Coverage A or Dwelling Replacement. What is it? What does it do? Watch the video above for a quick summary of what Coverage A is.
Dwelling insurance, also known as dwelling coverage or Coverage A, is the portion of your homeowners policy that covers repairing or rebuilding your home after it’s damaged by a covered peril, such as fire. Dwelling coverage includes all attached structures, such as a garage or porch, as well as built-in appliances, such as a water heater, should they suffer damage with your home.
What Does Dwelling Mean?
Your dwelling is the building you live in. As far as your homeowners insurance policy is concerned, the definition of a dwelling extends to all structures attached to your home (like a garage, fence or deck) as well as built-in appliances (such as a furnace or water heater).
Detached garages, sheds or other such structures are also considered part of your dwelling under a traditional homeowners policy (we will cover Coverage B in another post). However, with a renters’ policy (called an HO-4 policy) or a condominium policy (HO-6 policy), those structures won’t be covered, since you probably aren’t the sole owner of that property.
If you own a condo, parts of your dwelling are shared with other owners. You’ll need to review your condominium association’s master insurance policy to determine which parts of the dwelling are your responsibility to insure and which parts fall under the master policy. Make sure to get a full list of what falls under your responsibility to insure and submit it when purchasing homeowners insurance.
What Does Dwelling Insurance Cover?
Dwelling coverage can vary between insurance policies and regions, so you should check your personal policy’s declaration page to determine what your coverage is. Most homeowners insurance policies cover the following perils under dwelling coverage:
- Theft
- Vandalism
- Fire and smoke damage
- Explosions (check if your policy excludes terrorism)
- Lightning strikes
- Hail damage
- Wind damage
- Damage due to the weight of snow, sleet or ice
- Burst pipes
- Falling objects, including aircraft
- Motor vehicle collisions
If you own a traditional home, structures such as sheds and detached garages are probably covered under your homeowners insurance policy. However, they likely aren’t covered for renters or condo owners, since these structures typically aren’t their personal property.
What’s Not Covered by Dwelling Insurance?
Despite providing fairly comprehensive coverage, most dwelling insurance policies exclude flooding, earthquakes, sinkholes and sewage backups. They also don’t cover damage caused by your failure to carry out routine maintenance, such as a dry-rot problem you ignored. You can receive coverage for some of these perils, but you’ll need to add a rider to your homeowners insurance policy. Finally, your policy may exclude cracks in the foundation due to settling but cover other damage to the foundation, such as damage from an explosion.
In addition to any exclusions, your homeowners insurance policy will come with deductibles and limits. For example, if your chimney flue was closed and caused $1,500 of smoke damage in your house, but your dwelling coverage is subject to a $1,000 deductible, you’ll receive only $500 from your insurance provider.
How Much Dwelling Coverage Do I Need?
Your coverage amount should be sufficient to pay for rebuilding your home and its attached structures if they’re totally destroyed by a covered peril. Don’t assume that this amount is the same as the price you paid for the home or the home’s current market value. The replacement cost of your home will depend on a number of factors, which include:
- The cost of construction and labor in your area
- Your home’s square footage
- Any custom-built features
- The style of house (such as a ranch or colonial home)
To get an accurate estimate of how much dwelling coverage you require under your homeowners insurance policy, get a professional appraisal of your house. Your insurance provider may send their own appraiser to evaluate your home, but if your homeowners policy includes an Insurance Appraisal Clause (as most do), you may also hire an independent appraiser. This might be worth the effort if you feel the insurance company’s estimate is too high or too low.
If you live in the Carolinas, we would love to review your current homeowners coverage. Give us a call today or schedule a time to speak with one of our advisors.
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