Does Home Insurance Cover Wind Damage?

It doesn't take a catastrophic event to cause serious damage to your property. High winds, even in the absence of a named storm, can cause damage to your home. The time to make sure you are covered in the event of wind damage is now, before it occurs. Here's what you need to know about this type of insurance.

What Is Wind Damage Insurance?

Wind damage insurance, also called windstorm coverage, provides protection in the event that your property is damaged by high winds. Such winds may develop in relation to a thunderstorm, hurricane or tornado. Sometimes, even a blizzard or hail can result in damage to your home. For example, if high winds knock a tree into your home or hail breaks your windows, wind damage insurance typically covers that. It usually won't, however, cover the removal of trees that fall in your yard without damaging your home or hail that damages your car.

Standard Home Insurance Policies

Whether or not you are covered for wind damage depends on the terms of your policy. In some states, standard policies do include wind damage coverage. Check your policy to determine whether yours does, or contact an insurance professional to discuss your needs and coverage. This review and discussion is important for the following reasons:

• Coverage can differ depending on the insurance company you choose.
• Your policy may include coverage exceptions that affect your protection in the event of wind damage.
• Deductibles on Tampa home insurance policies vary. A higher deductible means more out-of-pocket expenses for repairs.
• Wind damage coverage is often excluded from policies in areas that are the most vulnerable to hurricanes.
• You may need to purchase separate wind damage coverage if it is excluded from your policy.
• There are limits to coverage. 

Prevention of Wind Damage

While wind damage insurance is important in the event that the worst happens, prevention is just as critical. If you take steps to prevent wind damage, you may not have to pay anything out of pocket. On the other hand, if damage does occur, you may have to meet a deductible and possibly pay for the removal of debris that falls outside your home.
Here are some ways to prevent damage from destructive winds:

• Keep your roof and shingles in good repair.
• Ensure that outer buildings, lights and fences are well anchored.
• Keep your trees and shrubs healthy and appropriately trimmed. Remove deceased trees.
• Before a storm, park your car in a garage or shed or at least away from trees.
• Make sure your windows and siding are in good shape.
• Ensure that your outer doors are sturdy, have triple hinges and posses deadbolt locks.

Speak to an insurance professional to get more information about wind damage insurance. Call Adcock-Adcock Insurance Agency at 813-933-6691 for a free quote.

Home Insurance Add Ons - What You Need To Know

Do you have the right type of Tampa home insurance? Could your policy not be providing you with enough of the coverage you really need? That's the case in many situations. Add-on policies are those you can add to a basic homeowners policy to provide you with additional protection from the what if situations that could affect you.

Did you know that according to the Insurance Information Institute that six percent of all insured homes had a claim in 2010? 97 percent of those claims involved damage. In some of these cases, the use of add-on policies help to provide these individuals with the protection necessary. What should you have? Consider the following.

Extra Coverage for Valuables

In some situations, individuals will have highly valuable items in their home. For example, you may have a valuable painting, high-tech computer equipment, or items related to your hobbies that are expensive to replace. Do not expect a standard homeowners insurance policy to cover these things if they are not specifically added to your policy. Whether or not it raises your costs depends on many factors, including how much value these items add. If not specifically included, and these items are lost in a fire, you could lose the financial value.

Flood Insurance

In some areas, having flood insurance is a very important thing, but it may not be covered in your policy. Whether or not flood insurance is provided depends on the risk in your area. Most companies do not include flood insurance to those who are in flood zones because the risks are too high. You may be able to add on those types of coverages if you do not have it so your valuables remain protected even in the event of a flood.

Business Insurance

Do you have a home business? Do you store your business equipment, supplies, inventory, or other items in your home? If a fire occurred, a flood happened, or someone broke in and stole that very expensive equipment you use to repair vehicles, would your business be able to financially manage the loss? Most homeowners insurance policies do not provide coverage for business equipment. You may need to add this on or get a separate policy to include it.

What Else to Consider

While you are doing this, also take the time to compare how much coverage you have. If your homeowners policy is not valued at the combined value of your home and any assets in your home, at the very least, you could be left out when an event happens. SmartMoney advises that individuals should have 100 percent coverage for rebuilding the home, since devastating incidents can leave you without the ability to rebuild your home. At the same time, consider any exclusions on your policy, which are items that the company specifically does not cover.

To find out if you need more homeowners insurance or a better policy, contact Adcock-Adcock Insurance Agency today at 813-933-6691.

Your Home Insurance Covers More Than Your Home

Depending on your home insurance schedule, your homeowner’s policy may cover things like personal property that is damaged while not in the home and medical expenses of third parties injured on your property due to your negligence. When you go in to talk to your agent about homeowner's insurance, be sure to ask about the different policy schedules and which one is right for you.

Schedule A  (HO-1)

While schedule A insurance used to be the industry standard, it has fallen out of favor and isn’t nearly as widely available as it used to be. This insurance covers the structure of the home as well as its contents against the 10 major disasters that can befall a home, including vandalism and fire.

