Everyone learns the six lettered coverages on a homeowners policy. Almost nobody reads the section immediately after them, headed Additional Coverages, which contains a dozen small and highly specific grants. They are individually minor and collectively useful, and they pay for a number of things homeowners assume are not covered.
Where to find them
In the standard HO-3 form, the additional coverages sit at the end of Section I, after Coverage A through Coverage D. A second, shorter set sits at the end of Section II, after the liability coverages.
They are not listed on the declarations page, which is why they are invisible to most policyholders. You have to open the policy form itself.
Two general points before the list. Some of these are additional insurance, meaning they pay on top of your main limits rather than eroding them. And a few of them apply without a deductible, which is unusual and worth knowing.
The Section I list
Debris removal. Pays the reasonable expense of removing debris of covered property after a covered loss. It is normally paid within your Coverage A limit, but where the loss plus removal exceeds that limit, an additional percentage of the limit typically becomes available for removal specifically. There is separately a small, fixed amount for removing trees felled by a covered peril, and it is generally per occurrence rather than per tree. See when a tree falls.
Reasonable repairs. Pays the cost of temporary measures you take to protect the property from further damage after a covered loss. Tarping a roof, boarding a window, shutting off water. Your policy also imposes a duty to take those steps, so this coverage and that obligation are two halves of the same thing.
Trees, shrubs and other plants. Covers landscaping, but only against a short list of named perils: fire or lightning, explosion, riot, aircraft, vehicles not owned by an occupant, vandalism and theft. Wind is conspicuously absent from that list on most forms, which is why a windstorm that flattens your garden is generally not a claim. The limit is typically a percentage of Coverage A in total, with a much smaller per-plant cap. The 2022 edition of the industry form raised that per-item cap.
Fire department service charge. Pays a set amount, commonly $500, where you are contractually liable for a fire department service charge for responding to your property. It applies where the property sits outside the responding district, and no deductible applies.
Property removed. Covers property while it is being removed from the premises because it is endangered by a covered peril, and for a limited period after.
Credit card, electronic fund transfer card, forgery and counterfeit money. Pays a small set amount, commonly $500, for your legal obligation arising from theft or unauthorized use of cards issued in your name, for forgery of your checks, and for accepting counterfeit currency in good faith. It generally excludes theft by a household member and use by someone you gave permission to. No deductible applies. Higher limits are usually available by endorsement.
Loss assessment. Pays your share of an assessment charged by a property owners association after a covered loss to shared property. This one is significant enough to have its own article: loss assessment coverage.
Collapse. Covers abrupt collapse of a building or part of one from specific causes, including hidden decay and hidden insect or vermin damage the insured did not know about. The definition of collapse is narrow and excludes settling, cracking, bulging and a building merely in danger of falling. Its limits are discussed in termites, rodents and pests.
Glass or safety glazing material. Covers breakage of glass that is part of the building, including damage caused by the broken glass.
Landlord's furnishings. Covers appliances, carpeting and other household furnishings in an apartment on the residence premises that is rented to others, up to a modest fixed limit. Relevant if you rent out a unit in your own building. See landlord insurance and dwelling fire forms.
Ordinance or law. Provides a percentage of Coverage A toward the increased cost of rebuilding to current code after a covered loss. This is one of the most consequential items on the list and usually the one most worth increasing. See ordinance or law coverage explained.
Grave markers. Covers grave markers and mausoleums, on or off the residence premises, for covered perils.
Fungi, wet or dry rot, or bacteria. A capped buy-back of an otherwise excluded category, with a low annual aggregate limit. See mold coverage and exclusions.
Many insurers add further items to this list, including water backup, refrigerated property, and service line coverage. Some are included and some are optional. See home policy endorsements worth knowing about.
The Section II list
The liability side has its own short set:
- Claim expenses, covering defense costs and expenses the insurer incurs, generally in addition to your liability limit rather than inside it.
- First aid expenses incurred by you for bodily injury to others covered by the policy.
- Damage to property of others, which pays a modest amount for property belonging to someone else that you damaged, regardless of fault and without a deductible. This is the provision that quietly handles a broken item at a friend's house.
- Loss assessment, again, for liability-driven assessments by an association.
The wider liability picture is in home liability: pools, dogs, trampolines and guests.
Why this list is worth ten minutes
Three practical reasons.
Some claims you would never file are payable. A counterfeit bill, a forged check, a fire department bill, an item you broke at someone else's house. Several of these pay without a deductible, so the usual calculation about whether a small claim is worth filing works differently.
Some limits are far too low for modern circumstances. The fixed amounts in these sections have moved slowly, and card fraud liability, ordinance or law exposure and landscaping replacement have not. Most can be increased for a small amount.
Ordinance or law is the one to check now. On an older home in a jurisdiction with updated codes, the built-in percentage can fall well short of what a rebuild actually requires. It is the single most consequential item on the list, and it interacts with coinsurance and insurance to value.
How to review yours
- Ask your agent for the full policy form, not the declarations page. It is usually a PDF and the additional coverages have their own headed section.
- Note the form edition date. Limits differ between editions, and a policy issued on an older form carries that edition's amounts.
- Write down the fixed amounts for the card and forgery coverage, the fire department charge, and the tree and plant caps.
- Check the ordinance or law percentage and ask what a higher option would involve.
- Ask which items your insurer has added beyond the standard form.
- Ask which apply without a deductible, since those change how you handle small losses.
Which additional coverages appear, their limits, whether they are additional insurance, whether a deductible applies and what a given insurer has added or removed all vary by insurer, by form edition, by policy and by state, and the policy documents control. For your own situation, speak with a licensed agent or your state's Department of Insurance. You can also request home insurance quotes and get connected with licensed providers in your area.