Home Insurance

Sandra had $340,000 in homeowners coverage and three feet of water in her living room. Her insurer paid zero. The standard homeowners policy excludes flooding entirely, and most homeowners don't find out until after the loss.

Construction costs have outrun dwelling coverage limits for most US homes. Two endorsements close the gap: extended replacement cost and guaranteed replacement cost. Here is how each works and what they cost.

A burglary cleaned out $9,200 in jewelry from Lauren Castillo's bedroom dresser. Her $250,000 homeowners policy paid only $1,500 because of a sublimit she had never read.

Aisha's insurer paid for the kitchen fire damage. The city required her entire 1962 colonial brought up to current code. The $87,400 gap was hers to absorb.

A wind storm tore vinyl siding off the south wall of a couple's Indianapolis home. The insurer authorized one wall. Their color had been discontinued. Indiana's matching law turned a $4,800 partial repair into a $19,200 full replacement.

Marcus discovered black mold spreading across his basement drywall after a slow pipe leak. His remediation estimate was $18,400. His insurer paid $5,000.

A daughter settling her late father's estate left his house empty for four months. A burst pipe caused $42,000 in damage, and the vacancy clause voided the entire claim.

Carmen Ortiz expected to pay her $2,500 homeowner deductible on a $58,000 hail roof claim. Her policy carried a 2% wind and hail deductible on her $420,000 dwelling limit, so her out-of-pocket was $8,400. Percentage deductibles for wind and hail are a separate line most homeowners never read.

Layla Hassan's plumber pulled a 14-foot section of cracked cast iron from her front lawn and quoted $14,200 for the replacement. Her standard homeowners policy paid nothing on the buried line.

Homeowners discover the earth movement exclusion the day a structural engineer hands them a slab-pier estimate. The wall is cracked, the policy is open, and the check is denied.