Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Wildfires?

If your home is damaged by a wildfire, you can use your standard homeowners insurance policy to help repair your damaged home, replace burned belongings and pay for your hotel during the reconstruction process.

Purchasing home insurance provides coverages that are applicable when dealing with wildfire damage. These include dwelling coverage for the house structures affected by wildfire, personal property coverage that replaces your personal belongings that were damaged or consumed by fire, personal liability coverage for lives harmed in the wildfire and coverage for your additional living expenses like rented rooms or hotels.

The amount of coverage varies depending on the insurer, but most homeowners insurance policies cover at least a portion of the cost of rebuilding the home and replacing damaged belongings due to a wildfire.

Homeowners insurance covers rent expenses away from your home if it’s uninhabitable due to the fire damage. This is because these are expenses that could have been avoided if the wildfire did not happen. Even your food could be included.

Home insurance policies also cover trees, shrubs and lawns up to a certain percentage of your dwelling coverage based on the value of the structure and area. However, this coverage may have limits.

If an insurance company believes the amount of damage claimed is excessive or overstated, your claim may be denied. Additionally, medical payments for disasters can only be included up to a certain amount. There are limits on how much your insurance provider can reimburse as a result of a wildfire. To increase your limits, you can purchase add-ons to your coverage.

The cost to rebuild your home after a wildfire could be substantial. You can count on the best homeowners insurance providers to help, but preventing damage from wildfires is a better option. To reduce the risk of damage from wildfires, here are steps you can take as a responsible homeowner.

Purchasing standard homeowners from top insurance providers like State Farm, Progressive and Hippo guarantee coverage for wildfires. Large insurance companies, as well as smaller ones, offer homeowners insurance.

If you are currently wondering how much home insurance costs on average, the average cost of homeowners insurance is around $175 per month. However, this price can vary. MoneyGeek’s calculator can help you calculate the costs of your homeowners insurance.