What Are Insurance Endorsements, Riders and Exclusions?

Have you ever opened your insurance renewal and read through all the pages? Maybe not, but you may have noticed that many of the pages show your endorsements or exclusions. Here’s what you should know about them.
Insurance endorsements are used on property and casualty insurance. You may have seen them on your home, auto and other personal policies. An insurance endorsement is an addition to the existing policy contract. Here’s what an endorsement can do:
Simply put, the purpose of an insurance endorsement is to make a policy change. Many insurance endorsements are offered as optional coverage you are able to add to your policy. If you are choosing to add an endorsement to your insurance policy, there may be a premium adjustment. Some endorsements can be added mid-term.
Here are some examples of our common insurance endorsements:
This coverage helps protect appliances, electronics and electrical systems in your home.
This coverage helps cover the cost to clean up and repair in case of a sump pump failure.
If your car is less than four model years old and is totaled in an accident, this optional coverage can replace it with a similar new vehicle.
Use our toll-free number to get assistance with battery jump starts, fuel delivery, flat tire service and lock-out service.
This coverage can help cover livestock for loss caused by freezing or smothering in blizzards or snowstorms.
A rider is similar to an endorsement but instead of being used for property and casualty insurance, they are used on surety or fidelity bonds. You may occasionally hear the two terms used interchangeably.
Exclusions eliminate coverage for some type of risk. Most insurance policies are very broad and not too specific, they use exclusions to take away coverage for unwanted risks. Here are some reasons coverage may be excluded:
It is important to review your policy and ask your agent any questions you have about coverage. It can be hard to know exactly the type of coverage you need or want so just be upfront with your agent about your concerns. Schedule a SuperCheck with your Farm Bureau agent to make sure you are properly covered.