Home Insurance Articles

Home Defects And When To Contact An Insurance Provider

2010-09-07

It is common knowledge that when people purchase a house, home defects often don't manifest until after the contract is done and time passes. Home defects are a fear of many homeowners, and something most will have to deal with during the years in which they own their house. The question that arises is when to contact a home insurance provider for their assistance in the matter. The answer to this question depends upon certain variable circumstances that will be discussed more in depth. Every homeowner's situation is unique, and should be looked at individually for how it applies to each home insurance provider's written policy.

A foundational test that a home defect will have to pass in order to justify contacting the home insurance provider is if it is a sudden and accidental occurrence or not. For example, an explosion of a water heater or pipes would qualify as a sudden occurrence. If the water heater or pipes just started leaking because of manufacturer defect or normal usage that would probably not count as a sudden occurrence. Sudden and accidental occurrences go to the root of what a home insurance provider is designed for. Things that don't occur suddenly tend to fall under the heading of normal wear and tear.

There are gray areas in the home defects category that will justify a call to a home insurance provider. This involves instances in which regular maintenance and normal wear and tear cause sudden and accidental damage. A good representation of this would be termite damage. It is an understood and written provision in a common home insurance provider's policy that termite damage is excluded from coverage. When homeowners find infestations of this sort, they are usually bound legally and by policy to handle the situation themselves. But what happens if termites damage a load bearing beam in the homeowner's attic without the owner's knowledge, and the beam then collapses. This collapse creates a sort of domino effect where all kinds of damage is done to walls, floors, ceilings, and electrical wiring. A good home insurance provider might cover the subsequent sudden damage to the home, but negotiate coverage with the initial broken beam because of the termite infestation. Each situation is different, and home defects should be examined carefully for the individual application.

Whatever the home defect, every homeowner should read the written policy that is established with the home insurance provider. If it is not specifically excluded in the policy, then a home insurance provider should be compelled to cover the home defect and any damage caused thereby. A homeowner's best protection is knowledge of the written policy.