Home insurance comes in six parts (A-F). Here’s what each part covers.
Dwelling coverage (A) covers your home—the building. Think walls, roof, build in appliances, and similar. If your structure is damaged by fire, wind, hail, vandalism, or similar, dwelling coverage typically protects you. Generally speaking, routine damage—like needing a roof replaced due to normal wear and tear—isn’t covered. Most of the time, floods and earthquakes are not covered by this type of basic home insurance. In some areas of California, wildfires are not covered either.
Additional structure coverage (B) covers any other buildings or structures on your property—workshops and sheds, detached garages, and so on. It also covers non-building structures like fences.
Personal property coverage (C) insures what’s in your house: your laptop, clothing, television, jewelry and so on. If these items are stolen or damaged, you can file a claim with your insurer. Most insurance providers limit claims up to a certain amount, so if you have highly valuable jewelry, art, or collectibles, you may want to purchase a rider, increase your coverage, or insure those items separately.
Loss of use or additional living expense coverage (D) pays out if your home becomes uninhabitable. If you need to stay at a hotel while you assess the damage to your home or wait for repairs to be completed, coverage D may pay for all or part of that stay.
Personal liability coverage (E) protects you if someone else is injured on your property. If your dog bites someone, for instance, personal liability coverage could help pay you’re your legal fees if they sue you.
Medical payments to others (F) covers potential medical expenses for someone injured on your property regardless of fault. In the previous example of a dog bite, this coverage could help pay for the medical expenses without you having to admit fault.
