Your home insurance policy protects you, your home, and your family against a number of risks. For instance, it pays for damages to your home and property caused by fires, storms, vandalism, and other unexpected events. It also covers legal and medical bills if someone gets injured on your property. However, basic home insurance won’t cover everything related to your house. Here is a guide to what your policy may not cover.

What Your Home Insurance Policy May Not Cover

1. Damages Due to Earthquakes

Most basic homeowners policies exclude damages caused by natural disasters like earthquakes, mudslides, or sinkholes. These types of disasters often affect so many homeowners within a geographic area that providing blanket coverage could bankrupt the insurer. You can easily purchase coverage for these events, but it will generally be an extra cost.

2. Flood Damage

Damage that occurs when rain or snow enters the home via a wind-damaged roof is considered water damage and is covered under a typical homeowners insurance policy. However, flooding that occurs due to intense rainy weather will not be covered unless you've purchased additional flood insurance coverage.

3. Non-family Household Members’ Belongings

The belongings of renters or non-immediate-family members who live with you are often not covered by homeowners insurance. If a fire occurs while friends—or even extended family members—are staying with you, their losses will be excluded from coverage. If friends or family will be living with you for an extended period, you should encourage them to purchase renters insurance to protect themselves.

4. High-Value Items

Many high-value items like jewelry, artwork, or collectibles may not be fully covered by a standard policy. To guarantee you receive the full value of these items in the event of their loss, ask your insurance agent about buying a policy that allows you to identify individual high-value items. To do this, you may need to have the items appraised.

When you need home insurance or a policy for any of the above events, contact JMS Insurance Agency in Stafford, TX. They've been serving customers in Fort Bend, Harris, and Montgomery Counties since 1998, and they specialize in home, business, RV, auto, and life insurance policies. Visit their website to submit an online message, or call (281) 494-1500 to request a quote from an experienced insurance agent.