What Does Homeowners Insurance Not Cover? (2024)

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The best homeowners insurance policy covers a lot of problems—everything from theft to volcanic eruptions to objects falling from the sky. You can rest easy knowing that you can file a claim if space debris strikes your home.

But there are many types of dilemmas homeowners insurance does not cover and you may need additional coverage. Don’t sleep on getting insurance for these common problems.

What Does a Standard Homeowners Insurance Policy Cover?

The most common type of homeowners insurance policy is an HO-3 and it covers your house, other structures (such as garage and shed) and personal property (such as your clothing, furniture and electronics).

Here are some of the many types of problems covered by homeowners insurance:

Fire and lightning
Windstorm or hail
Explosion
Riot or civil commotion
Vehicles
Smoke damage
Theft
Vandalism
Weight of ice, snow or sleet
Freezing
Falling objects
Accidental discharge or overflow from a water or stream
Sudden and accidental damage caused by issues like burst pipes and electrical currents
Sudden and accidental tearing apart, burning, cracking or bulging
Aircraft, including self-propelled missiles and spacecraft
Volcanic eruption

What’s not covered by an HO-3 is listed as exclusions on your homeowners insurance policy.

Home Insurance Has Significant Coverage Gaps for Natural Disasters

One of the biggest and most costly mistakes you can make when it comes to home insurance is assuming your policy covers damage caused by all natural disasters. In reality you might need a mix of additional coverage types, depending on where you live.

For example, flood damage is excluded from standard home insurance policies. For flood coverage you’ll need to buy a separate flood insurance policy through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private insurer.

And here’s where it gets a bit tricky, because flooding is also caused by other disasters. For example, earthquakes can cause flooding when broken dams cause a river to overflow. But a typical earthquake insurance policy also excludes damage from floods, which means you may need to augment your earthquake coverage with a flood insurance policy, if that’s a concern.

Hurricanes can be equally confusing. If you live in an area affected by hurricanes, a good hurricane insurance plan is a mix of flood insurance and home insurance. Residents in some coastal areas also need to add separate wind insurance.

Water Damage: It’s Complicated

Flood damage isn’t the only type of water threat that can cause major financial headaches. While home insurance covers water damage from burst pipes, accidental leaks and roof leaks, other types of water damage are commonly excluded.

For example, water backups through sewers and drains are common problems that can be caused by heavy storms, debris causing a clog, sump pump failures and even a root invasion in your yard.

But water that backs up through a sewer or drain and damages your home is excluded in a standard home insurance policy. You’ll typically need to buy extra coverage (sometimes called sump pump and water backup coverage).

Here’s another water-damage wrinkle: Neglect.

A home insurance policy requires you to properly maintain your home. If you don’t, you could have insurance claims denied. For example, if you turn off the heat in your house and a pipe bursts, you could have the claim denied. This would be a costly mistake. The average claim amount for water damage or freezing is about $12,514, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

Pro Tip

You can add home insurance endorsem*nts to fill in coverage gaps or you may have to buy a separate policy for specific types of damage not covered by home insurance.

Home Insurance Won’t Bail Out a Rogue Renovation Project

If you’re looking to renovate your home, don’t go rogue. Depending on the size and scope of the renovation, you might need building permits from your town. If you fail to obtain the proper permits or meet building codes, a building inspector could shut down your renovation or tell you to tear it down and start over. Home insurance won’t cover the cost of a rebuild.

Home Insurance Won’t Clean Up a Home-Sharing Mess

If you use a service like Airbnb or HomeAway to rent out your home for extra cash, make sure you understand your insurance options. Home-sharing is considered “business use” of your home and your homeowners insurance policy won’t foot the bill if a mishap occurs while you’re renting out your place.

For example, if a home-sharing guest injures themselves on your property, your home insurance liability insurance won’t cover medical bills. Likewise, if a guest throws a raging party that results in property damage, don’t expect home insurance to pick up the tab.

If you’re going to rent out your home, look into a home-sharing insurance policy and make sure it doesn’t have any significant coverage gaps. A good home-sharing policy will have liability coverage, which pays for injuries and property damage to others. But a better home-sharing insurance policy has additional coverage types, like coverage for your personal belongings or even infestation coverage for bed bugs.

Types of Property Not Covered by Homeowners Insurance

Home insurance may not cover these types of property:

Theft of specific high-priced items. Home insurance policies usually have coverage limits for the theft of jewelry, guns, silverware and other specific items. You can buy additional coverage like jewelry insurance to fully protect those expensive items.
Potentially dangerous property. If you have a pool, diving board or trampoline, your insurer may charge you more for liability home insurance or could even exclude related injuries from coverage.
Certain dogs. Some insurers exclude coverage for certain dog breeds and dogs that have a history of biting.
Your car. Homeowners insurance doesn’t cover your vehicle if it’s damaged or stolen. That’s instead covered by car insurance.

Other Things Home Insurance Won’t Cover

Here a few more common exclusions in a standard type of home insurance policy:

Intentional loss. Home insurance won’t cover intentional acts done by you or members of your household. For example, if you purposely set your shed on fire, home insurance won’t pay. However, home insurers will cover intentional acts by others, such as vandalism to your property.
Power failure. A standard home insurance policy won’t cover problems caused by power failure or other utility services that take place off your premises—for example, if your electric company temporarily disables power for routine maintenance. However, home insurance might cover food spoilage by power failure due to a problem covered by the policy, such as a fallen tree that knocks out a power line.
Wear and tear. Home insurance covers sudden and accidental problems, like water damage caused by a tree falling on your roof in a thunderstorm. But it won’t cover problems caused by deterioration and normal wear and tear, like water leaks caused by worn shingles.

Optional Coverage to Add to a Home Insurance Policy

You can add endorsem*nts to home insurance to fill in coverage gaps, or you may have to buy a separate policy for specific types of damage not covered by home insurance.

Flood insurance. A home insurance policy doesn’t typically cover flood damage. You instead must buy a separate flood insurance policy for that coverage. The cost of flood insurance is based on your property’s flood risk, building characteristics and coverage amount.
Earthquake insurance. Earthquake damage isn’t generally covered by home insurance, but you can buy coverage for that protection. Earthquake insurance covers your house, other structures, personal property and additional living expenses.
Mold damage. Home insurance covers mold typically, but it depends on what caused the mold. If the mold came about over many years, a homeowners policy likely won’t cover it. Home insurance also puts coverage caps on mold damage, but you can expand that coverage amount by adding a policy rider.
Water backup. Homeowners insurance doesn’t generally cover sump pump backups or sewer line issues, but you can usually add water backup coverage to a policy.

What Does Homeowners Insurance Not Cover FAQs

What does other structures mean for homeowners insurance?

The “other structures” part of home insurance refers to structures on your property beyond your house, such as a detached garage, shed, gazebo or fences.

Other structures coverage is typically capped at 10% of your home’s dwelling coverage, but you can add a policy endorsem*nt to get more other structures insurance or increase your dwelling coverage.

Does homeowners insurance cover theft?

Homeowners insurance typically covers theft up to the policy’s coverage limits. For example, let’s say a thief kicks in your door and steals some of your belongings. You’ll need to make a break-in theft home insurance claim.

The dwelling coverage portion of your homeowners insurance policy will pay to repair or replace your door and the personal property coverage portion of your policy will pay to repair or replace stolen items such as electronics. If any outside structures, like a shed, are damaged during the theft, it will be covered by other structures coverage.