Homeowners insurance is a necessity. It protects your home and possessions against damage or theft. And generally, mortgage companies require borrowers to have their property protected and insured to full or fair value. In fact, they won’t make a loan or finance a real estate transaction. Whatever the case, there are more than a few risks your home faces. Therefore, you might have to file more than a few types of insurance claims when you get home insurance.

Read on below to learn more about types of home insurance claims.

Common Types of Home Insurance Claims

While certain country areas are more prone to specific issues, the best homeowners insurance for your needs should cover these common homeowners insurance claims.

Types of Home Insurance Claims #1: Wind and Hail Damage

Wind and hail damage is the most common type of insurance claim according to the Insurance Information Institute. Windstorms can damage roof shingles or bring trees and branches down onto your property. Meanwhile, hail can damage windows, roofs, and personal property. Regardless, your home insurance policy can help cover the cost of damage.

Types of Home Insurance Claims #2: Fire and Lightning Damage

While fire claims are less frequent, they are more costly since structure and property can suffer damage. Either because of the smoke and flames or the water firefighters must use to extinguish the blaze. For this reason, you have to make sure your coverage is adequate.

Moreover, lightning also falls into this category because of its capability to ignite your home. However, lightning can also overload your electrical system and destroy it.

Types of Home Insurance Claims #3: Water Damage

Water damage can result from rain or snowmelt, along with interior issues such as a burst pipe or leaking plumbing. However, standard home insurance doesn’t cover flood damage. For flood coverage, you’ll need to ask your insurance company for a specific policy.

Types of Home Insurance Claims #4: Non-Theft Property Damage

This includes incidents such as a tree falling on the roof or a utility truck backing into your garage. While this type of claim can take a number of forms, the average claim costs $6,598. Luckily, homeowners insurance policies cover this type of damage, so long as it’s not because of negligence.

Types of Home Insurance Claims #5: Human Incited Property Damage

Vandalism and malicious mischief are among the top reasons for homeowners insurance claims. For example, instances such as broken windows and other damaged outdoor accessories, along with graffiti and sabotaged locks, garner a number of claims. Furthermore, destruction of gardens and landscaping is also frequent.

Types of Home Insurance Claims #6: Break-ins and Theft

Meanwhile, the two terms are often used interchangeably; they are different in the eyes of the law. Burglary can be a precursor to theft, but theft does not have to include burglary. To illustrate, theft is defined as the act of permanently taking another person’s money or personal property without their consent.

On the other hand, burglary is simply entering a structure such as a home, office, or any other private structure to commit a crime. In short, theft is but one of the categories of qualifying offenses for burglary. The best way to avoid filing this type of claim is by installing a home security system.

Types of Home Insurance Claims #7: Liability

A liability claim protects you from lawsuits filed by others. Liability refers to your duty toward other people, such as when a guest suffers injury or property damage while visiting your home.

Therefore, this clause even includes your pets. So, if your dog bites your neighbor, your insurer will pay her medical expenses. However, Off-premises liability coverage often doesn’t apply for those with renter’s insurance.

Different Types of Home Insurance Claim Coverage

All insurance is certainly not created equal. For instance, the least costly homeowners insurance will likely give you the least amount of coverage, and vice versa.

In the U.S., there are several forms of homeowners insurance. They are designated HO-1 through HO-8 and offer various levels of protection depending on the needs of the homeowner and the type of residence. In short, there are essentially three levels of coverage.

First, Actual cash value

Actual cash value covers the cost of the house plus the depreciated value of your belongings.

Second, Replacement cost.

Replacement value policies cover the actual cash value of your home and possessions without deducting the depreciation. Therefore, you would be able to repair or rebuild your home up to the original value.

Finally, Guaranteed replacement cost/value.

Last but certainly not least, guaranteed replacement cost. This one might be the most comprehensive since it pays for whatever it costs to repair or rebuild your home. In fact, it even covers you if it’s more than your policy limit.

Certain insurers offer an extended replacement, meaning it offers more coverage than you purchased. For this reason, some advisors feel all homeowners should buy guaranteed replacement value policies.

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Homeowners Insurance doesn’t cover what Types of Home Insurance Claims?

While homeowner’s insurance covers most scenarios, some events are generally excluded from policies—for example, natural disasters and acts of war.

If you live in a flood or hurricane area or an area prone to earthquakes, you’ll want riders for these. Or maybe an extra policy for earthquake insurance or flood insurance. There’s also sewer and drain backup coverage you can add on, and even identity recovery coverage that reimburses you for expenses related to being a victim of identity theft.