Home insurance is of course one of the most necessary protections for one of the largest investments of your lifetime, and every homeowner purchases insurance for protection against all types of perils that could plague their lives and property. Disasters like wind, floods, fire, hail and theft area all protected under standard policies, and what most people don’t realize is that about 1 out of every 15 homeowners files an insurance claim every year.
That’s a lot more than most people may realize, and so what we’ve done for this article is work together with a property damage lawyer to compile the five most common home insurance claims that happen throughout the country. By knowing more about these occurrences and claims you’ll be more knowledgeable in terms of preparing your property or your loved one’s property from any of these incidents.
Hail and Wind
The number one most common property or home insurance claim throughout the United States has to do with hail and wind incidents. These claims of course include natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes, and in the southeast area of the country hurricanes have only gotten more destructive in recent years leaving devastated properties all over the place.
If you live in an area like Tornado Alley or Florida then you’ll want to make sure that your coverage entails wind and hail because many standard policies in these areas don’t because of how frequent these disasters are. If hurricanes and tornadoes are common in your area you’re going to want to discuss how well you’re covered with your insurance agent just in case another big storm rolls through.
Freezing Water and General Water Damage
This is one of the most common property insurance claims because a majority of the country experiences really cold winters, and when the temperatures end up dropping very dramatically a home could go through a burst or leaking pipe(s). This category also includes ice storms and rainwater damage and the good thing is that most standard home insurance policies do cover these kinds of catastrophes.
What you’ll want to do in order to prepare more for these kinds of scenarios is make sure your are checking out your pipes on a regular basis, at least twice a year, and making sure there are no leaks whatsoever. Also, you have to keep all of your pipes properly insulated during the winter months and occasionally run a good amount of hot water through all of your showerheads and faucets just to make sure the pipes don’t freeze up and potentially burst.
Miscellaneous Property Damage
There are all sorts of property damage that can be included throughout this category, and one of these types of property damage includes vandalism and mischief. Some instances of vandalism include the following:
- Having your house be egged
- Someone digging up your garden
- Having your locks tampered with
- Windows or lights being broken
- Trees or bushes slashed
- Spray paint defacing your home
All standard policies will cover these instances, and this section includes so much more that we simply don’t have time to go into, so if you don’t see your specific property damage here then call your insurance company and get the information about what they cover in your specific situation.
Theft
Although it is rather scary, break ins and home invasions are one of the most common home insurance claims in the United States, and in 2010 there was an estimate of over 2.1 million burglaries according to the FBI. 74 percent of those 2010 burglaries happened at residential properties, and so there are so many ways to avoid home theft that a lot of us know about, but the following are some tips to help you simply decrease any likelihood of someone stealing from your home.
A home security system is of course extremely important for any home, but making sure it works properly is something you’re going to want to test out every now and again. Also putting out a sign that says your home is protected is a major deterrent to burglars.
Tell a neighbor when you’re traveling so that they can be alert and will pick up your newspapers from piling up in your driveway. They can also collect your mail so that any potential burglars can’t see signs that you aren’t home.
Give your spare key to a friend instead of leaving it outside your home. Burglars can find any key hiding place if they look hard enough, so it’s always a risk leaving outside your property.
Lightning and Fire
Although these types of claims aren’t quite as popular as the other ones, they’re definitely the most expensive to fix, and it’s true that wildfires and other brush fires have been plaguing the American west tremendously in recent years.
Fires can be started by just about anything in your kitchen and sometimes they can be unavoidable in terms of a natural disaster. So make sure you have fire coverage if you’re living in a dry area where wild fires have a potential to get out of hand.