When you take out a Greensboro home
insurance policy you're protecting yourself from a great many financial risks
you could potentially suffer should your home or property fall prey to a wide
range perils. Your Greensboro home insurance coverage is designed to compensate you should your home suffer
“sudden and unexpected” damage from perils such as fire or storms. It will also
pay, within policy limits, for your personal possessions should they be damaged
or destroyed in any covered peril or should they be stolen or vandalized.
Homeowners insurance policies also typically
have a specified amount of liability coverage that will help protect your
financial interests in the event you become the subject of a lawsuit from
someone who has become injured on your property, if you're required to pay
their medical bills or even if your dog goes next door and bites your neighbor.
What your policy won't pay, however, is claims stemming from termite damage.
This is the case in most home insurance policies, although there are a few
exceptions where you might be compensated under certain conditions. Read your
policy carefully and consult with your agent if in doubt.
Termites are Neither Sudden Nor Unexpected
From your insurer's perspective, anything
that damages your home that could have been prevented by proper maintenance is
not a covered peril. This also holds true for other types of insect, bird or
critter damage. Termite damage is considered
preventable by:
- Proper and regular
inspections
- Proper steps taken to
preclude or stop an already developed infestation
- Regular maintenance to
ensure the problem doesn't return
When is Termite Damage Covered by Your Insurance?
There are two instances in which termite damage will likely be covered by
your Greensboro home insurance coverage but, just to be sure, consult your
policy and your agent or broker. You'll probably receive compensation in the
event that:
- Your house sustains a
total collapse from termite damage
- A risk or peril for which
you're covered in your policy is proven to be the cause of the termites.
Linking the peril to the cause of the termites many be tricky, and you
probably want to hire a professional to assess the situation. You should
also have already filed a previous claim on the initial peril you're
claiming caused the termites to invade your home. As always, every home
insurance policy is different. Speak to your agent for any needed
clarification.
Anyone familiar with the Woody Woodpecker
character from Walter Lance's popular cartoon show that debuted in 1957 will
remember what a pain in the neck that bird could be. Those having to deal with
a real woodpecker that's in their living environment can identify with the
incessant tap-tap-tapping of these birds' beaks in wood, which is one of the
unmistakable traits that give away the identity of the species. You imagine the
sounds as being evidence that the winged creature is busily looking for food in
the form of insects in or under the bark of nearby trees. Actually, searching
for food is just one of the reasons woodpeckers peck. They also use their beaks
to create nesting holes, usually in dead or dying trees, and to announce their
presence to claim territory and to attract mates.
What if It's Not a Tree?
One problem with woodpeckers is that they
would just as soon peck on a built structure as they would a tree if one's
available, and if that structure happens to be your home you may suffer
structural damage to go along with the aggravating tap-tap-tapping. Woodpeckers
are known to peck at metal as well as wood, since the louder the noise they can
create the more efficient they become in the mating ritual and in staking out
their territory. They can cause a great deal of damage if allowed to peck
unchecked, in which case you may find yourself wanting to file an insurance
claim on your Greensboro home insurance policy to recover costs of repair.
Unfortunately, this claim will most likely be denied.
What Your Greensboro Home Insurance Policy Covers
Your homeowners insurance is meant to
compensate you for certain damaging effects from natural disasters, significant
structural damage caused by things like fires or wind storms and loss or damage
of possessions as a result of burglary or vandalism. Most policies also provide
a specified amount of financial protection for liability lawsuits if someone
gets injured while on your property.
Insect, rodent and bird damage, however, is
generally not covered by homeowners insurance, as these things are considered
to be maintenance issues. While it's true that woodpeckers can cause
significant damage to your home, proper inspection, prevention and maintenance
steps will allow you to avoid woodpecker infestation. Several methods exist
that are helpful in alleviating a woodpecker problem. You can read about some of them here.
Understanding your Greensboro home insurance policy can be tedious, since it's a legal document with
lots of big words and plenty of small print. The basics, however, should be
easy enough to understand, especially if you ask your agent to walk you through
it. The fact is, many or most policyholders don't take the time to read through
their entire homeowners policies, but it can't hurt to know what you've got,
especially if you have occasion to file a claim.
What Most Policies Cover
A typical Greensboro home insurance policy
provides three forms of protection:
- Protection from financial
loss due to the damage or destruction of your home from any of the stated
perils in the policy
- Protection from financial
loss due to the damage or destruction of the personal possessions in your
house and on your property
- Protection from financial
loss due to being found liable for someone being injured while on your
property. This liability coverage also typically extends to you, your
family members and your pets if they cause property damage or injury to
someone while away from your home.
Structural Coverage
A typical homeowners insurance policy covers
the structure of your home against damage from a stated list of perils such as
fire, windstorms, water damage (except flooding), hail, civil disturbances,
explosions, theft and vandalism. You can insure the structure one of three
ways:
- Replacement
cost – pays for the cost of replacement without subtracting
any amount for depreciation. The maximum dollar amount payable will be
limited.
- Extended
replacement cost – this coverage allows for paying a certain amount
above the previously stated payment limit. Typically this extra allowance
is for 20%. This protects against sudden construction cost increases in a
certain area where widespread damage has occurred to many homes.
- Actual
cash value – this coverage pays for replacement costs minus an
amount factored in for depreciation and wear-and-tear.
Personal Possessions
The personal possessions found inside your
home are covered against damage, destruction or other loss such as through
theft. Your possessions may be insured
for replacement cost, meaning replacement with a similar kind
and quality of item without a deduction for depreciation. Actual cash value coverage pays a
replacement amount of the damaged or lost item minus depreciation.
There are many other items spelled out in an
insurance policy that you should know. Best advice is to get a full explanation
from your agent.
