Floors are something that is easy to take for granted, so when they’ve become destroyed or damaged, you might want to know whether or not your homeowners insurance will cover damage done to your floor. Thankfully, your homeowners insurance can cover floor damage, however, it will only cover floor damage that is a result of a covered peril. Your home insurance will likely not have much to say about specific floors – instead, your insurance will care more about the cause of the damaged floors. Some situations, like damage from fire, can be covered, while other situations, such as damage from earthquakes, won’t be covered.
Your Homeowners Insurance Will Only Cover Specific Kinds of Floor Damage
In general, your policy will split damaging events, known as perils, into two categories: covered and uncovered. On most modern insurance policies, all perils will be covered, except for a specific list of perils that are uncovered. If your floor becomes damaged as a result of a covered peril, then your insurance will help pay for repairing or replacing the floor.
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While the specific things covered will change from insurance policy to insurance policy, there are many common perils that tend to be covered. Damage due to fire or smoke, for example, is usually covered. Fire damage can be a major problem if you have wooden floors or carpets, and smoke damage can severely damage all kinds of flooring, especially if the floor in question is above the ground floor. Water damage, from something like a burst pipe or a sudden roof leak, is also likely to be covered. Damage due to weight, such as a tree that collapses onto your house, or even if something heavy in your house manages to fall and damage flooring, is likely to be covered. As you can see, there are plenty of realistic scenarios that can result in a damaged floor being covered by your insurance.
Also Read: Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Hardwood Floor Damage?
There Are Also Plenty of Different Kinds of Damage Your Insurance Will Not Cover
It is an unfortunate fact of life that your floors are likely to get damaged: not only are your floors everywhere, waiting for something bad to happen, but they’re subject to constant wear and tear due to being walked on. Wear and tear is something that is typically not covered by your insurance, which means that the costs associated with maintaining your floor will fall entirely on you. Flooding is another problem that is very likely to damage flooring and is almost always excluded from coverage, alongside earthquakes. Infestations, from both insects or mold, can be another major source of flooring damage and is also very likely to be excluded from coverage on your insurance policy.
A lot of the worst problems for your floors are things that are unlikely to be covered by your insurance. This makes it imperative that you look out for problems with your flooring before they occur. While the problems can seem endless, there are a lot of good signs you can look for. For example, keeping a watchful eye for mold, especially near entrances or places with lots of water, can be important to stop a mold infestation. You can also check for signs of insect infestation, which include finding insect droppings, or finding weird spots or odors coming from your flooring, especially if it is carpeted and near an entrance.
You might want to pay extra attention to your basement flooring, as well. Foundation problems can go on to cause problems for your basement, such as cracks or flooding. Ways to secure your foundation and make sure your basement flooring is kept up include making sure that the soil around your house isn’t too dry or too moist, making sure your gutters are kept clear, and making sure that the soil stays watered. You will also want to get your plumbing inspected, as well as preemptively remove any trees whose roots could pose problems for your home.
Your Best Bet to Ensure a Good Floor Is to Stay Proactive
To a certain degree, it’s impossible to maintain a floor forever: even if you’re immaculate, your floor is still going to get walked on. However, there are plenty of ways you can take care of your floor, no matter what type of floor you have, to make sure your floors survive as long as possible.
