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description=If you own a home, you most likely have homeowners insurance, but how sure are you about what is and isn t covered? HowStuffWorks takes a look.;

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8 surprising things your homeowners insurance doesn t cover howstuffworks mobile menu howstuffworks science tech home garden auto culture more more health money animals lifestyle entertainment quizzes mobile newsletter 1 submit search search close search science tech home garden auto culture health money animals lifestyle entertainment quizzes submit search sign up for our newsletter mobile newsletter banner close howstuffworks newsletter mobile newsletter chat close mobile newsletter chat dots mobile newsletter chat dots mobile newsletter chat dots mobile newsletter chat avatar mobile newsletter chat subscribe advertisement howstuffworks home garden real estate buying a home 8 surprising things your homeowners insurance doesn t cover by patrick j kiger share content on facebook share content on linkedin share content on flipboard share content on reddit share content via email check with your insurance company to see if any injuries heaven forbid that might be sustained on your new trampoline will be covered under your policy wikimedia commons cc by 3 0 recently after a squirrel somehow apparently fell down a chimney into an atlanta home the animal scratched up the floors chewed the baseboards window and door frames and damaged a couch according to an nbc news account the result of the bushy tailed rodent s rampage was at least 15 000 in estimated damages when the homeowners submitted a claim however the insurance company rejected it on the grounds that the policy didn t cover squirrel damage nbc reported advertisement it s probably not the first time that homeowners have learned to their dismay that there are things that can happen to their homes that their homeowners insurance policies don t cover fire is the basic coverage provided by an insurance policy janet ruiz explains via email she s director for strategic communication at the insurance information institute an industry group other common perils are water damage theft wind and liability earthquake and flood usually require a separate policy in some states you can add earthquake coverage as an endorsement it is important to discuss the risk you face and purchase the proper coverage just so you ll be forewarned here are eight other perils besides damage from an invading squirrel for which you probably aren t insured advertisement contents floods earthquakes sewer backups maintenance damage backyard trampolines and pools dog attacks really expensive jewelry your stuff in someone else s basement 1 floods damage caused by flooding is excluded under standard homeowners insurance policies according to the institute s primer on what disasters are covered by insurance that s why it s prudent to obtain flood insurance either from a private insurer or through the u s government s national flood insurance program advertisement 2 earthquakes when a 5 8 magnitude earthquake in virginia shook the u s east coast in 2011 it caused as much as 300 million in losses and varying degrees of damage to 600 residences many of the owners may have been chagrined to discover that their homeowners insurance didn t cover the cost of repairing the harm to their houses coverage for earthquakes which can damage foundations and collapse walls requires a separate policy though a standard homeowners policy generally will cover damage from fires caused by quakes according to the institute advertisement 3 sewer backups sewer backups can be pretty messy and they re not covered either by homeowners insurance policies or flood coverage according to the institute instead you ll need to purchase additional sewer coverage advertisement 4 maintenance damage maintenance damage homeowners policies don t cover damage caused to your home by your neglect of basic maintenance according to the institute similarly you re not covered if your house becomes infested by termites and other pests or develops mold here s a guide from the institute on how to protect your home against mold advertisement 5 backyard trampolines and pools sure they re fun but according to the national association of insurance commissioners both trampolines and pools are dangerous enough that some companies may not insure your property if you have them or else may exclude liability for any injuries related to them they also may even cancel your policy if you don t inform them when you get a trampoline or a pool or don t follow the policy s safety guidelines advertisement 6 dog attacks if your family pet bites a visitor you re typically covered for legal liability up to your policy s liability limit usually 100 000 according to the institute the average dog bite claim is around 39 000 so you should be ok but it s a bigger problem if you own a breed with a reputation for being aggressive because some insurance companies won t cover you at all advertisement 7 really expensive jewelry typically homeowners policies set a limit on how much bling they ll cover usually around 1 500 according to the institute s article on jewelry and other valuables if you ve got a lot of costly rings or necklaces you ll want to consider getting a floater policy which covers any sort of loss including dropping your ring down a drain that ll require you to get the items appraised professionally advertisement 8 your stuff in someone else s basement if you ve got a friend or neighbor who allows you to store some of your possessions in his or her basement you could lose out in the event of a disaster according to amy bach executive director of united policyholders a california based consumer advocacy group that person s insurer isn t going to cover your losses since you re not the homeowner you d have to try to collect money from your friend bach says howstuffworks may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article advertisement now that s interesting while homeowners insurance policies don t specifically mention acts of terrorism as long as your policy covers damage from explosions fire and smoke you re probably covered in the horrifying event that some extremist group bombs your home according to the institute s article on terrorism insurance cite this please copy paste the following text to properly cite this howstuffworks com article copy patrick j kiger 8 surprising things your homeowners insurance doesn t cover 15 january 2020 howstuffworks com https home howstuffworks com real estate buying home 5 things homeowners insurance wont cover htm 19 april 2026 close citation related links you may like how to save money on homeowners insurance explore more advertisement advertisement loading n n t t t t return t byline_authors_html e by t byline_authors_html t byline_authors_html t byline_date_html e t byline_date_html e t byline_date_html e n t t t t n t t t t n n t t t t t body_html replaceall pt pt t id _ replaceall pt pt t id _ n n t t t n this loadeddiv innerhtml r document title n title howstuffworks const s content loaded n id o document getelementbyid s o dataset contentid n id 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