also cover damage to detached structures such as sheds and garages. Some may even address fire damage to trees and other plants in your yard. Before you ever have to deal with a fire in Jackson, MS it’s important to know what is and isn’t covered in the event of a fire.
What Isn’t Covered by Property Insurance?
Most property insurance policies do not cover the following:
Arson. This is when a home is set on fire deliberately by the policyholder and it’s an act of fraud.
Vacant home fire. If the property has been unoccupied for more than 30 consecutive days at the time of the incident. You can purchase separate coverage for vacant properties.
Home fire due to war or nuclear damage.
An auto insurance policy would cover fire damage to cars and trucks.
Familiarize yourself with the terms of your policy and look into securing additional coverage if your existing policy falls short in any way.
What Type of Payout Does Your Plan Offer?
You also need to know if your insurance plan pays replacement cost or actual cash value (ACV) for your home fire losses. ACV coverage only pays you the cash value of your items at the time of damage, which may be significantly less than the cost to replacement. Imagine losing a sofa that you’ve owned for several years. It may have cost you $2000 at the time of purchase, but it would be worth less when the fire occurred and could cost more to replace. Replacement cost policies are usually 10% more expensive than ACV plans. You’ll rest a little easier with a property insurance plan that covers replacement costs as well as fire damage cleanup and restoration.