Typical Homeowners' Coverage

Although Texas homeowners insurance policies come in different forms, the standard homeowners' policies cover the following:

• Dwelling: covers damage to the structure of the home along with structures such as fences, garages and storage sheds.
• Personal property: covers theft, damage or destruction to the contents of the home.
• Loss of use: covers some living expenses if your home is too damaged to live in during repairs.
• Wind v. Flood: We anticipate that insurers will attempt to try to deny coverage on the distinctions between wind and flood coverage. This issue, which was litigated extensively after Hurricane Katrina. It is important to not just take the insurer’s “word” that a loss is not covered on this basis. You should contact a lawyer to help you assess whether they are right or wrong. If you have both types of coverage, you should file claims with both insurers.
• Mold coverage: Many homeowners policies provide basic coverage for mold, fungi and other microbes. However, the cause of the mold must result from a covered loss under a homeowners policy. Insurance companies will often complain that the cause of the mold resulted from flood damage, so it is not covered under a homeowners policy. Also, we have been hearing reports that some insurers are denying legitimate mold claims on grounds that the homeowner did not promptly take action to mitigate mold damage. Which is pretty amazing considering that many people, on Galveston Island in particular, who were not allowed to return to their homes.
• Replacement cost vs. actual cash value: Replacement cost means the insurer will pay the value of what it would cost to replace your damaged property, up to a certain limit. Actual cash value means the insurer will pay the actual cash value of the damaged property at the time it was destroyed.