Atlanta is a city in Georgia that has complete public facilities. Besides, this city is also a destination for young professionals to pursue a career and even start a family. If you buy a house in Georgia, ensure to purchase home insurance as well. Ask the insurance officer whether the concrete driveway repair Atlanta is included in the coverage.
When buying home insurance, most people only focus on coverage related to the building of the house and what’s inside. In fact, the driveway is an essential part that should not be neglected to get insurance protection.
However, will standard homeowners’ insurance provide coverage for damaged concrete driveways? Well, to get clear answers and understanding, please read the article below to the end!
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Does Concrete Driveway Repair Atlanta Get Coverage?
Keep in mind that home insurance providers will only provide compensation coverage for things that are emergency and sudden. Although some home insurance coverage also provides indemnity for preventable matters, the insurance provider does not repay the cost of home maintenance.
A concrete driveway may or may not have indemnification coverage. Usually, the insurance provider will indemnify damage to the concrete driveway if the damage is caused by a problem covered by the insured. Below are the conditions and assessment of whether the driveway will receive compensation or not.
1. Driveway Damage Covered by Homeowners Insurance
As a prospective homeowners insurance policyholder, you are required to understand carefully the coverage provided by the insurance provider. Generally, homeowners’ insurance providers will cover damage or home repair costs due to fire or natural disasters.
Coverage for natural disasters does not cover all types of disasters. The types of natural disasters that will be covered by homeowners’ insurance include wildfire, hail, wind, explosions, and volcanic eruptions. It also covers vandalism, tornadoes, storms, fallen trees, and lightning strikes. This is because the disaster occurred suddenly.
If the damage to your home’s concrete driveway is due to the factors mentioned in the discussion above, the insurance will provide compensation for repair costs.
However, if the damage to the concrete driveway is caused by a flood or earthquake, then the insurance is not responsible for that. Floods and earthquakes are generally not covered by standard homeowners’ insurance.
2. Uncovered Driveway Damage
The information above states that homeowners’ insurance provides indemnification coverage for sudden events that cause damage. However, you should know that they also provide exceptions for some sudden events. Concrete driveway repair Atlanta will not be covered if the damage is caused by the following factors:
- Earth movements such as earthquakes, mudflows, or mudslides.
- Animal owned by the insurance policy holder.
- Normal deterioration, wear, and tear.
- Intentional damage or loss
- Law or ordinance
- Flood
- War
- Neglect
- Pests, birds, insects, and rodents.
- Expanding soil conditions, bulging, shrinking, or settling.
Knowing that many exclusions are not covered for driveway repair costs on a standard homeowner’s insurance policy, you might consider purchasing optional coverage if the insurer provides it.
What Endorsements Does Homeowners Insurance Offer?
You don’t need to worry even though the cost of repairing a driveway is not included in the standard homeowners’ insurance coverage. Usually, insurance companies will offer some endorsement to meet the needs of their customers.
This endorsement enables you to change the insurance policy contract at the time of purchase, mid-contract, or even policy renewal. Thus, you can choose approvals based on your needs or risks that you are vulnerable to. Home insurance providers generally will provide some favors as follows:
1. Earthquake Coverage
Certain areas experience frequent earthquakes. Considering that almost all homeowners insurance providers do not provide coverage for this disaster, you can consider an endorsement by purchasing earthquake coverage.
An earthquake can cause minor or even severe damage. If your concrete driveway is badly damaged by an earthquake, then you can feel relieved if you have purchased earthquake coverage. You won’t have to spend a fortune to fix the driveway.
2. Water Backup Coverage
Concrete driveway repair Atlanta generally isn’t covered by insurance providers, so you can buy water backup coverage if you want to save money. Why so? Because water backup coverage does not only provide compensation in the event of damage or leakage of the sewer in your property.
This coverage will also compensate for repairs if the concrete driveway is damaged by frozen water. In winter, the water freezes easily and can cause serious damage to the driveway.
3. Sinkhole Coverage
Sinkholes are a natural phenomenon that causes the ground surface to collapse. In fact, these sinkholes can be so wide that they can swallow anything that is above them. Purchasing sinkhole coverage will allow you to be compensated if this disaster collapses your concrete driveway.
This type of endorsement will provide coverage such as leveling collapsed land, and repairing and replacing damaged structures due to collapsing ground surfaces.
4. Equipment Breakdown Coverage
If your driveway is equipped with heating technology, it’s important to consider equipment breakdown coverage. The insurance company will provide coverage for the cost of repairing or replacing a damaged heater. To get this coverage, you just need to claim your insurance company.
How To Prevent Driveway from Damage
Considering that concrete driveway repair Atlanta is not included in the standard coverage of homeowners’ insurance, you can take precautions so the driveway is not easily damaged. Let’s check these out!
1. Keep Excess Weight
Generally, driveways in the area of the house are designed for medium-sized private vehicles. Thus, avoid carrying large vehicles with heavy loads so the driveways are not easily cracked or even severely damaged.
2. Dry Out of Puddles
Asphalt or concrete driveway surfaces will be damaged quickly if they are frequently inundated with water. Therefore, dry the puddles immediately after rain.
3. Inspection of Surrounding Trees
Inspect the condition of the surrounding trees regularly so you can take quick action if there are trees that are weathered or about to collapse.
Is Concrete Driveway Repair Atlanta Post Helpful?
On a final note, nearly all providers of standard homeowners’ insurance do not include concrete driveway repair Atlanta in the insurance policy coverage. But if you want these costs to be included in the coverage, then you can buy an endorsement offered by insurance providers. So, pay close attention to endorsement to get optimal benefits.