What is Dwelling Coverage for Home Insurance?
Homeowner’s insurance policies typically include several coverages that are designed to protect your home and personal property from a variety of risks. Dwelling coverage, in particular, helps cover expenses related to rebuilding or repairing the physical structure of your home if it’s damaged by a covered event. To better understand your homeowner’s insurance policy, let’s take a closer look at what dwelling coverage is and what it covers.
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What Does Dwelling Insurance Cover?
Dwelling coverage covers your home’s physical structure against a variety of events that may cause severe damage.
Specific coverage varies depending on your policy, but most homeowner’s insurance policies include coverage against:
- Fire
- Lightning
- Wind
- Sleet
- Hail
- Explosions
- Theft
- Vandalism
- Falling objects
- Frozen plumbing or other utilities
If these events or any other events listed in your insurance policy damage the structure of your home, your homeowner’s insurance may reimburse you for damages up to your dwelling coverage limit as stated in your policy.
What isn’t covered?
There are some common events that are not included in dwelling coverage, including:
- Flooding
- Sewage backups
- Earthquakes
- Intentional losses
- Sinkholes
Depending on the location of your home, you may need to purchase other insurance policies, like flood insurance, to protect your home against risks not included in your homeowner’s insurance policy.
Also, keep in mind that dwelling coverage does not include detached structures, such as sheds, pool houses, detached garages, and similar structures.
What is a Dwelling?
Most insurance policies consider your dwelling to be the structure of the home itself, all built-in appliances, and other structures that are attached to your home. Detached structures and personal property inside your home are not covered by dwelling coverage. These items are covered by other coverages listed in your insurance policy.
If any of the covered events listed in your insurance policy damage your home’s structure or any attached structures, you can file a claim for reimbursement.
Coverage for Structures That Are Not Part of Your Dwelling
If your property has detached structures that aren’t connected to your home, such as a detached garage or shed, you need “other structures” coverage to cover damages.
Like dwelling coverage, “other structures” coverage typically does not cover certain events like floods or earthquakes, so you’ll need to purchase additional coverages to protect against these hazards.
Dwelling Insurance Coverage Limits
Like most homeowner’s insurance coverages, dwelling coverage is subject to coverage limits. These determine how much your policy will pay for losses if your home is damaged due to a covered hazard.
You choose your coverage limit when you purchase your homeowner’s insurance policy, and it should generally be based on the total cost to rebuild your home. Your dwelling coverage limit may also impact your other homeowner’s insurance coverage limits.
“Other structures” coverage, for example, typically carries a coverage limit that is 10% of your dwelling coverage limit. If your dwelling coverage limit is $400,000, your other structures coverage limit will typically be $40,000.
Your dwelling coverage will likely also be subject to a deductible, which is the amount you must pay out-of-pocket before your insurance policy begins paying for damages. It’s important for homeowners to carefully review their policy limits and deductibles to understand what damages they may have to pay for out-of-pocket if their homes are damaged by a covered disaster.
How Much Dwelling Insurance Do I Need?
Dwelling coverage is usually determined by the total cost required to rebuild your home. Typically, current construction, materials, and labor costs are considered to determine this cost.
You should also consider your home’s replacement cost when determining how much coverage you need. Your home’s replacement cost is determined by several factors, including the number of rooms, square footage, architectural style, number of stories, and other characteristics.
Request a Quote
Dwelling coverage is a key component of homeowner’s insurance that covers damage to your home’s structure and attached structures.
At KSA Insurance, we help residents in South Carolina and throughout the southeastern United States find affordable homeowner’s insurance policies that provide comprehensive coverage and peace of mind.
Contact us today to request a quote and learn more about our homeowner insurance offerings.
