A visitor comes to your home. He or she causes damage to it, such as breaking a window or dropping an expensive vase. Do you have home insurance to cover these losses? This depends on a number of factors. Most of the time, home insurance covers accidental loss and damage. There are a few other factors that play a role in this, too.
Why Did the Damage Occur?
Home insurance policies typically cover damage that is accidental. It is something that happened that you could not predict or prevent from occurring. When a person comes to your home, you are welcoming them in. If they were to damage your belongings on purpose, your insurance may not offer coverage to you.
On the other hand, they may have an accident. That vase may slip off the shelf. They may damage the home’s drywall by falling through it. There are many accidental incidents, beyond your control, that can happen. These types of accidents generally have some coverage under your home insurance policy.
What Received Damage?
The other factor to consider is what type of item suffered damage and that item’s value. For example, damage to the structure is likely to automatically have coverage. However, if there is something very valuable lost, there may be some limits to consider. Most home insurance policies limit per item damage to $1,000. If you own items over this amount, you can separately insure them as a rider. You should do this for any type of asset in your home.
What About the Deductible?
It is also important to consider the deductible for your policy. Many home insurance deductibles range from $500 to $1,000, though they can be much more. This is the amount you pay first. The insurance company then pays the rest. That broken vase may have a value of $2,000. If your deductible is $1,000, the home insurance policy covers the second $1,000 to replace the item. If the damage is under $1,000, though, the policy may not pay you anything. At this point, you need to determine if it is worth filing a claim.
Your home insurance agent can help you. After an incident, call them. Be sure to take pictures of what happened. Your visitor may need to sign something indicating the incident was an accident. Then, your agent should be able to process the claim for you. This can help you to get back to replacing the item or getting the repairs done as necessary. Most often, this is a simple process to follow.
Keep in mind, your visitor might have liability insurance of their own that can pay for the losses. If your own insurance can't help, theirs might.