What Exclusions Does Home Insurance Not Include?

Insurance policies are designed to protect you from a variety of risks, but they don't cover everything. Exclusions are events, hazards, accidents, or allegations that an insurance policy will not cover. Home insurance is no exception, and there are several common disasters and liabilities that aren't covered by a standard policy. Damage or loss due to floods, earthquakes, and pest infestations are just a few of the exclusions in the policy that does not cover homeowners insurance.

Homeowners insurance does not cover water damage caused by natural floods, rain, clogs in sewer pipes or sump pumps, or water that seeps from the ground and damages the foundation of the house. The fact that your home insurance covers damage caused by mold is a bit complicated, since it all depends on the root cause of the mold problem. In general, if mold is due to prolonged leaks, poor home maintenance, or natural flooding, your home insurance probably won't cover it. An exclusion is a provision of an insurance policy or bond that relates to hazards, hazards, circumstances, or assets not covered by the policy. Specially named risk policies mean that you're only covered against the 16 hazards specifically listed in your home insurance policy.

While insurance exclusions are often viewed in a negative light, they actually allow insurers to offer the broadest possible coverage, protecting your home from basically everything except for the specific causes of damage or loss listed in your policy. That means that if your distressed teen spray-paints your house, insurance won't pay to return it to its original color. Before buying a policy, it's important to learn about the most common insurance exclusions and why insurers can omit them from a policy. The final insurance policy premium for any policy is determined by the insurance company upon application. Home insurance does not cover any intentional damage or loss caused by you or a resident family member. There are some risks that insurers exclude because they can be easily mitigated or significantly reduced if the insured takes appropriate precautions or measures.

This means that if your home or other structure on your property is damaged due to any of the following causes, your home insurance company will not cover the cost of the repairs. To find out what home insurance doesn't cover, see the “exclusions” section of your home insurance policy form. In some cases, it may be a good idea to purchase an additional insurance policy to cover the gaps caused by an insurance exclusion. Damage caused by any type of war, including declared and undeclared war, civil war, nuclear war, or a fascist insurrection in the country's capital, is not covered by your home insurance policy.