When you own a home, you may have extenuating circumstances and/or own property that your insurance may not cover.
There are a number of extra coverage options you can add on to your policy, which are known as endorsements.
They are essentially riders that you purchase separately but tack on to your homeowner’s coverage as a policy extension.
In fact, there may be risks in your home that you never thought of and that won’t be covered by your homeowner’s policy.
Here are five endorsements that you should be aware of, according to the insurance trade publication National Underwriter.
‘Additional Insured Residence Premises’
This endorsement is specifically for people who have an ownership interest in a property but don’t live there.
This could come in handy for you if you are helping your adult children out when buying a home and you want to protect your part of the investment should the house be damaged or destroyed in a calamity.
‘Other Members of Your Household’
This coverage is becoming more and more important as more people cohabitate.
While you may own a house and live with a boyfriend or girlfriend (not a spouse) and consider them a member of the household, the insurance company would not consider them insured.
An additional insured cannot be a guest, household employee, tenant or boarder. Whomever you intend to cover must me identified by name on the endorsement.
‘Other Structures Increased Limits’
Maybe you’ve built a new man cave – a small cottage in the back yard outfitted with a giant plasma TV, nice sound system and bar.
However, since it’s a detached structure, your homeowner’s policy will not likely cover the entirety of the loss, should it burn down or suffer some other damage or theft.
Besides sheds and your man cave, “other structures” can also include gazebos, patios, barbeque pits, swing sets and other items in your backyard.
Under the typical homeowner’s policy, other structures are covered at 10% of the policy limits. So if your home is insured for $200,000, your other structures would be insured for 10% of that – $20,000.
If you’ve got pricey stuff in your backyard, you may want extra coverage.
‘Mechanical Breakdown’
This endorsement was only issued for the first time in 2014 and it covers the mechanical failure of household appliances like: central air conditioning, central vacuums, chairlifts and elevators, electric vehicle charging stations, heating systems, including water heaters, home automation and security systems, saunas, hot tubs, therapeutic baths, swimming pool pumps and filtration systems, stoves, wall ovens, refrigerators, well-water pumps, and sump pumps.
The basic limit is $5,000, but you can buy higher limits.
‘Water Back-up, Sump Discharge/Overflow’
While your policy will cover damage from a sump pump back-up or overflow, it won’t cover the cost of a sump pump that breaks down. This endorsement will cover that.
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