What Is Comprehensive Homeowners Insurance?
Comprehensive homeowners insurance is a policy that covers most calamities that can happen to your home. The name "comprehensive" comes from it scope: It covers both the physical structure of your home and your personal possessions, as well as your personal liability.
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History
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Comprehensive policies became widespread in the 1950s. Before then, a homeowner often needed several policies to get full protection.
Damage and Loss
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Comprehensive policies covers damage or loss caused by fire, weather, vehicles, theft, vandalism, civil unrest and anything else not specifically excluded.
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Exclusions
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The most common exclusions are for floods and earthquakes; you need special policies for those. Others include intentional damage, neglect and acts of war--meaning that if the country goes to war and your house gets bombed, the insurance company isn't on the hook for it.
Liability
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Comprehensive policies offer liability protection. If someone trips and falls on your sidewalk and sues you, the insurer will pay costs up to the amount specified in the policy.
Alternatives
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Lower-cost homeowner policies have more exclusions than comprehensive insurance. The cheapest ones provide coverage only for those events specifically listed in the policy--such as fire and weather.
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References
- Photo Credit fire image by Maxim Fedorov from Fotolia.com
