Determining Insurance Coverage for Debris Removal

Determining Insurance Coverage for debris removal is apparently trickier than one would think.  As we advised previously, the first step for homeowners in regards to the debris removal program should be to determine your insurance coverage for debris removal.  What we first believed to be a simple question you should pose to your insurance agency turns out to be significantly more complex.  Here’s what you should ask your insurance agent:

• What exactly is my insurance coverage for debris removal AND is that portion of my insurance coverage separate from coverages for replacement costs for my structure, contents, and other structures on my property.  It turns out most of our insurances have coverage that extend beyond simple replacement costs (i.e. the coverages for debris removal, or at least a portion thereof, are essentially provided by your insurance and above and beyond your standard coverage at no cost to you).
• Most insurances provide coverage and replacement costs for 3 distinct items:  1. Your structure, 2. Your contents/possessions and 3. Other structures on your property.  Each of these 3 distinct items has a policy limit specific to your property; many insurances allow you to utilize 5% of the policy limits for each distinct item (i.e. your coverage for debris removal is likely a cumulative total of 5% of your policy limit for structure replacement + 5% of your policy limit for content/possession replacement + 5% of your policy limit for other structures replacement).  Utilizing these 5% portions of your coverages also typically DOES NOT come out of the replacement costs provided by your insurance company.  Make sure to verify this with your insurance companies as this information may not be disclosed without you asking for obvious reasons.

Read more about opting in or out of the debris removal program here!