If you have never taken the time to give your homeowners insurance policy a proper reading, you may not be aware of everything that it does and does not cover. There might come a day where there was a lot of damage caused to your home or the items in it, and you will have questions about what your coverage is. Here are three situations where you may experience a loss, and what a standard policy should cover.

Natural Disasters

It is typical for a basic home insurance policy to not cover natural disasters that are ground based, such as earthquakes. If your home is in a part of the country that experiences earthquakes, you should talk to your insurance agent about getting additional coverage, or else you'll end up having to pay for repairs yourself in the event of an earthquake.

When it comes to living near a volcano, you'd be surprised to learn that your policy actually has coverage against some of the damage that could be caused to your home due to an eruption. Coverage includes damages caused by volcanic ash, dust and lava flow.

Power Outages

When your power fails, it can damage electrical devices in your home, such as high-end electronics, televisions, refrigerators, and freezers. The way that the power failed could determine if the damage is covered or not. For example, it is common for a standard insurance policy to not cover damaged electrical devices due to a power surge, but you could have coverage if you lost power due to lightning that hit your home directly.

Keep in mind that your insurance policy most likely will not cover any food that goes bad due to a refrigerator or freezer that lost power. If this is a concern for you, request a rider to cover perishable food that needs to be kept cold.

Illness and Injury

If somebody incurs a bodily injury while at your house, they should have insurance coverage from the basic medical and liability protection that you have through your home insurance. What won't be covered are germ-related illnesses. This could include somebody that got food poisoning from eating food at your home, or caught an illness that caused them to go to the hospital and they are suing you for damages.

Insurance policies are sometimes hard to decipher, but there is always an answer to a question you may have. Discuss these concerns with your insurance agent to learn if you have the coverage that you need.

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