Discover three off-the-beaten-path homeowner losses that insurance covered.

Read about accidental homeowner property insurance claims that have happened.

Big or small, never say you’ve seen it all.
Odd but true, mishaps sometimes visit you.
Read along, and find out what has gone wrong.

So it is with homeowner insurance losses. Today’s blog summarizes three rather unusual homeowner insurance claims. Be aware that each individual insurance claim is unique and subject to the insurance company’s findings. As always, actual policy terms, conditions, and limits apply.

I’ll begin with an ordinary activity most homeowners perform at least twice a day, which is automatically opening and closing the garage door. Who expects a garage door to crash down in the process of raising? In this case, the garage was attached to the home, and the insured had a standard HO-3 homeowner’s insurance policy. The garage door, motor, and remote were within 10 years of age. Neither the motor or the remote failed. A bolt holding the spring into the wall suddenly gave way, and down came the garage door. Because this garage is attached to the home, it is part of the structure and qualified for special form coverage included under Coverage A – Dwelling of the HO-3 homeowner insurance policy. Less the deductible, the insurance company paid for resultant damage, which in this case, was a new garage door. No coverage applied to the bolt, the cause of the damage.

Let’s take it down a notch to a weekly or monthly activity that occurs in many households, i.e. vacuuming. In this case the loss was to contents, not to the structure. Importantly, the insured homeowner here had purchased the Special Personal Property Coverage endorsement (may be referred to as HO-15 endorsement) that expanded coverage beyond what the standard HO-3 homeowner insurance policy provides. This particular home was older and well-kept with original hardwood flooring. A decorative area rug in excellent condition with tassel borders was damaged when a tassel was sucked up by the vacuum. Within seconds the fabric line tore several inches through the main part of the rug. The rug showed no signs of wear and tear, deterioration, or latent defect, all of which are standard exclusions under even the broadest homeowner insurance policy. The damage to the rug was sudden and accidental. The insurance company paid for repair, less the policy deductible.

The final example involves well-meaning, do-it-yourself, homeowner handypeople. The insured was tackling an indoor painting project in a room with a high ceiling. The insured’s policy included Special Personal Property Coverage. While the homeowner had covered the area in which he was working, he had not anticipated unintentionally swiping the paint bucket, which flew out about 3 feet and down about 7 feet. Sudden and accidental paint velocity resulted in irreparable damage to a leather sofa and wall-to-wall carpet. Less the deductible, the insurance company replaced the sofa and carpet.

The final example above illustrates an important distinction between the standard HO-3 homeowner insurance policy and a policy that includes Special Personal Property Coverage. Damage to wall-to-wall carpet is generally covered under the standard HO-3 wording, because wall-to-wall carpeting is considered part of the structure. However, the leather sofa is contents, and the standard HO-3 wording limits contents coverage to named perils, one of which is not paint spillage. The sofa was replaced in this case, because the insured’s policy included Special Personal Property Coverage.

Protect your home and stuff through Richey-Barrett Insurance, a Trusted Choice Independent Insurance Agency for homeowner insurance.