Who this is for
Anyone who owns the place they live in, including condo owners, whose policy covers a narrower slice of the building than they usually expect. If you rent, the renters insurance page is the one you want.
What it typically covers
Dwelling. The structure itself, rebuilt at current construction costs rather than at what you paid for it.
Other structures. Detached garages, fences, sheds and driveways, usually at a percentage of the dwelling limit.
Personal property. Your contents, at replacement cost if you ask for it and actual cash value if you do not.
Liability. Injuries to visitors and damage you cause to other people’s property, anywhere.
Loss of use. Somewhere to live and eat while the house is being repaired.
Medical payments to others. Small injury costs settled without a claim against your liability.
What it usually doesn’t cover
Flood, which needs a separate policy almost everywhere
Earthquake and earth movement, including sinkholes in most states
Gradual leaks, seepage and the mould that follows them
Wear, rot, pests and anything a routine repair would have prevented
Business property and business liability run from the home, beyond a small sub-limit
Roof damage settled on actual cash value once the roof passes a certain age
The two gaps we find most
Water and limits. A sudden burst pipe is usually covered while a slow leak is not, and the difference gets decided after the fact by an adjuster, so document the date you noticed anything. On limits, most policies still carry the $100,000 or $300,000 of liability they were written with years ago. Raising that to $500,000 costs very little and is the cheapest single improvement on most home policies.
How we’d approach it
We rebuild your current coverage across our carriers, then check three numbers specifically: the dwelling limit against real local rebuild costs, the liability limit against your actual exposure, and the roof settlement basis. Those three decide whether a claim goes well.