Types of House Insurance for Wisconsin

Are There Different Types of House Insurance?

There are several different types of insurance for your home that can be purchased to protect yourself against loss or having to pay out-of-pocket to completely replace or repair damage to your home or personal effects. The differences in the types of insurance are something you will want to keep in mind when comparing quotes and plans.

Dwelling and Personal Property

Complete dwelling and personal property insurance covers your home and personal effects within the home from:

• fire or lightning
• windstorms
• explosions
• riots or civil commotions
• aircraft
• vehicles
• smoke
• vandalism
• theft
• volcanoes (not usually much of a threat in Wisconsin, but it's there just in case)
• ice, snow or sleet
• accidental discharge from household appliances or plumbing

Check your policy for specifics on coverage and limits provided.

Dwelling Insurance

Insurance geared specifically toward protecting your dwelling and not your personal effects will typically protect against all that dwelling and personal property protects against in addition to:

• Sudden and accidental tearing apart
• Freezing of plumbing, air conditioning, or household appliance
• Sudden, accidental damage from artificially generated electrical current (will not protect electronics, however)
• All perils except:
  • flood
  • earthquake
  • war
  • nuclear accident
  • landslide/mudslide
  • sinkhole

Again, you should check your policy for specifics regarding coverage and deductibles.

Other Insurance Policy Options:

When you are shopping for house insurance in Wisconsin, there are other things you will want to keep in mind besides just coverage such as amount of coverage. If you have a $500,000 home filled with nice furniture and things and a flood from your water heater destroys $60,000 worth of your personal effects, do you have that much coverage for your personal items?

Something else to keep in mind when choosing an insurance policy is the deductible. Are they too low or two high? How much money do you reasonably think you could come up with in an emergency to cover repairs or replacement of items in your home? When making your choice, try to imagine a worst case scenario and think about how much cash you are likely to be able to gather together in a short period of time.