What Is Hazard Insurance? [How It Works and What It Covers]

People tend to think about insurance only when they buy a home or have already experienced damages to their home. During such times, the question ‘what is hazard insurance’ often crops up. Is it the same as homeowners insurance? What does it cover? This article addresses these questions and how hazard insurance coverage works.

What Is Hazard Insurance

As a part of your homeowners’ insurance strategy, hazard coverage backs you up with damage caused to the structure of your home, which may be caused by storms, hail or sleet, fire, or some other natural event. Therefore, you should be compensated for the damage if your insurance policy covers such.

There’s a common misconception that hazard coverage is the same as catastrophe insurance. But these are technically different. Hazard coverage is a part of a general homeowners’ coverage policy that helps preserve and protect your home construction.

Catastrophe insurance is an independent policy that covers particular sorts of disasters, such as earthquakes and hurricanes, and ones caused by people, such as riots or terrorist attacks.

How Does It Work?

The hazard insurance definition includes a subdivision of the homeowners’ insurance program. It serves as dwelling coverage and protects other structures next to it, such as a garage.

Duration

These policies are signed for one year and renewed automatically thereafter.

Cost

Providers look into many factors to decide on the cost of your policy. Each insurance agency creates its criteria checklist for estimating insurance policy rates. Consider these factors when dealing with property hazard insurance:

• Location of house
• House’s safety characteristics (smoke detectors, alarms)
• House structure (wood, concrete, steel)
• Age of home
• Type of roof of your home
• Yard size
• Credit history
• Past home insurance claims
• Insurance coverage deficiencies

Deductibles and Limits

A property insurance deductible is the number of funds the owner needs to pay before the insurance coverage. When the insurance firm finances the claim, it will be for the total amount of the damage minus the deductible sum.

• You cannot pay your deductible to the insurance company like a bill. Instead, it’s deducted from the amount your insurance firm pays. Then you pay your part (the deductible) to the agency that will work on the damage. And there is no option to pay the home hazard insurance deductible with a check.
• You receive the deductible before the insurance company pays its part, meaning that if the amount of damage to your house is less than your deductible, the company does not pay anything. You shouldn’t file an insurance claim if this is the case. If the damage to your home costs, for example, $400.00, and the deductible is $600.00, you should pay the $400.00 as hazard insurance cost.

What Does Hazard Insurance Cover?

Hazard insurance compensates for the damage to the real estate construction and covers the cost of rebuilding a house in the unwanted event of significant loss. But it does not offer compensation for your personal belongings nor covers harm incurred upon guests in your home. (There is more to the elements of the insurance policy which provide compensation for this type of harm.)

The policy of your hazard insurance should include:

Dwelling or House Coverage

This ensures the construction of your house, alongside the foundation and the roof.

Liability Coverage

Only if it’s stated in the hazard insurance contract for a home—if any person is harmed during a visit to your house (and you are responsible), this should cover the expenses.

Personal Possessions

Only if it’s stated in the contract—the company is obliged to cover the sum for repairing or replacing your personal belongings in the home during an accident.

Additional Structures

You should be compensated for any damaged structures that are detached but still on your property, such as a detached garage or outbuilding.

Loss of Use

If you cannot stay and live in your house while repairs take place, this part of the policy should refund your living expenses.

Medical Expenses

If you or someone is injured in your house and you need medical attention, this homeowners hazard insurance plan should cover the payment of your medical costs.

Named Perils

A named-peril is a term used to define a specific type of damage that’s stated by ‘name’ in your policy. If you are compensated only for the named perils, you won’t be paid for any unstated damage in the contract.

Named perils insurance is ideal for those who wish to choose the sorts of perils they want to state on their policy. It’s convenient because you can pick the coverage options that work best for you. But some insurance agencies offer predetermined policies that can increase your premium for coverage which you may not need at the time.

