What Are Perils and Hazards in Home Insurance?

As part of your homeowners insurance policy, you have coverage for the perils and hazards listed in your policy. This coverage gives you important protection for your home as well as for your personal property, such as appliances, furniture, electronics, clothing, dishes, pots and pans, jewelry and other items. Here’s what to know about perils and hazards and the insurance that covers them. 

For personalized guidance to make sure you have the homeowners insurance you need, reach out to Farm Bureau.    

What Are Perils? 

Perils are events that cause damage. In terms of insurance, a peril could be: 

• Weather or natural disasters, like heavy snow or ice, fire or smoke, lightning, hail, wind or volcanoes
• Damage from vehicles or aircraft
• Vandalism or rioting
• Theft
• Falling objects
• Freezing

What Are Hazards? 

Hazards are conditions that make a loss more likely to happen. For example, if your gutters are clogged, you’re more likely to get water or ice buildup on your roof that could cause damage. The clogged gutters are a hazard, and any damage that occurs would be caused by a peril. 

Sometimes, you’ll hear people use the terms “peril insurance” and “hazard insurance” interchangeably, even though there are slight differences between them. 

What Is a Covered Peril? 

Homeowners insurance policies generally respond to covered losses on either a named peril or an open (special) peril basis.  

A policy with named perils provides coverage only for the causes of loss that are specifically listed on your policy. If you have a home or personal property damaged by one of these covered perils, it is likely that the resulting damage may be covered.  

A policy with open peril coverage, also referred to as “all risk” or “special” perils, provides broader protection. Open perils cover loss or damage from any cause unless the peril is specifically excluded in the policy. 

What Perils Aren’t Covered? 

There are certain perils that aren’t typically covered under your homeowners insurance policy. Most policies don’t include coverage for flood or earthquake damage. You need to buy separate coverage for those risks if you want protection.  

These perils are also generally not covered: 

• Intentionally damaging your own property
• Neglect
• Nuclear hazards
• Acts of war

Additional Coverage for Your Possessions 

Your homeowners insurance policy may have limits for the coverage on certain items, such as: 

• Jewelry
• Money, gold or coins
• Furs
• Electronics
• Guns

If you have valuable items that exceed your coverage limits, you may be able to add scheduled personal property coverage so these things are protected. 

Coverage Beyond Your Home 

Your items may be covered for perils and hazards even if they aren’t in your home or on your property. For example, if your luggage is stolen from a taxi or you have items in a storage unit that get damaged from fire or smoke, you may be able to submit a claim. 

Make Sure You Have the Coverage You Need  

At Farm Bureau, we know how important it is to have the right protection in place for your home, property and possessions. Speak to an agent for a personalized consultation to make sure you have homeowners insurance that gives you the coverage you need.