House Foundations And Your Home Insurance

By Odessa Starnvern


Understanding your house's foundation type is important when it comes to home insurance. Your foundation, and the condition it is in will be a factor in what your insurance premiums will come to. Different climates have their own issues with foundation, and because of this, the type that is most likely in your home is one of these 3 most typical kinds of foundation:

Concrete is used in a slab foundation, and it's basically just poured concrete on the ground. These foundations are practical and are good for the budget. It takes very little site preparation, very little formwork for the concrete and very little labor to create. Slabs provide a solid, level surface for floors so homes built on slabs don't often have problems with creaking floors or doors that won't open and close as a house settles over time.

Basement foundations are usually somewhere between six and eight feet underground. Having a basement has the advantage of having a good place for the utilities like furnace and hot water heaters, and there is enough head space to build below grade rooms.

Another type of foundation is a crawl space, which is raised just above ground, with just enough space to crawl underneath the home. This kind of foundation has the advantage of having plumbing, wiring, and heating ducts underneath the home, and pest control is also aided because the house is not directly on the ground.

A home insurance provider will use information about your home's foundation in order to determine if you are suitable for coverage. Inquiries will be made by the insurance company about what kind of foundation your home has, so have some answers for them. A typical question you will be asked is if your home was built on a continuous concrete foundation. Another query will be if there are any cracks or any erosion on your foundation. Most insurers will only insure homes if they are built on a foundation. Mobile and modular homes do not have foundations, so those and other older homes may need specialized insurance that is designed for homes like these, and the risks associated with them.

For those with continuous concrete foundations, the insurance agent will do the necessary calculations that are the estimate to rebuild the home in case of some kind of disaster situation. Not everything is covered under home insurance policies, so as a homeowner, you need to look into exactly what is covered, and what is not. When the cause of damage is from mould, contaminations, wear and tear, defects and corrosion issues, not all insurance policies cover these circumstances. In some cases, buckling, sinking, settling, or cracks in the structure may not be covered. Freezing and thawing can cause damage, and the weight of ice and water can cause foundation damage, these issues are usually exclusions from what the policy covers.

What homeowners with basement, slab, or crawl space foundations need to remember is that the foundation is important to keep in good repair. In cases where the foundation is in bad condition, your home insurance may not cover damages that are a result of that.




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