You can easily manage your policy, billing, and documents in one convenient place.
Insurance may be a necessity, but it’s not something most people spend a lot of time thinking about – until they need it. Then, they may find themselves surprised to learn what their policy does and doesn’t cover.
As a new policyholder with The AARP® Homeowners Insurance Program from The Hartford,1 we want to help you understand the basics of your coverage so you know how you’re protected before a loss occurs.
Homeowners Coverage Types
Natural disasters and accidents are an unfortunate part of life. To protect your investment, it’s important to have the right insurance should you ever need to repair or rebuild your home or replace your valuables.
All standard homeowner insurance policies start with the same basic protection. You can tailor your coverage from there by adjusting policy limits and adding on options. Here is a summary of the basic and optional coverages that may be included with your homeowners policy from The Hartford.
Section I: Property Coverage
Property coverage helps pay for damages to your home and belongings. It consists of four types of coverage:
- Dwelling Coverage helps pay for damage or loss to the physical structure of your home and any structures attached directly to it. The recommended guideline is to purchase sufficient coverage to fully rebuild your home in the event of a total loss.
- Other Structures Coverage helps cover structures on your property that aren’t attached to your house, such as a detached garage or a shed.
- Personal Property Coverage helps cover the contents within your home, including furniture, clothing and appliances. It also helps cover expensive items, such as jewelry, computer equipment, collectibles, and artwork, but you may wish to purchase extra protection to cover their full value.
- Loss of Use Coverage helps pay for your temporary living expenses if you can’t stay in your home due to a covered loss.
Section II: Liability Coverage
Liability coverage helps cover damages to other people and their belongings for which you are responsible. Two types of coverage are standard with all homeowners policies from The Hartford:
- Personal Liability Coverage covers bodily injury and property damage for which you or a family member who resides in your home are held legally responsible. It also helps cover the cost of your legal defense against a liability claim.
- Medical Payments Coverage helps cover medical bills incurred by someone who is injured on your property, as well as medical bills for any injury caused by you or a family member who resides in your home, regardless of where it happens and who is at fault.2
Extra/Optional Coverages
The Hartford offers a number of optional coverages to meet homeowners’ unique protection needs. These options include:
- Equipment Breakdown Coverage helps pay the cost to repair or replace items such as your appliances, air conditioning or heating unit, that has failed due to electrical or mechanical breakdown (not associated with normal wear and tear). With our Green Upgrade feature, you can upgrade to a more eco-friendly unit.
- Valuable Items Blanket Coverage provides protection for items that have a higher monetary value, such as artwork, silverware, musical instruments and other valuables – without additional paperwork or scheduled appraisals.
- Jewelry Coverage provides additional protection beyond Valuable Items Blanket Coverage for higher-value jewelry items that contain precious metals, as well as jewels, stones and pearls.
- Green Rebuilding Coverage increases your policy limits up to 10 percent when you use environmentally friendly materials and processes for repairs or reconstruction after a covered loss.
You can learn more about other optional coverages.
Policy Features and Benefits
Your homeowners policy with The Hartford has many standard features and benefits that go beyond your coverage, some that you may see on your policy include:
- “New-for-Old” Protection. If your possessions are destroyed by a covered loss, we’ll help pay the actual cost to replace them with brand new ones of the same quality – even if your possessions were old or not in the best condition at the time of damage.
- ProtectorPLUS Zero Deductible Benefit. Up to $5,000 of your homeowners insurance deductible will be waived if you experience a qualifying loss of $27,500 or more.
- Credits and Discounts. When you bundle your home and auto insurance with The Hartford, you’ll get up to 20% off your homeowners insurance and up to 5% off your auto insurance.** Save even more with credits and discounts for retirees,*** burglary and fire systems, and policy renewals. (Availability varies by state).
Homeowners Insurance FAQs
Even with the best protection, homeowners wonder whether their policy will cover a loss if the unexpected happens. Understanding what your policy covers and what it excludes can help ensure that you have the protection you need.
Q: What types of losses are covered by my homeowners policy?
A: Typical homeowners policies cover direct losses due to explosions, fire, smoke, hail, lightning, tornadoes, theft, vandalism and other perils. Earthquake insurance is sold separately as an add-on to the homeowners insurance policy.
A: Typical homeowners policies cover direct losses due to explosions, fire, smoke, hail, lightning, tornadoes, theft, vandalism and other perils. Earthquake insurance is sold separately as an add-on to the homeowners insurance policy.
Q: Am I covered for flood damage?
