Insurance perils are specific events covered in your policy. It's important to understand the limits of your homeowners insurance policy, especially any excluded perils. Here's a quick guide to the basics:
A named perils plan covers 16 types of peril. However, it's not a universal list. For example, wind damage is not included in certain coastal zones and must be separately endorsed.
The words risk and danger are similar to each other and are sometimes used interchangeably. However, insurance counts them as separate things. A risk is the possibility of a loss, while a peril or hazard is the actual cause of a loss.
Some common examples of insurance risks include:
The HO-2, HO-3 and HO-5 types of homeowners policies determine if your policies are defined against a set of specific risks based on location or home features.
A homeowner is affected by the perils insured in their policy, but so is the insurance company. Increased risk and covered perils both pose a higher cost to your insurer, which can increase the cost of your coverage.
Your mortgage lender could also be indirectly affected by home insurance risk because damage could negatively affect your home's value. To determine the specifics of your homeowners insurance, consult your provider for details.
I'm John Mahan, Sales Associate with William Raveis Real Estate, Harwich Port Office.
Throughout his childhood, John Mahan spent summers on Cape Cod at his parents’ home in Dennis Port. His intro to the Cape was, as he puts it, when his parents “carried me down the stairs at Sea Street Beach when I was a week old.” With a lifelong connection to Cape Cod, it seemed only natural for John and his wife, Mary, to move to Harwich – where they still reside – with their two young children in 1996.
Prior to moving to Cape Cod, John lived in the Worcester-Auburn area where he worked for Mass Electric for 10 years and was a member of the International Brotherhood of Utility Workers. When John and his family moved to the Cape, he worked at NSTAR for six years.
John began his career in real estate in 2002 when he joined Team Waystack Realty in Harwich Port. He has been a consistent top producing realtor in the Harwich area for the past 20 years. John’s approachable demeanor, combined with an integral understanding of the Cape Cod residential real estate market, have allowed him to build trusting, long-term relationships with his clients – both sellers and buyers.