Finance and Credit Professional

You may have heard of victims of the Katrina disaster that thought they would be reimbursed for their damaged homes, but when it came down to it, their homeowner's insurance policy didn't even cover floods, mudslides, or hurricanes.

Welcome to the real world where you must realize that homeowner's insurance doesn't normally cover these types of disasters. Many people don't understand that you must have addition specialized coverage in order to be sure your home is taken care of if a natural disaster strikes.

Now is the time to talk with your insurance agent or company about specialized homeowner's insurance. Your insurance company should be able to supply you with information regarding flood risk, earthquake risk, and your home's risk of other natural disasters. You may already know that depending on where you residence is, you may even be required to have additional insurance depending on your natural disaster risk.

If you live in an area that may be a risk for floods or mudslides, you may ask about the details of this type of insurance. Often insurance companies evaluate damage depending on the cause of the damage. For example, if there was a flood that created a mudslide and then went on to damage your home, you would probably need to have flood insurance instead of mudslide insurance.

Some insurance companies only cover mudslides if they originate from heavy rainfall. This may seem ironic because heavy rainfall is what causes floods, and some floods cause mudslides. Be sure to read the fine print, and have your insurance agent explain any terms you don't fully understand.

Besides floods, landslides, and other natural disasters, your homeowner's insurance probably does not cover insect infestations. If you have had issues with termites or other insects, you might consider talking to your insurance company about covering this type of damage. If they will not cover this type of damage, you might consider an annual check for infestation.

You might think that the list is short for those types of damage not covered by homeowner's insurance, but the list keeps going and going. Many people believe that their vehicles boats are covered for damage if they are parked on their property, but this is not true. You must have full automobile coverage in order for this damage coverage to take place.

Pets and other animals are not covered if stolen or injured either. There is specialized health insurance for these types of animal insurance coverage. You may want to do a little research to find out if your home is in a high area risk for any type of natural disaster.

Talk with your insurance company about any type of additional homeowner's insurance you might be in need of. Homeowner's insurance costs enough money that you should have all of your questions answered by your insurance company.

Make sure you understand your homeowner's policy so you don't end up in a situation like those victims of Katrina. You should feel just as comfortable with your homeowner's insurance coverage as your do in your own home.

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