Home Insurance Coverages

You want to select the home coverage that meets your needs at a price that best fits your budget. Since the proper protection looks different for everyone, we offer various coverage options, plus additional protection at an extra cost.  

Homeowners insurance provides the following types of protection when your insured home is damaged by a covered event (known as a peril).

Dwelling coverage

Dwelling coverage provides home insurance protection for your home as a primary structure. A critical part of your home insurance protection,  dwelling coverage protects the actual structure, walls, and flooring. It also protects other items that are permanently affixed to your home, like cabinets, countertops, fireplaces and more. 

Other structures coverage

Other structures coverage, also called Auxiliary Private Structures coverage, provides protection for structures on your property such as fences, detached garages and sheds. 

Personal Property coverage

Personal property coverage provides protection for the items in your home. This includes your belongings such as your furniture, clothing and appliances when they're damaged or destroyed in a covered event.  

Additional living expense coverage

If your home is damaged by a covered event and uninhabitable while it is being repaired or rebuilt, additional living expense coverage provides you with money to cover temporary living expenses.  

Liability coverage

Home insurance also provides financial protection in case someone who is not a member of your household is injured while on your property or if you cause damage to the property of others. Known as liability coverage, it helps pay legal bills for lawsuits filed by those injured at your home (Example¹: Your child’s friend is injured on your trampoline, or a visitor is seriously injured when they trip on a rug and fall down your stairs). It also helps pay costs associated with damage to someone else’s property. (Example¹: If you hit a golf ball through someone’s window.)

Medical Payments coverage

Like with liability coverage, medical payments coverage protects you when other people are injured on your property or when you or a member of your household cause injury to others. As you would expect, medical payments coverage helps pay medical bills for those who are injured in your home, on your property, or even off your insured property.

When buying home insurance, you can decide what type of events (perils) to protect your home (dwelling coverage) and personal property from. You can choose from two coverage levels: 

Standard coverage 

Standard coverage, also known as broad form, protects from common causes of loss, called perils. This includes fire, lightning, wind/hail, freezing pipes, theft, vandalism and more. These causes of loss are specifically named in your home insurance policy and are the typical types of events you would expect homeowners insurance to cover. Ask your rep about specific coverage limits for certain items.

Premier coverage 

This coverage level, also known as the risk of direct physical loss, expands protection beyond that list of perils to other events that could cause damage to your home and your belongings.  Because we’re defining this coverage as “events that are not specifically named in your policy,” we’re supplying a couple of examples¹:  

Dropping a bucket of bleach 

If you were cleaning your home or bringing in groceries and dropped a gallon of bleach that splattered causing damage to your walls and carpet and your brand-new couch, this would not be covered at the Standard level. But if you had selected Premier on your Dwelling coverage, your wall and flooring damage would be covered, and if you had selected Premier on your Personal Property coverage, your furniture would have been covered.  

A power surge damages your electronics

If a power surge occurred and damaged or destroyed your theater system, computer(s) or other high-value electronic equipment and you had Standard coverage on your Personal Property, your homeowners insurance would not replace or repair that equipment. If you had Premier protection on your Personal Property, it would be protected.

Note: You will choose Standard or Premier coverage levels for both your Dwelling coverage and Personal Property coverage, and you do not need to choose the same protection for both.

While your home insurance will have a dwelling coverage limit when you buy your policy, you choose how depreciation and inflation will affect your coverage if you have a claim. Known as settlement options, you’ll select either actual cash value or replacement cost coverage.  

Actual Cash Value 

If you select Actual Cash Value (ACV) protection and you have a claim, your home or belongings value will include depreciation. That means the age of your property and wear and tear will reduce the property value.

Replacement Cost 

If you select Replacement Cost protection and you have a claim, your property will be valued at the cost necessary to repair or replace your home or belongings using similar kind and quality materials or items. It does not subtract for depreciation, so it’s based on today’s costs to restore, rebuild or replace your property. 

Talk with your insurance agent about additional protection against inflation so you can select the right home insurance for your situation. 

Added protection against the impact of inflation

Replacement Cost coverage assures your property value isn’t reduced for depreciation. However, if the cost to repair or rebuild your home has increased (inflation), you could still have a gap between what the insurance claim pays and the cost to rebuild, repair or replace your property. 

Talk to your insurance agent about two additional levels of dwelling protection - Extended Replacement Cost² (up to 120% over coverage limits) and our Guaranteed Replacement Cost coverage², also known as Additional Replacement Cost coverage, that has no cap and assures you will be able to rebuild regardless of the cost of building materials and labor. 

Answer these questions to help prep for that meeting: 

• Do you have a home inventory? If not, create a home inventory for insurance claims in less than 10 minutes.
• Do you run a business out of your home?
• What year was your home built?
• Have you made upgrades to your home? 
• Do you own a pool, trampoline, or playground set?
• What is the square footage of your home?
• Do you own a monitored central station burglar or fire alarm system?
• Do you have a finished basement or a sump pump?

The coverage included in your home insurance policy provides the core protection, but some of the coverages have limits. Based on your needs, you may need to add protection, known as endorsements, to your home insurance policy or even buy additional policies. Here are coverage options to consider and talk with your insurance agent about:  

• Scheduled personal property – Additional coverage for high-value items, collectibles, jewelry and more. 
• Sump pump and sewer back up coverage – Endorsement to cover water damage  
• Earthquake coverage 
• Flood Insurance 
• Umbrella insurance – Additional liability coverage 
• Service Line ³ - Additional coverage for the exterior underground piping and wiring connected to your home. 
• Identity theft coverage