Whether you’re new to Massachusetts or looking to cover all your bases with a better homeowners policy, it’s important to know the local risks and insurance options available to you here in MA. While homeowners insurance in Massachusetts isn’t required, almost all property owners have policies that cover their homes and the belongings within—doesn’t it make sense to ensure you’ve fully covered all of this in the most common events and natural disasters?

The Most Common Natural Disasters in MA

While MA has both highs and lows when it comes to weather, it’s mostly known for its brutal winters. However, there are less common natural disasters to also be on the lookout for.

• Snowstorms: MA is known for its Nor’easters—annual winter storms that bring tons of snow and freezing temperatures. This can lead to snowmelt flooding and ice dams, both of which can cause water damage to your home.
• Hurricanes: The most deadly and costly natural disasters in MA since 2010 have been Hurricanes Sandy, Ida, and Irene. These can lead to storm damage and flooding, depending on where in MA you live.
• Flooding: Flooding is common from both the snowmelts of winter storms and the storm surges of hurricanes and lesser coastal storms. According to Mass.gov, more than half of all MA residents live in coastal communities that are in storm surge zones or at risk with rising sea levels.

What Is and Isn’t Covered Under Standard Homeowners Insurance

To understand what you’re missing, let’s quickly go over the basics of a home insurance policy. Most policies cover three major parts of your home: Dwelling coverage for the building and infrastructure on your property, including the exterior, interior, structures, roof, pipes, wiring, etc.; personal property coverage for everything within the home,  from toys to toasters and big-ticket items like electronics and appliances; and liability coverage for guests who are injured or whose property is damaged, including coverage for medical bills or legal action.

Standard policies won’t cover flooding, just water damage from things like burst pipes or other causes that are sudden and accidental. Others only cover “named perils,” anything not named isn’t covered. Floods (along with other specific natural disasters) need their own policies to be covered.

Additional Homeowners Insurance Coverage to Think About

As you can see from the above points, it’s crucial to customize your homeowners policy to cover what’s important to you. In that spirit, here are additional coverages to think about.

• Improving Your Coverage: Does your current policy cover all the value of your home? Improvements and generally rising value mean you may need to improve your coverage.
• Specific Property Coverage: Certain expensive pieces of property and assets may not be completely covered (or may even be excluded) and need riders or endorsement specifically.
• Improved Liability Protection: When was the last time you looked at your liability coverage? Gaps are left by standard homeowners policies that can be covered with umbrella insurance.

At the Safeside Insurance Agency, it’s been our goal for the last 30 years to help those in Worcester County and the greater Massachusetts area get the right coverage for the right price, balancing insurance with premiums and deductibles for homeowners and businesses alike. We aim to be available to our loyal customers whenever anything happens. To learn more about us and how we can help, contact us online or call us at (508) 753-8862.