Insurance companies like to advertise their “all inclusive” house insurance cover, but as with most things, there is fine print – and in that fine print you’ll find the exclusions to cover. While the odds are low that one of the excludable events will cause damage to your property, it’s still a good idea to be aware of them.
The following are some of the more common exclusions to a typical house insurance policy, but be sure to examine your specific policy or the policy you’re considering carefully, and take note of any other exclusion mentioned in the wording.
Typically, the following are excluded from cover in a buildings insurance policy:
• Losses resulting from nuclear power or radioactivity. This includes burning nuclear fuel or damages from nuclear waste. It also includes damage or danger from any type of nuclear equipment.
• Losses or damage resulting from military action, an invasion, or an act of war, including the actions of a foreign enemy. Often the policy will stipulate “whether or not an Act of War has been declared”.
• Damage or loss due to any type of uprising, whether civil or military, and whether for or against the government or not. Terms such as “revolution”, “insurrection” and the like will tip you off to this exclusion.
• Loss or damage to the property from terrorism or threat of terrorism. This is a relatively new exclusion but is found in nearly all policies now.
• Loss due to pressure waves from aircraft.
• Loss due to pollution or contamination. However, this exclusion often has its own exclusions, as in the case of an accident or leakage from an underground oil tank at the property. If you heat with oil, check this exclusion carefully.
If these exclusions bother you, speak to your insurance agent about the possibility of separate cover for one or all of these circumstances.