Does home insurance cover your fence and shed?
Since your home is likely the biggest purchase you will make in your lifetime, it's important to protect your investment with home insurance. This coverage protects you from financial loss in the event of a covered instance.
Here’s more on whether your fence, shed and other outbuilding are covered by your home insurance policy.
What's covered under home insurance?
Your home insurance policy reimburses you for the cost to rebuild or repair your home in the event of a fire, hailstorm or another disaster. Some issues are covered separately, such as fire and flood. So, it's important to understand exactly what's included in the policy you decide to buy. Most policies do include detached structures, such as tool sheds, garages, or gazebos. You can also have your fence included under coverage.
Typically, the total coverage amount cannot exceed 10 percent of your entire home insurance policy limit. If you want a higher limit for detached structures to cover a fancy shed, then you can raise the maximum coverage for your home insurance overall. In most cases, this also raises the premium you pay.
Reading through your policy can take some time. However, it’s critical that you understand it fully. Your agent can also answer your questions on cost and coverage.
Other outbuilding insurance
Your homeowners insurance policy pertains to all buildings on the covered property. This includes gazebos, detached garages, a garden shed, or a fence. Most policies cover workshops and studios under the same terms as other structures. You can relax knowing that you won't have to pay for heavy damages out of your own pocket for covered incidents.
Check with your agent whether 10 percent of your current home insurance will cover the value of the outbuildings on your property. For example, if you have $200,000 of home insurance coverage, the maximum you may receive for damage to outbuildings is $20,000. If your detached garage or other structure exceeds that amount in value, you could need additional coverage.
Now that you understand how home insurance works in regards to your shed or fence, it's time to review your policy. You'll need to approximate the total value of your outbuildings to estimate whether to add to the maximum coverage amount. Doing this can boost the coverage on other structures. Obviously, the more outbuilding you have, the higher your potential loss — and the higher your insurance should be.