Dwelling coverage.

In plain English

Dwelling coverage, sometimes called Coverage A, is the core part of a homeowners insurance policy that pays to repair or rebuild your home's physical structure after a covered loss like a fire or storm. It covers the house itself and usually attached structures such as a built-in garage. The coverage limit should reflect the cost to rebuild your home, which is not the same as its market price or the land value. It does not cover your belongings inside (that is personal property coverage) or injuries to other people (that is liability).

01Why it matters

If your dwelling coverage limit is set too low, a fire or storm could leave you paying tens of thousands out of pocket to rebuild, which is the gap that ruins people after a disaster.

02The math, step by step

Say a kitchen fire causes $80,000 of structural damage to a home insured with a dwelling coverage limit of $300,000 and a deductible. The insurer pays the repair cost above your deductible, up to the $300,000 limit. The catch is rebuild cost: if construction prices rose and rebuilding now costs more than your limit, you cover the difference yourself. Local rebuild costs change over time, so check current local rebuild cost per square foot when setting your limit.

03What this is NOT

04Receipts

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