Home Foundation Insurance Coverage
November 30, 2016
The foundation is very important to the home, just like the keystone is important to archways. But despite this importance, most insurance carriers typically does not cover damage to foundations.
According to the SFGate/San Francisco Chronicle:
Many major insurance companies offer a “dwelling foundation” rider for insurance policies for an additional fee. This rider typically covers very specific, limited risks, such as water damage due to a pipe bursting or water leaking. Each insurance company has a different set of risks that are covered on their foundation rider.
Home Foundation Insurance Coverage
But there are some exceptions to when it comes to home foundation insurance coverage. Tornado damage is an exception here. If your home suffers damage due to a tornado, then the foundation repair will be covered. Also, your home’s foundation may be covered by plumbing back-ups, pipes bursting, fires and explosions. (You should verify this with your home insurance carrier.) Furthermore, foundation damage may be covered by your insurance if you have earthquake insurance or flood insurance and your home is damaged by a flood or damage.
According to Esurance by Allstate here are some reasons that foundation repair will be covered:
For example, if you sustain property damage by a tornado and needs repairing, a home foundation repair could possibly be part of the rebuilding process and would be a part of your home’s dwelling coverage.
Or if your foundation damage is caused by another insured risk — such as the plumbing backing up, an explosion or a fire breaking out — your homeowner’s insurance policy could reimburse you for the repairs (up to your insurance coverage limits).
Endorsements
Despite these shortcomings, insurance carriers have endorsements that can be added to the insurance policy. Mine subsidence endorsement will cover mining cave-ins if your home is close to a mine and one of the tunnels underneath your home collapses. Endorsements for other areas such as pipes bursting, plumbing and sewers backing up can be added through some insurance carriers. Be sure to check with your insurance agent about what endorsements they offer in regards to home foundation insurance coverage.
Have questions about your home’s foundation? We are happy to provide foundation repair service to the residents of Waco, Victoria, Temple, San Antonio, Midland-Odessa, Lubbock, Killeen, Corpus Christi, Bryan, Brenham, and Austin. We are the foundation repair specialists Texas can trust. Contact us to see how we can help!