What does home insurance not cover?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

It depends on each policy, but almost all of them exclude wear and tear and lack of maintenance, construction defects, damp that appears gradually and damage caused deliberately. Nor do they cover extraordinary risks, such as a flood caused by a river bursting its banks or winds with gusts of more than 120 km/h, which are paid for by the “Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros”, Spain's state insurance compensation fund. They also usually limit jewellery, money and valuables. An exclusion that cuts back what you could expect from cover you have taken out can only be applied to you if it is highlighted and you specifically accepted it with your signature. What almost no policy covers Wear and tear, corrosion and lack of maintenance of the home and its installations. It is one of the most common reasons for a claim to be rejected. Construction defects, which are claimed from those who built the home. Condensation or rising damp and slow seepage. Damage that already existed when you took out the insurance. Damage caused deliberately. In the case of fire, the law does not require payment either if the fire was due to gross negligence on the part of the insured. Extraordinary risks, which are paid not by the policy but by the Consorcio, provided that the policy is in force. What is usually limited Jewellery, cash and valuables, with low limits and sometimes only if they were kept in a safe. Theft, that is, taking property without force on things or violence or intimidation against people. Items outside the home, such as in the storage room, in the garden or while travelling. Damage occurring when the home had been unoccupied for more days than the policy allows. Civil liability for professional activities or for potentially dangerous dogs. When an exclusion cannot be applied to you Not all clauses carry the same weight. Those that define the risk, for example that only accidental damage is covered, are valid once the policy has been signed. Those that cut back your rights once the insured event has occurred, or take you by surprise because they depart from what could be expected of cover you took out, must be genuinely highlighted and specifically accepted with your signature. If they are not, they are treated as not having been included. And those that leave the cover practically empty are not valid even if you signed them. Ask the insurer for the specific terms and the document in which you accepted the clauses limiting the rights of the insured. If it refuses to pay because of an exclusion, in principle it is the insurer that has to prove that the exclusion applies and, if it is one limiting the rights of the insured, that you accepted it with your signature.