A home insurance policy provides protection to one of your most valuable assets – your home. During purchase of a home insurance policy, while it is necessary to look for extensive coverage and diverse inclusions, it is equally important to look at the exclusions. Overlooking the exclusions and exact policy wordings regarding them can cause problems when one is raising a claim.
To address the issue, in this article, we guide you through the various exclusions of home insurance policies.
Firstly, do bear in mind that the exclusions of different home insurance policies could differ according to the insurer.
General exclusions
- War
There is a high probability that your home insurance policy will not cover any damages incurred by your house due to war and related activities. These activities may include but are not limited to: foreign invasion, acts of a foreign enemy, rebellion, revolution, insurrection, civil war, and so on.
- Terrorism
Any damages caused to your house due to acts of terrorism may not be covered by your home insurance policy unless stated otherwise.
- Confiscation
If your home suffers any damage as a result of legal, government – authorized confiscation, requisition or commandeering, your home insurance policy will likely not be liable to pay you for it.
- Nuclear damage
Damages caused to contents or external structure of the home or the individuals inside it due to nuclear activity shall be excluded from the policy.
- Pre-existing damage
Any damages incurred to the house prior to purchasing the home insurance policy shall not be considered for coverage.
Home insurance also provides additional coverage in case of personal liability or damage to pets. However, the policy will not be responsible for coverage of any pre-existing diseases, damage, or illness of the injured party during the aforementioned cases.
- Depreciation
It is natural that as your house ages, it will undergo gradual wear and tear, leading to certain damages. Generally, a home insurance policy does not provide any coverage for losses occurring due to such damages.
Coverage-specific exclusions
Apart from the general exclusions, there might be separate exclusions for each coverage section. Let’s go through some of these to get an idea of how section-specific exclusions function.
- Exclusions under contents coverage against fire
– Items of hazardous or explosive nature
– Stamps, bullions or other unset precious stones
– Living creatures, pets, or livestock
– Motor vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft
- Exclusions under theft and housebreaking coverage
– Damage caused due to theft or attempted theft by the policyholder or any member of their family
– Unexplained losses
– Damage caused to the house due to cutting of trees on the policyholder’s commands
– Damage caused to gates, fences, aerial or satellite dish
– Damages arising out of an electrical or mechanical breakdown
– Damages caused to insured contents that have been kept outside the house, except for those items that are conventionally kept outside the house
III. Exclusions under pet coverage
– Charges incurred during disposal, post mortem or cremation of the pet post-death
– Charges for total or partial disabilities of any nature incurred by the pet
– Any animal in quarantine or not owned entirely by you.
A detailed understanding of the exclusions can be availed by reading the policy wordings of your home insurance plan. Do make sure you are fully aware of the exclusions before you buy home insurance.
It is worth pointing out that there might be exclusions in terms of amount limits even for those items and events that are covered. Kindly read the home insurance policy documents carefully before signing.