Your Home column: Understanding more about homeowners insurance

Homeowners Insurance. What's covered? What's not? What do my limits mean?

A standard homeowners insurance policy typically does not cover floods, earthquakes, sewer backups or damage that occurs from a lack of maintenance. You may be able to buy additional coverage or a separate insurance policy to help cover some of these additional perils. For example, you may be able to add water backup coverage to your existing homeowners insurance policy to help cover sewer backups. Or, you may be able to buy flood insurance to help protect your home against flooding.

Although a lot of people think of their dwelling as just the home they live in, your dwelling coverage limit may help protect more than that. Dwelling insurance typically helps cover the home you live in, plus attached structures, like an attached garage. If you have a structure on your property that isn't connected to your home— like a detached garage or shed — it is most likely covered with your "other structures" coverage.

When you think of homeowners insurance, the insurance limits should be based on the estimated cost of rebuilding your home or detached structures (not necessarily the market value). Your dwelling limit and other structures limit are also closely related, in that the other structures limit is usually 10% of the dwelling limit, unless you add extra coverage.

If you are interested in a second look at your coverage, please reach out to Nik at DPA Insurance Services, 402-682-1691 for a free assessment of your coverage and a new quote.