What is a homeowners insurance policy endorsement?
A homeowners insurance policy endorsement expands on the standard homeowners coverage by adding to or modifying the insurance policy.
No two homes (or homeowners) are alike. Homeowners insurance endorsements allow you to customize your coverage based on your needs.
For example, home insurance policies set coverage limits on the value of your personal property. What happens if you have an expensive collection of vintage watches with a value that exceeds the amount of coverage on your policy?
You can buy a home insurance endorsement for the value of your special watches to make sure they’re fully covered if something goes wrong. This type of endorsement is also known as a floater.
Home insurance endorsements usually raise the cost of a homeowners insurance policy, because they add additional coverage or expand existing coverage.
Common home insurance endorsements
There are a lot of possible endorsements that you can add to your home insurance. Among the most common are those that address additional personal property coverage, add coverage for perils (sources of possible damage) that aren't otherwise covered and increase the amount of coverage available.
Two examples of endorsements in insurance policies for personal property are:
- Floaters, or scheduled personal property endorsements, cover anything high value, like jewelry, fine art or computer equipment. These require proof of the item's value, usually via an appraisal. They only cover the item or items listed on the floater.
- Personal property replacement cost is an endorsement that changes the way all of your personal property is covered. Instead of being covered for its depreciated value, personal property is covered for the amount it would cost to replace it today.
List of homeowners insurance endorsements
Your standard home insurance policy comes with exclusions and limitations on what is covered. You can find exclusions in Section 1 of your policy. There are a lot of types of endorsements in insurance.
Flood insurance and water damage caused because of a water backup aren’t typically included in a standard policy. Some companies may even be limiting hail or wind damage coverage. If you have a home business, you may need a home business insurance coverage endorsement, and if your home is undergoing major renovations, look into a dwelling under construction endorsement.
The following list includes 25 home insurance endorsements that expand the standard coverage included on your homeowners policy. There may be other endorsements available from some insurance companies.
| Endorsement | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Cyber security | Cyber fraud, such as cyberbullying and extortion. |
| Earthquake | Adds coverage for damages that occur due to an earthquake or any other type of earth movement. |
| Equipment breakdown | Adds coverage for damages due to an earthquake or any other type of earth movement. |
| Escaped liquid fuel remediation | Increases the amount for cleaning up an oil or fuel spill in your home. |
| Extended replacement cost | Pays for your home to be restored to its original condition, even if it costs more than the coverage limit. |
| Food spoilage | Increases the amount paid to replace your refrigerated food if there was a covered peril event, such as a power outage from a snowstorm. |
| Home business | Increases coverage for your home office property and adds legal liability coverage. Most homeowners insurance policies only provide $2,500 for property and no business-related liability. |
| Home daycare | Adds liability insurance while you’re caring for others in your home. |
| Home under construction | Pays for the theft of building materials or damages while it’s under construction. |
| Identity theft | Pays for the costs incurred from identity theft and fraud, such as ID replacement, attorney’s fees and loss of income. |
| Inflation protection | Automatically increases your limit to keep up with inflation so you can rebuild your home at the current cost. |
| Loss assessment | Expands liability coverage to public areas in condos or dwellings that are part of a homeowners association. |
| Loss of rent | Reimburses you for the rent you lose if the rental portion of your home becomes uninhabitable during a covered loss, such as a fire. |
| Mold and fungus | Expands home insurance for damage and loss caused due to mold or fungus and pays for the cost of testing or replacing of items such as carpets and drywall. |
| Ordinance or law | Increases the limit of your homeowners policy for fees and expenses to bring your home up to code. |
| Increased other structures coverage | Expands the limit on your policy for fences, detached garages and other structures. |
| Personal injury | Increases personal liability coverage by adding protection against slander, libel, false arrest, defamation and more. |
| Personal property replacement cost | You’ll be reimbursed for the cost of a new version of the lost item instead of the standard actual cash value. Actual cash value coverage reimburses you for what the property is valued after depreciation. Replacement cost gives you enough to buy new items. |
| Schedule personal property | Covers named property, such as collectibles or expensive equipment or jewelry, for an agreed-to value. |
| Secondary residence | Expands your homeowners insurance to cover a second vacation home. It may be a cheaper alternative to buying a separate policy for the second home. |
| Service line | Pays for repairs to internet and phone lines, sewer pipes, water pipes, natural gas and electrical lines caused by wear and tear, breakdown or damage caused by rodents, insects or vermin. |
| Tenant relocation | Pays for the repair or replacement of appliances and systems, including HVAC, water heaters, furnaces, washer and dryers, refrigerators, computers and more. |
| Water and sewer backup | Pays for water damage caused to your home’s interior or foundation because of a clogged or backed up sewer, sump pump or drain. |
| Watercraft | Adds property damage, liability and medical payments coverage for your boats or watercraft, whether in use, docked at a marina or stored on your property. |
| Windstorm* | Adds coverage for hurricanes or severe winds, usually with a separate deductible. |
*Windstorm insurance is included in most standard policies but is an endorsement in some areas.
What is an endorsement premium on a home insurance policy?
The endorsement premium is an additional amount the insurance company charges you to add the coverage to your policy. In other words, it's the cost of the endorsement. How much an endorsement costs depends on the type of endorsement and the amount of the coverage.
