Your homeowners insurance policy can cover damage to your house, plus your driveway and other structures on the property, but only under certain circumstances. Here’s what you need to know about coverage for your driveway.
When Homeowners Insurance Will and Won’t Cover Damage to a Driveway
Homeowners insurance will pay to repair or replace your driveway if a covered peril causes sudden and accidental damage. For example, if a storm knocks down a tree and it lands on your driveway, your homeowners insurance policy will cover your loss, as long as the tree fell because of bad weather, not because of neglected maintenance.
Some homeowners insurance policies cover all perils except ones that are specifically excluded, while other policies only pay for losses caused by a short list of perils. Check your policy and make sure that you know which perils are and are not covered.
A standard homeowners insurance policy doesn’t cover losses caused by flooding or earthquakes. If you’re concerned about potential damage from those types of perils, you’ll have to purchase additional coverage, either from the same insurance company or through a different insurer, and pay higher premiums.
Homeowners insurance doesn’t cover damage that’s caused by regular wear and tear or neglected maintenance. You should seal your driveway regularly to protect it from damage and deal with any cracks as soon as possible to keep them from getting worse. You should also clean up spills promptly and park heavy vehicles near the center of the driveway, not near the edges, to reduce the risk of cracking.
Understand Your Insurance Coverage for Your Driveway
Damage to the driveway might fall under your homeowners insurance policy’s dwelling or other structures coverage. If your driveway gets destroyed by a covered peril and your policy has replacement cost coverage, it will pay for a new driveway. If you have an actual cash value policy, your coverage will be based on the depreciated value of your driveway. That means you’ll have to pay more out of your own pocket to replace the driveway.
Consider Modifying Your Coverage
Review your homeowners insurance policy to understand how it applies to your driveway. If you have any questions, contact your insurance company or agent.
Make sure that you have high enough coverage limits. If you have no idea how much it would cost to repair or replace your driveway, you can contact a few local contractors to get ballpark estimates and use those numbers to figure out if you should raise your level of insurance coverage.
If you decide to expand your coverage, you don’t have to stick with your current insurance company. You might be able to find a more affordable policy through a different insurer.
Shop around to compare rates and find out if you qualify for any discounts. That process can take some time, but it might save you hundreds of dollars per year.
