Painful as it may seem, some folks only discover that their homeowners' insurance policy does NOT really cover everything they thought it did. It's certainly a great idea to check and ask what precisely is covered and what's NOT. Let's discuss a few things that are and are NOT covered...
1. Damage caused by flooding is NOT covered by your standard home insurance policy. But isn't it water damage? Although it is, insurance companies generally do NOT provide coverage for this in your policy. You have to buy flood insurance from the government. That's the only way you can be covered.
2. On the other hand, damage caused by your bathtub overflowing is covered by a standard homeowner insurance policy. Funny enough, it does NOT even matter if your bath tub overflowed because you forgot to turn off the faucet.
3. Damage caused by water seeping through the floor isn't covered. This is because this is NOT considered a sudden occurrence but something due to poor maintenance. But what about case NO.2 above? Well, that how these things are -- That's the much I can say.
There are other funny clauses that are rather confusing. For some of them you're covered while for others, you aren't. The worst part of it all is that it's not something you can guess. Because the reasons for which one case might be covered and another NOT covered can be nothing short of ridiculous.
Therefore, the responsibility is entirely yours to ensure you find out which situations are covered and which are NOT. Bear in mind also that every step you take towards protecting your home from water damage (the types covered by your policy) will actually go a long way towards reducing your home insurance rate.