What Homeowners Insurance Doesn't Cover

Homeowners insurance covers many kinds of damage to your home and property, but it doesn't cover everything. Home insurance policies will typically cover damage from fire, lightning, windstorms and hail, smoke, vandalism, theft, volcanic eruptions and more.

The most common exclusions to a homeowners insurance policy are related to large-scale disasters, such as floods or war; damage due to negligence or normal wear and tear; and inherently risky items, such as trampolines.

But you can buy additional coverage to protect those things. In some cases, you may even be required to. Every policy is different, so read through all the details of what is, and isn't, covered.

Types of homeowners insurance

To understand your policy's exclusions, you first need to know what type, or "form," of insurance you have. There are several forms, with different levels of coverage. They're commonly referred to by the letters HO, followed by a number. HO-3 is the most common form for single-family homes in the US. It's often called "standard" homeowners insurance. HO-1 and HO-2 typically provide only basic coverage, for named perils (dangers specifically listed in the policy). Damage from other causes would not be covered.

For example, HO-2 protects your home and the property inside it against 16 named perils, such as damage from fire or falling objects, but nothing else. HO-3 hazard insurance — the part of a homeowners policy that covers damage to your home's structure — insures against "open perils." This means all scenarios are covered, other than the exceptions specifically named in your policy. Plus, it covers your personal property for the 16 named perils in HO-2 policies.

Forms above HO-3 provide different levels of coverage for renters, landlords and other, more specialized insurance situations, each of which comes with its own set of risks.

Events not covered by homeowners insurance

Some events are not covered by homeowners insurance, regardless of the damage they cause. These events can be roughly split into two categories: events that are too massive in scope for the insurance company to cover and damage caused by negligence or normal use.

Massively destructive events

Disasters that cause substantial damage across a wide geographical area aren't typically covered by standard homeowners insurance. For some of these events, especially natural disasters, you can buy extra insurance to protect your home. But for others, insurance companies may not offer coverage at all.

Events typically not covered by standard homeowners insurance include:

Some natural disasters, such as flooding and earth movement (earthquakes, sinkholes and other natural shifts in the earth) are excluded from homeowners insurance everywhere. But some aren't covered only in particular locations. For example, wind damage may not be covered in a coastal area that gets a lot of storms. Check the details of your policy to see what is and is not covered in your area.

However, if an uncovered disaster causes a form of damage that is covered — like if an earthquake causes a fire — your policy would pay for repairs.

You can usually buy insurance specifically for natural disasters like earthquakes, floods and wind. You may even be legally required to buy it if you're especially at risk.

For example, homes in high-risk flood areas must get flood insurance to qualify for a federally backed mortgage.

On the other hand, insurance companies don't cover financial damages due to acts by the US government, acts of war or nuclear accidents. Government acts could include your property being claimed for eminent domain to build public works projects. Terrorist attacks are not considered acts of war, so they're often covered by homeowners insurance. Federal law prohibits insurance companies from covering nuclear accidents, but the nuclear power plant must pay for all of the damages.

Damage caused by negligence or normal wear and tear

Homeowners insurance is designed to cover accidents and other events beyond your control. So it does not pay for damage you can address or should have addressed during the normal course of owning your home. This includes events caused or worsened by your negligence.

For example, if you don't trim a tree on your property and a falling limb damages the roof of your house, you would not be covered. Insurance also doesn't cover normal wear and tear, such as replacing carpet that's worn out from years of being walked on.

Common homeowners insurance exclusions due to negligence:

Generally, homeowners insurance doesn't cover termites, bedbugs or infestations, because they're almost always brought into the home by you. The only exception is if your house suddenly collapses due to termites and the damage wasn't previously visible.

Sewer backups are not covered either, regardless of whether they're caused by the improper disposal of waste or something like an invading tree root. However, most companies allow you to add sewer backup coverage to your policy for a few extra dollars a month.

Keep in mind that the underlying cause of the damage is often the deciding factor in whether your policy will cover it. For example, if your power goes out and your pipes freeze and burst as a result, the water damage might be covered, since it wasn't caused by negligence. On the other hand, if you hear a dripping noise in your bathroom but ignore it for several months, the resulting water damage would not be covered.

One other important type of neglect is not filing a claim promptly, regardless of the cause. If your home is damaged by a storm and you wait six months to address it, your insurance company would likely deny the claim, because waiting might have made the problem worse.

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Property not covered by homeowners insurance

It's also common for companies not to provide liability coverage if you own certain hazardous items, because guests have a higher risk of injury at your house.

Normally, liability insurance covers you if someone is injured on your property and sues. For example, if a guest trips on your rug and is hurt in the fall, your liability insurance would help cover the cost of their medical care and associated expenses.However, some kinds of property are not covered under your liability insurance because of how frequently they cause injuries. Common exceptions include:

Typically, owning one of these will have a big impact on your insurance rates. It's also possible that your company may not offer you homeowners insurance at all, or they may ask you to sign an exclusion. An exclusion is an agreement between you and the company that injuries due to a specific item are not covered by your insurance.

You might be able to buy a rider for these items, but that's up to the insurance company. If not, you may have to remove the item before you can get coverage.

Some dog breeds aren't covered by homeowners insurance

Sometimes certain dog breeds aren't covered under your homeowners liability insurance. The list varies by company but often includes breeds that are large or thought to be aggressive, such as pit bulls, rottweilers and German shepherds. Depending on the policy, this could mean the company won't cover injuries or damage your dog causes — or will deny coverage altogether.

If this is the case, shop around. Different companies may allow different breeds. For example, State Farm does not consider a dog's breed when choosing whether to insure it. You can also purchase separate dog-specific liability insurance.

Valuables have limited coverage

Also limited in your homeowners insurance policy is coverage for high-value items, such as jewelry, furs and gold. Standard insurance policies often have dollar limits for these items, either collectively or per item. For example, a standard policy covers $1,000 to $2,000 for the theft of jewelry, but high-value items can cost much more than that to replace.

If you have a lot of valuables in your home, it may be worth getting extra insurance to cover them. You could buy it either as an add-on to your homeowners insurance or through a separate policy for valuables.