A: No, flood damage is not covered by a homeowners policy, but a separate flood policy can be purchased at rates established by the National Flood Insurance Program. Since floods are the number one natural disaster in the U.S., it’s a good idea to consider flood insurance. AARP members may qualify for the AARP Flood Insurance Plan from The Hartford.
A: No, flood damage is not covered by a homeowners policy, but a separate flood policy can be purchased at rates established by the National Flood Insurance Program. Since floods are the number one natural disaster in the U.S., it’s a good idea to consider flood insurance. AARP members may qualify for the AARP Flood Insurance Plan from The Hartford.
Q: Am I covered for other types of water damage?
A: It depends. If your washing machine backs up and the water damages your floors, your homeowners insurance may pay for repairs. Accidental discharge of water from a plumbing system is also covered. However, water seeping into your basement after a storm – such as water flowing in through your basement window or overflow from drains or sewers – is considered a flood and coverage for any damage would be available only through flood insurance, not your homeowners insurance.
A: It depends. If your washing machine backs up and the water damages your floors, your homeowners insurance may pay for repairs. Accidental discharge of water from a plumbing system is also covered. However, water seeping into your basement after a storm – such as water flowing in through your basement window or overflow from drains or sewers – is considered a flood and coverage for any damage would be available only through flood insurance, not your homeowners insurance.
You can purchase optional coverage to protect against damage from sewer or drain backups.
Q: If my house is destroyed in a disaster, will my insurance pay to rebuild it?
A: At The Hartford, all of our policies include replacement cost coverage that will pay for the repair or replacement of damaged property with materials of similar kind and quality. This policy automatically adjusts on an annual basis to keep pace with local rebuilding costs in order to make sure you stay protected. You can change your coverage amount, but we recommend that you maintain sufficient coverage to fully rebuild your home in the event of a total loss.
Q: What is extended replacement cost coverage?
A: An extended replacement cost policy provides additional coverage over your policy limits, which can be especially important if a widespread disaster pushes up the cost of building materials and labor. The Hartford offers optional Extended Replacement Cost Coverage that will provide up to 150% of coverage limits to rebuild your home. We also offer options to help protect you against inflation and the cost of meeting new building codes.
A: An extended replacement cost policy provides additional coverage over your policy limits, which can be especially important if a widespread disaster pushes up the cost of building materials and labor. The Hartford offers optional Extended Replacement Cost Coverage that will provide up to 150% of coverage limits to rebuild your home. We also offer options to help protect you against inflation and the cost of meeting new building codes.
Q: Are my possessions covered?
A: With our "New-for-Old" Protection, we automatically cover your personal possessions for 70% of the amount of insurance you have on the structure of your home. This means that if you have $100,000 worth of coverage on your home’s structure, then you also have $70,000 worth of coverage for the contents of your home.
In addition, The Hartford’s “New-for-Old” Protection pays to replace your damaged or stolen belongings, regardless of age, with new items of like kind and quality.
Q: Are my jewelry and other valuables covered?
A: Our standard policy provides $1,000-$1,500 coverage for theft of jewelry. If your jewelry is worth more, you might want to increase your coverage limit. You can add a “floater” to your policy to cover specific pieces of jewelry and other expensive possessions.
A: Our standard policy provides $1,000-$1,500 coverage for theft of jewelry. If your jewelry is worth more, you might want to increase your coverage limit. You can add a “floater” to your policy to cover specific pieces of jewelry and other expensive possessions.
The Hartford’s Valuable Items Blanket Coverage is an easy way to protect higher-value possessions such as jewelry, cameras, fine art, musical instruments, silverware and more – with no extra appraisals or paperwork.
Q: If my camera or other possessions are stolen from my car, is the loss covered?
A: Yes, your Homeowners policy will cover your personal property, when it is in your home or away from home. With Replacement Cost Coverage on your belongings, you also will receive “new for old” replacement of your items involved in a covered loss. Be sure to check your policy, as some restrictions may apply.
A: Yes, your Homeowners policy will cover your personal property, when it is in your home or away from home. With Replacement Cost Coverage on your belongings, you also will receive “new for old” replacement of your items involved in a covered loss. Be sure to check your policy, as some restrictions may apply.
2 Medical payments are calculated on the basis of usual, customary and reasonable charges.
*** The Retiree Credit does not apply to secondary residences.
** Automobile/Homeowners discount is available only to policyholders who have both their auto and home (or condo or renters) insurance through the AARP Auto & Home Insurance Programs from The Hartford.
Homeowners Insurance in Plain English
Quick answers and easy-to-understand homeowners definitions written with you in mind.
To learn more, read through our homeowners insurance definitions page.