Understanding Your Homeowners Policy

The structure of the home itself: roof, walls, built-in fixtures. This is usually the largest single coverage limit on the policy and the one most disputes over scope-of-damage concentrate on.

Detached structures not attached to the main dwelling — a detached garage, a fence, a shed. Usually a percentage of the Coverage A limit, and easy to overlook when documenting a loss.

Belongings inside the home — furniture, electronics, clothing. Often subject to its own sublimits for high-value categories (jewelry, art, cash), separate from the overall limit.

Covers additional living expenses if the home becomes uninhabitable during repairs — temporary housing, some added costs of daily living. Frequently under-claimed simply because policyholders don't realize it applies.

Liability protects against claims that someone was injured or their property was damaged due to the policyholder's negligence; medical payments covers minor injuries to guests regardless of fault, up to a modest limit.

A named-peril policy covers only the causes of loss it explicitly lists; an open-peril policy covers everything EXCEPT what it explicitly excludes. Knowing which type a policy is changes how a denial should be read — a named-peril denial should be checked against the list; an open-peril denial should be checked against the exclusions.

Standard homeowners policies typically exclude flood and earthquake/earth movement by default — those require separate policies. Many also treat gradual water damage (a slow leak versus a sudden pipe burst) very differently. Read the exclusions section, not just the coverage grants.