Your homeowner's insurance coverage protects your home's contents or personal belongings, even when they are outside your home. However, coverage out of the home is not the same as coverage within the home. Below are some of the things you should know about homeowner's insurance coverage to personal belongings outside the home.
Dollar Limitations Apply
The first thing you should know is that your personal belongings are covered outside the home, but only up to a point. Many insurance companies have a dollar limit on the amount of damage you can claim per travel. Confirm the dollar limits of your policy before you travel to know how much protection you have. You don't want to lose a $5,000 watch only to learn that it is only covered up to a $1,000 limit.
Business Trips Excluded
Standard home insurance typically excludes business-related losses. For example, if you run a home bakery, don't expect your home insurance carrier to replace your oven if it burns down. With some policies, you may get some minimal coverage that might not cover your entire business risks. The same thing applies when you travel for business purposes; your home insurance might not cover the loss to your personal belongings on such trips.
Self-Induced Theft Excluded
You have the responsibility of keeping your items safe during your travels. Your home insurance carrier may balk at compensating your losses if you are the cause of that loss. Say you leave your car window open in the parking lot of a shopping mall, and you leave your camera in the car. In such a case, you are inviting criminals to steal your camera, and your home insurance company might decline your claim if thieves get away with the camera.
Confirm Coverage for Expensive Items
Some home insurance companies either exclude extremely expensive items or place specific limits on them. This is done to discourage traveling with such items and their losses, which would be expensive for insurance carriers to bear. Therefore, before you travel with your gold watch, confirm with your agent what the policy for such items is as per your policy.
Rider Can Provide Extra Coverage
You don't have to resign yourself to the above restrictions on home contents coverage while traveling. Many insurance companies give you the option to buy a rider that enhances your coverage. With the right rider, you will be able to enjoy full coverage for the home contents outside the home.
Share8 November 2019
Hello, I'm Neil Boggs. I am crazy about riding motorcycles around town whenever I can. Since I live in a rainy city, I've been involved in more close calls than I'm comfortable admitting. Other drivers just don't seem to see motorcyclists despite having headlights on or loud exhaust pipes. Those close calls drove me to obtain a full coverage policy for my bike, even though it's not legally required in my city. In addition to medical coverage for myself and my passenger, I wanted all collision repairs covered in the event of an accident. I also elected to secure comprehensive coverage in the event of vandalism or theft damage or losses. I will discuss the various coverage types and amounts you can obtain for your motorcycle. I hope others will follow my lead and obtain full coverage to protect themselves from financial ruin after an accident or vandalism situation. Thanks.
