As homes age, it’s natural for them to settle and begin cracking at the foundation. Sometimes, though, your home’s foundation can receive damage from unforeseen circumstances.
Regardless of why your foundation is deteriorating, it needs to get fixed before the structural damage makes your home inhabitable. Depending on how bad the damage is, it could cost you a fortune to repair or replace the infrastructure.
Thankfully, if you have homeowners insurance, foundation damage might be covered in your plan.
When is Foundation Damage Covered by Home Insurance?
Like most areas and elements on your property, your home’s foundation is protected under your home insurance coverage plan if the damage was caused by a covered peril. These perils are natural events that are unexpected and couldn’t be prepared for.
Examples of these risk events include:
- Civil disturbances
- Damage caused by vehicles or aircraft
- Explosions
- Fallen trees
- Lightning strike
- Vandalism
- Water damage
- Weight damage from snow, ice or rain
- Windstorms
In any of these events, you can submit a claim with your insurance provider to have the foundation damage covered.
Situations That Aren’t Covered
Events that are preventable or situations that come from negligence will not be covered by homeowner’s insurance. This includes:
- Earthquakes
- Faulty design or construction
- Flooding
- Infestations (rodents or insects)
- Natural settling, shrinking, cracking and deterioration
- Negligence
While home insurance doesn’t specifically cover flooding and earthquakes because of their risk factor, many insurance providers have separate plans that include these national phenomena based on where you live.
How to Prevent Foundation Damage
Your home’s foundation can receive damage from a lot of different circumstances – both natural and situational. However, there are ways you can prevent damage to your foundation by minimizing threats or risks.
While you can’t see leaks or pipe breaks coming, you can prepare your home for environmental water damage. Gutters, irrigation and other tools or methods can be used to divert water and stop it from soaking into the ground surrounding your home.
Lawn maintenance can also prevent the natural landscape from attacking your foundation. Trimming foliage keeps plants from overgrowing into the structure and wildlife from nesting nearby. Not planting trees or bushes close to your home will also prevent their roots from growing into your foundation and cracking it.
Slow damage that comes from not taking care of your property isn’t covered by insurance because it is the homeowner’s negligence that led to the damage.
If you can take the steps to prevent your foundation’s deterioration, it will last a lot longer.
Homeowners Insurance in Richmond, VA
As a homeowner, you want to take good care of your property. If you let your foundation deteriorate, then the structural stability of your home can become compromised.
Sanford Insurance provides quality home insurance for Richmond residents that includes foundation damage in the coverage plan. We will help you protect your property and financially recover if an accident ever occurs.
Contact us today and ask about our home insurance plans to see what else we cover.