Schedule B (HO-2)

Certain homeowners need to take out protection against particular events like heavy snowfall causing roof damage or power outages. This is usually an add-on to a standard home policy and is used in areas where extreme conditions warrant it. It is sometimes used as an individual home policy on mobile homes as the premiums are low and the coverage can be written to cover the major causes of mobile home damage.

Schedule C (HO-3)

Schedule C home insurance covers the entire home and its contents, including any injuries that occur while in the home. In addition, it covers flood damage, damage from war and earthquakes. These inclusions make schedule C one of the most comprehensive and expensive choices.

Schedule D (HO-4)

Schedule D is renter's insurance that covers the same items that are covered for owners in Schedule B and C.

Schedule E (HO-5)

While all the policies up to this point only cover the physical home and its contents, Schedule E covers the entire property. So if a person is hurt while in your driveway or yard, this policy will cover it. It also covers damage to fences and outbuildings and their contents.

Schedule F (HO-6)

This is specific household insurance comparable to Schedule C for Condominium owners.

Schedule G (HO-7)

If you own a mobile home and choose not to take out Schedule B insurance, the more comprehensive Schedule G is your best choice. This policy covers the structure and all belongings, and if you include a float policy, it can also include outbuildings such as sheds and carports.

Schedule H (HO-8)

Schedule H is the same policy as the Schedule A policy with the only difference being that the home will be paid out as a current cash market value instead of a replacement cost value. This policy is usually used on hard to replace older homes. Taking out this policy instead of a Schedule A could be the difference between having all of your losses covered and just a portion of them.

Schedule I (HO-9)

Schedule I insurance is used for older homes. It is often a Schedule C policy with special provisions for leaky plumbing coverage, electrical systems coverage and insect damage, although it can be tweaked to account for any area-specific  peril.  

As you can see, there are several types of home insurance that you can purchase. Which one is right for you depends on the amount of coverage you are looking for, and the type of home that you own. By far, the most common insurance is the Schedule C or E option, although many homeowners would do well to consider additional riders or floater policies  to secure complete coverage.

For more information about Tampa home insurance, give Adcock-Adcock Insurance Agency a call at 813-933-6691.

The Cost to Rebuild Your Home can Increase

When taking out a Tampa home insurance policy you may think that the limit for the dwelling coverage is based on the property value of your home. Instead, it actually should be based on the cost to rebuild your home—a significantly different number.

Many people don't realize that the appraised value of their home could be totally different from the home’s rebuilding costs. The appraised value takes into consideration your home as it currently is along with the real estate market as a whole in your area. But rebuilding a home takes materials and manpower that will be priced based on many different factors, all of which are variable. For example, depending on current output for homebuilders, the cost of materials to rebuild a home could be quite high whereas in a depressed housing market they may be lower. Unfortunately, if your limits don’t take this fluctuation into account, you could quickly find yourself underinsured.

Another consideration in the cost to rebuild your home is any change in codes that may have taken effect since your home was originally built. As codes requirements become more stringent it may become more expensive to rebuild.

It's important to remember that the cost to rebuild your home is not a static number and to periodically check for potential changes in rebuilding costs, such as the costs of materials and labor which can change many times throughout the year. It's impractical to check the cost to rebuild monthly, but you can ensure that you check it annually before your home insurance policy is renewed and then assess the value of making adjustments.

If you aren't sure how to estimate rebuilding costs for your home or you have other questions or concerns about your home insurance policy, give us a call 866-933-6691. We can ensure that your home insurance policy offers you the coverage you need with minimal gaps and we can help you determine more accurate limits so that you get a sufficient benefit after going through an insurable incident.

America's Fire Insurance History

The Great Fire of London in 1666 was responsible for the destruction of over 13,000 homes and 87 churches. This enormous blaze also caused the displacement of over 70,000 residents. While it was mostly poverty stricken residents who were affected by the fire itself, the disaster had some major fall out that affected the entire country economically. After the fire, the number of homeless people increased exponentially, businesses lost both customers and workers, and disputes arose over whose responsibility it was to pay for damages and rebuilding.

The Great Fire of London pointed out the need for some insurance to help individuals recover from this type of disaster. Many different fire insurance schemes were attempted after the disaster, but they weren’t particularly well thought out and eventually, they failed. Marine insurance was the only real functioning type of insurance at this time, and it was used as a model to develop a successful and functional fire insurance company in England in 1681.

In 1732, an insurance company in the United States issued the first fire insurance policy, but it still didn’t really catch on. Benjamin Franklin was a giant proponent of fire insurance and, in 1752 he created Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire, a company that refused to offer fire insurance to owners of buildings that were high risk. Unfortunately, that included wooden houses, which left an enormous portion of the population without protection.

Continue reading "America's Fire Insurance History" or contact us at (813) 933-6691 to learn more about Tampa home insurance.