No homeowner buys insurance hoping they will need to file a claim, but accidents do happen. If your dishwasher hose leaks all over the kitchen flooring or a stray baseball breaks a window, you may be reluctant to open a claim because you want to avoid a premium increase. This is a common fear.
However, since the whole point of buying an insurance policy is to protect you financially by covering the structure of your home and the belongings inside it, you should use your policy when it makes sense to. In other words, if the cost of the damage repair or property replacement is higher than your deductible limit, go ahead and file a claim.
That said, there are steps you can take to prevent accidents in the home. Performing routine maintenance on pipes and appliances will go a long way to preventing the most common reasons for home claims.
Below, we outline the top 5 reasons you may need to file a home claim and, more importantly, offer suggestions on how to prevent them.
1. Wind
Making up almost 40 percent of all homeowners claims in the US, the top reason to file a claim is from wind damage. If your home is in the path of a hurricane or tornado, there’s not much you can do about that — even if you have “battened down the hatches.” But it’s still a good idea to try to mitigate the damage as much as you can.
For less severe storms, if you’ve done prep work on your house and property, you’ll be in much better shape when things start to shake and rattle.
2. Domestic water damage
The second most common claim is water damage that originates in the property (as opposed to weather-related damage). We use water in so many ways at home – in the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room…which means there are so many avenues for leaks and spills. The good news is there are just as many ways to avoid water damage.
3. Hailstorms
Hailstones are often confused with sleet but are much more lethal. These balls of hard, frozen water — which can grow up to 6 or 7 inches in diameter — occur with severe thunderstorms. Hailstorms can be deadly to people and animals and can cause extensive damage to vehicles, equipment, and property.
With advance warning of a storm, you can take steps to protect your family, pets, livestock, and vehicles. But there’s not much you can do to fully protect the structure of your home. If you live in an area where hailstorms are common, the following suggestions can help minimize the damage.
4. Theft
The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that a burglary occurs every 22.6 seconds in the U.S. The first step is to make sure your home insurance policy provides adequate protection against break-ins and theft. Then, learn how to foil would-be burglars by securing your home using the pointers below.
5. Weather-related water
If you live on a flood plain, you’ll need to buy flood insurance separately as this coverage is not typically included in a homeowners policy. However, if water from an external source, such as a storm, damages your roof, it will be covered. But if your roof leaks from that same storm due to lack of maintenance, you won’t be able to file a claim.
Once you’ve taken all the precautions possible to shore up your home’s defenses, you should be in good shape and hopefully won’t need to ever file an insurance claim. The next step on your list – and one that can reduce your premiums — is to apply insurance discounts. Give Wawanesa a call and ask one of our helpful agents to take a look at your policy to make sure you’re getting all the discounts you qualify for.
Advertisement: Get homeowners insurance for less than you'd expect. Click to see homeowners discounts.