Is Termite Damage Covered By Your Homeowner’s Policy?

If you are familiar with our blog at all, you probably already know that termites are some of the most destructive pests out there when it comes to threatening your home. These little buggers are eating machines that don’t seem to stop until they run out of food. They will go to town when it comes to chewing through anything and everything they can use as fuel. Most of the time this is the wood and other cellulose in your home. This can be anything from your ceiling beams to your floors to your walls and more. They will chew day in and day out until there is nothing left. Because of this, your house can literally collapse if a termite infestation becomes serious enough. In many cases, people do not even realize that their home has been invaded by termites until the damage is obvious. In fact, the obvious damage in some cases is the person’s home actually collapsing.

Many people think that because they have homeowner’s insurance, they don’t need to worry about termites. If their home becomes extremely damaged or even collapses, they think their insurance will simply cover the cost. But is this actually true? This is what we wanted to find out.

What Typical Homeowner’s Insurance Will Cover

As you are probably already aware, homeowner’s insurance is designed in order to protect you and your home against many different things. Whether it be loss of your home or just repairs, this insurance is meant to put your mind at ease. However, what many homeowners are not aware of is that their policy may only cover loss in the instance that the loss is either sudden or unexpected.

While you may think that your home succumbing to extreme termite damage was unexpected to you, it is not likely that your insurance company will see things the same way. This means that this damage would hardly ever be covered by your homeowner’s insurance. In fact, many insurance policies will state specifically that termite damage is not covered, plain and simple.

Termite Protection

Exceptions To the Rule

Now there are a few exceptions, of course. For example, if your home is damaged by a big storm and the water that is present results in termites being attracted to your property, you may have a case. Your insurance policy may cover the cost of getting the termites out of your home, as well as the cost of any damage the storm may have caused. However, don’t think you will be able to pass off any damage that termites have done in the past as new damage. Your insurance company will check to ensure that the termites only arrived once the damage from the storm had occurred.

There also is the slightest chance that your homeowner’s insurance may be able to be used in the case that your entire house does come crashing down because of termite damage. While it is very unlikely that damage to a floor of your home or even a few beams would be covered by your policy, your entire house tumbling to the ground may be just horrible enough of a circumstance to get your insurance company to help you out.

Lastly, you may be covered by your policy if some of your personal items are damaged by a termite infestation. For example, if a beam falls down in your home and crushes your stove, you might be able to get your stove replaced by the insurance company. However, the repairs on the beam will likely not be covered.

Contact Earthwise Pest Management Right Now

The bottom line here is that you cannot rely on your homeowner’s insurance to cover you if you are neglectful when it comes to preventing termite damage in your home. The best course of action is to hire a professional extermination team in Sacramento and have a termite inspection completed. We would recommend that you have this inspection completed once every six months or so, however, new homes may be able to go longer between visit from our pest control team. If you want to make sure your home and your family is protected, contact us today to learn more about our termite control services.

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