Did you know that if your drainage system backs up water or sewage into your house, this is not covered by a standard homeowners policy? The cleanup expense and any items that are damaged are only covered if you have the Backup of Water through Sewer or Drain endorsement added to your policy. Coverage is available for either $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000. From experience, most claims for this usually exceed $5,000 for an unfinished basement.
Have you had a sudden and accidental breakage of your furnace or AC unit? How about the compressor break in your fridge or freezer? Mechanical breakdowns such as these are not covered under a standard homeowners policy. JCM Mutual offers a special endorsement called Equipment Breakdown that covers the mechanical components of your home for claims such as these. It does not cover general wear and tear due to age of any units or their components.
The cost of this endorsement is $34 per year for most homeowners policies and $72 for a basic farm. That’s pretty affordable when you compare it to the cost of a new furnace or AC unit…
Some items of personal property should be specifically listed on an inland marine rider. Inland marine coverage provides all risk perils except for a few exclusions as stipulated by the policy provisions. Some common occurrences to think about are:
Stones falling out of jewelry or jewelry just being lost mysteriously- neither of these are covered under a standard policy but would be covered if they were listed on an inland marine form.
Laptop computers, iPads, cell phones that are dropped and broken are not covered by the standard policy but would be if listed on inland marine.
The standard policy has set limits for items that are stolen. For example, guns are only covered up to $2,500 or jewelry up to $1,500 if they are stolen. By listing them on inland marine, this limit would no longer apply.
Inland marine is inexpensive relative to the additional value and coverages you receive from this rider.
JCM Mutual Insurance Association
50 S. 4th St.
Fairfield, IA 52556
(641) 472-2136
