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Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner
Types of coverage
occupy, or buildings you use for business. If you
have an unusually large detached garage or several
outbuildings on your property, you may need to buy
additional coverage.
Personal property coverage
This coverage provides for repair or replacement
of your furnishings and personal items, such as
your TV, stereo, clothing, dishes, etc. The coverage
is usually 70 percent of the dwelling coverage for
replacement costs, depending on your insurance
company. Your replacement coverage is based on the
used value until you actually replace the item. This
means your insurance company will initially pay you
for the used value of your item. After you buy the
replacement item, your insurance company will pay
you the difference between the used value and the
actual replacement cost.
This coverage extends worldwide, but usually
provides only up to 10 percent of the personal
property coverage limit for property you keep at
another location. You may be able to buy increased
limits on personal property for an additional cost.
Insurance companies usually offer personal property
coverage on a named peril basis. This means that
the policy will specify and list the perils that trigger
coverage. Commonly covered perils include fire,
lightning, windstorm, hail, explosion, riot or civil
commotion, aircraft, vehicles, smoke, vandalism
and malicious mischief, theft, and damage caused by
falling objects.
Your policy may provide specific coverage limits
for specified property and perils, such as jewelry,
cameras, furs, art, silver, stamp collections, etc. Ask
your agent or insurer if you need to raise those limits.
Homeowner policies do have exclusions. For
example, they do not cover a roommate’s or renter’s
property, autos, and/or damage caused intentionally.
A homeowner policy is a protection package that
provides coverage for your home, personal property,
medical payments for others, and protection against
claims someone else makes against you. This type
of policy is available for primary residence homes
occupied by the owners. It’s often referred to as a
“package” policy.
There are a wide variety of homeowner policies
available, so be sure to read your policy to find out
what coverage your insurance company provides.
Following are some of the coverages that may be
included in your policy.
Dwelling coverage
This coverage provides for the repair or replacement
of your damaged or destroyed home and attached
structures, such as a garage or deck. Most
homeowner policies provide replacement coverage.
This coverage pays the actual cost to replace your
home up to the limit of your policy.
Some policies offer guaranteed replacement cost.
Under this policy, the company will pay the full
cost to replace your home, even if it is above the
policy limit.
Before you have a loss, discuss with your agent
or company how replacement costs work and the
conditions of the policy limit for your specific
coverage.
Coverage for other structures
This coverage provides for the repair or replacement
of other permanent, separate, unattached structures
on your property. The limit is typically 10 percent of
the dwelling coverage. This coverage protects against
a loss to a detached garage, personal workshop or
detached fence. It usually will not provide coverage
for other buildings on your property that renters