If you are like many others here in Oklahoma City, you probably assume that your homeowner’s insurance will cover any claim related to your home. Unfortunately, you would probably be wrong.
Homeowner’s insurance policies often have exclusions for certain types of property. In order to obtain coverage for them, you may need to purchase a rider to add to your policy.
Common homeowner’s insurance riders
Below are some of the most common riders you could purchase to go along with your homeowner’s insurance:
- If you own expensive antiques or artwork, you may need a rider to cover these assets since an ordinary policy will more than likely not cover their value, especially since you cannot replace many of these types of items.
- Your homeowner’s policy probably wouldn’t cover the total value of your jewelry. If you have expensive pieces of jewelry, you may want to purchase a rider to cover any loss since most basic policies have a limit of just $1,000.
- Genuine Oriental rugs are beautiful and expensive. Even though your policy may include coverage for them, it may not be enough.
- You may own furs and genuine silverware with significant value. Your policy may not provide you with enough coverage to replace these items without a rider.
If you already purchased a homeowner’s policy, you may want to review it to determine whether it covers these items. If it does, the amount of coverage may be insufficient should you experience a loss. The last thing you would want is to find out after you suffer a loss that you will not receive enough compensation for these items. Some policies purposely exclude items such as those above due to their replacement cost, if they can be replaced at all.
Yes, you will probably pay more each month to insure these items, but when you weigh that cost against their value, it may be worth the extra cost.
Filing a claim
If you do suffer the loss of an item covered in a rider, the insurance company may still attempt to deny your claim. In fact, the company may do everything possible to either delay or deny your claim in order to avoid paying out the claim. If that happens, you do have options. It would be wise to consult with an attorney with experience in helping people with denied insurance claims, especially when so much may be at stake.