Does Home Insurance Cover Fire Damage?

House fires are among the biggest hazards homeowners encounter. House fire incidents usually cause a lot of damage to your home and result in major financial loss. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reported nearly 1.4 million incidents of house fires in 2020, with a financial loss of nearly $21.9 billion.

Considering these statistics, homeowners are posed with an important question: does my home insurance cover fire damage? Let’s take a look at this and answer some other questions here.

Does Home Insurance Cover Fire Damage?

Usually, home insurance policies cover fire damages despite the cause of the house fire. However, in some cases, insurance providers exclude fire protection if the fire was caused by your negligence.

House fires can be caused by a lot of things. This includes a short circuit in your home’s electrical wiring or any other appliance, burning candles, cooking in the kitchen, fireplace accidents, and more. Overheating Christmas lights on a tree can also start a house fire during the Christmas season.

Make sure you speak to your insurance provider about this before any incident occurs.

What Fire Damage Does a Home Insurance Policy Not Cover?

Often, home insurance policies won’t cover fire damage caused by wildfires. If you live in an area where wildfires occur regularly, your home insurance provider may charge you a higher premium to cover damages to your home due to a wildfire.

Apart from this, home insurance policies don’t cover arson or any fire that was started intentionally. For example, if a person burns down their house to collect their insurance payout, they won’t be covered for the damage to the house and will be charged with fraud instead.

How Much do Home Insurance Policies Usually Cover?

The amount covered by your insurance policy is based on your coverage limits.

Your policy may not cover all the damages. For example, if the cost of rebuilding your home after a fire incident is $95,000 but your dwelling coverage is only $75,000, you’ll have to pay $20,000 out-of-pocket. Speak to your insurance provider to know your dwelling coverage.

If you’re in search of a home insurance policy that provides sufficient dwelling coverage for fire-related accidents, look no further.

Western Mass Auto Insurance is a reliable insurance provider in Springfield and offers home insurance policies that cover fire damages comprehensively. We also offer other insurances, including renter’s insurance, personal car insurance, and more.

Get home insurance today by contacting our team.