If your policy only covers named perils, you won’t receive compensation for damage due to any hazard that isn’t named. Below are the named perils included by HO-1 insurance (the most barebones option) for a hazard insurance policy:

• Explosions
• Lightning
• Theft
• Vandalism
• Fire, smoke
• Destruction from vehicles
• Destruction from airplanes
• Wind, storm, hail
• Riot damage
• Volcanic activity

Note six more HO-2 policies with hazard insurance coverage:

• Cracking of household structure (pipelines or other systems)
• Falling pieces or items
• The surplus load caused by ice, snow, or sleet
• Freezing facilities (heating or air-conditioning systems)
• Unwanted water or steam release from vandalization
• Unexpected or coincidental damage due to electrical explosion

Open Perils

What is hazard insurance associated with the dangers of open perils, and what does it cover? Any hazard that is not explicitly excluded in your policy is defined as open perils.

HO-3 and HO-5 plans cover open perils. If you need more extensive coverage—for a bit higher price—then you should consider HO-5s.

Depending on the risks of your district, there will be some hazards kept out of the policy. These exclusions are made to protect the insurance companies in case of damage as a direct result of a lack of the owner’s maintenance.

Note the list of open perils below, which are typically excluded from your hazard insurance premium:

• Floods
• Water destruction
• Landslides and Earthquakes
• Fungus and mold
• Decay, corrosion, and smog
• Damage caused by pets
• Deforming, splitting, or breaking your house’s substructure
• Infection or infestation damage from animals or insects
• General negligence or disaster

Is Hazard Insurance the Same as Homeowners Insurance?

Besides the damage caused by fire, windstorms, hail, vandalism, etc., homeowners insurance guards you financially from multiple sorts of damage, depending on the terms of your policy. It also covers medical bills if somebody is harmed during a visit to your house, as well as legal costs if they choose to sue you.

• Regarding hazard insurance vs homeowners insurance, hazard coverage is a subdivision of homeowners insurance and isn’t distinct from home insurance coverage. Insurers, however, refer to hazard coverage separately, although it’s a part of the homeowners’ policy that protects against most natural calamities.
• Agents create a homeowners policy to cover the expenses of your liability, basic coverage, property coverage, and shield against determined hazards. Many have just one policy (homeowners coverage) that ensures basic liabilities and offers the option to incorporate hazard coverage.
• Nevertheless, hazard insurance mortgage lenders demand supporting hazard coverage based on your current place of residence. If you live in Texas, for example, there is a possibility that the mortgage lender will demand tornado insurance on your home. Other additional hazard coverages worth your money include earthquake, sewer, and flood insurance.

What Is Hazard Insurance on a Mortgage?

Private mortgage insurance (PMI) serves as a protective shield to mortgage lenders, who protect themselves from users who cease to pay the policy on their house. It’s not meant for homeowners and buyers.

Those who cannot put a down payment of 20% or more on the house are asked to obtain private mortgage insurance. Then, when you pay 20% to the balance of your mortgage, you can demand your lender to stop the PMI.

Mortgage and Hazard Insurance Escrow

You have an escrow when you pay for your homeowner’s insurance as a segment of your mortgage. Your lender can take your payments for homeowners’ coverage—and on some occasions, a property tax—with a separate account called an escrow, which is included in your mortgage and makes the payments for you.
This is a win-win situation for you and your lender since you don’t need to keep track of new bills, and the lender is assured that you’re performing the necessary financial responsibilities.

On some occasions, it’s required for you, as a borrower, to escrow your insurance or property taxes into your mortgage hazard insurance payments. And, again, if you haven’t paid your 20% minimum for a down payment on the home, this is one more reason for your lender to require it. Those who decline the payment via escrow usually pay their coverage sum at once or have more influence over when payments are made.

Conclusion

Regarding hazard insurance vs homeowners insurance, you can see how hazard coverage is a subclass type of homeowners insurance. Whether you go for homeowners insurance embedded into your mortgage payments or not, it’s best to talk to your insurance agent before signing a lender’s paperwork.