Your home insurance is more than dollar signs disappearing from your bank account in the form of premium. It’s kind of like a superhero that can swoop in to help you in a variety of situations. Along with providing coverage for your house and your belongings, it can also help you out by covering “other structures.” What is other structures coverage, exactly? We’ll explain what’s covered, how much coverage you have, and explain how it works.
What is other structures coverage?
Okay, so here’s the scoop:
Other structures coverage is actually pretty self-explanatory – surprising when it comes to insurance, right?
Basically, other structures coverage (also known as Coverage B) provides coverage for structures that are on your property but aren’t technically attached to your house. Even if something isn’t physically attached to your home, your insurance has your back.
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What’s covered under other structures coverage?
There are plenty of things that can be covered by other structures coverage. For example, your policy could provide coverage for:
- A detached garage
- A shed
- Your driveway
- Your sidewalks
- Your patio
- Your fence
- Your swimming pool
- A gazebo
How much “other structures” coverage do I have?
You have to check your policy to find out exactly how much coverage you have. Usually, the limit will be a percentage of the dwelling coverage you have on the house – and typically that percentage will be 10% (although it depends on your policy.) That means that if you have $300,000 of dwelling coverage on your home, your other structures would be insured for $30,000. You also need to consult your policy to find out what losses and perils are covered for your other structures and which losses are not.
If you need to, you can consider adding extra “other structures” coverage to your policy. You might have some very expensive other structures, and the coverage that’s provided by your policy might not be enough. So, make sure to talk to your agent to make sure you have enough insurance to completely repair or replace any other structures on your property. You never know what could happen – falling trees, fires, wind damage. It’s best not to take the chance of a financial loss if your insurance isn’t quite enough to cover your other structures.
How does other structures coverage work?
The thing about home insurance is that your policy includes a lot of different sections and coverages that are bundled together. When you get your home insurance policy with the limits and the endorsements you need, you’re paying for all of these different coverages. The coverages are simply included in the price.
Most home insurance policies will include the following:
- Dwelling – Coverage for the structure of your house
- Personal property – Coverage for the contents of your home/Your belongings
- Loss of use – Can cover additional expenses that you have if you have to leave your home and live elsewhere due to a covered loss, such as a fire (Examples include hotel bills and restaurant bills.)
- Other structures – Which we’ve just been talking about
- Liability coverage
(Of course, you have to read your policy carefully to understand what is and is not covered by your home insurance. Yes, the thought of actually reading your policy might be exhausting – it’s quite long – but you really need to arm yourself with the knowledge of what your home insurance will do for you. The time to find out that something isn’t covered is preferably before you have a loss, not after.)
Anyways, what we’re getting at is that other structures coverage is simply rolled into your home insurance. It’s a piece of your coverage, and a potentially valuable piece of if you have something like a shed, a pool, a fence, and so on.
If you don’t have other structures on your property, you might wonder if you can just remove the coverage and save money on your home insurance. Chances are you can’t just “remove” the coverage from your policy. A better way to go about saving money on home insurance is probably to quest for home insurance discounts and make sure that you’re taking advantage of all the possible savings your carrier offers.
So, that’s what other structures coverage is and how it works. It’s the piece of your home insurance that covers detached structures that are on your property – for example, a shed, a fence, a sidewalk or driveway, a gazebo, and so on. Most home insurance policies will include it as part of the “package” of coverages you get when you purchase them. Of course, it’s important to make sure that you have enough coverage for your other structures and your home. Consult your policy to find out how much coverage you have.
If you’re looking to get great home insurance for a great rate, we can help you with that. Our agents are here to help you get quotes for your home insurance. We like to help homeowners save money on their insurance and we like to make insurance easy! Get started with your coverage by filling out our quote form or giving us a call today.
Source:
https://www.thebalance.com/remove-other-structures-insurance-coverage-2645713
https://www.irmi.com/term/insurance-definitions/other-structures