Coverage explainer
What homeowners insurance doesn't cover.
Every policy has a list of exclusions buried in the contract. Here are the 12 most common — and which ones you can actually fix with an endorsement.
Flood
Surface water from rain, rivers, storm surge. Requires separate NFIP or private flood policy.
Fix: NFIP or private flood policy
Earthquake / earth movement
Excluded by default in nearly every state. Includes landslides, mudflows, and sinkholes.
Fix: Earthquake endorsement or standalone policy
Sewer & sump pump backup
Water backing up through drains or overflowing from a failed sump pump.
Fix: Water backup endorsement ($40–$100/yr)
Mold
Most policies sub-limit mold to $5k–$10k and exclude it entirely if from a long-term leak.
Fix: Mold endorsement (limited availability)
Wear and tear / maintenance
Anything caused by gradual deterioration, age, or lack of upkeep is never covered.
Fix: Not insurable — maintenance issue
Pest / vermin damage
Termites, rodents, insects. Excluded regardless of how the damage was discovered.
Fix: Not insurable
Intentional acts
Damage caused on purpose by anyone insured under the policy.
Fix: Not insurable
Business activities
Liability or property loss from a home-based business is excluded.
Fix: Home business endorsement or commercial policy
Dog bites (certain breeds)
Many carriers exclude specific breeds or any dog with a bite history.
Fix: Specialty pet liability carrier
Trampolines & pools (often)
May be excluded from liability, or require fenced enclosure & specific endorsements.
Fix: Schedule with insurer + umbrella
Power failure (off-premises)
Spoiled food and equipment damage from utility outages outside your property.
Fix: Equipment breakdown endorsement
Government action / war / nuclear
Standard exclusions across all carriers, no buy-back available.
Fix: Not insurable
Hidden exclusions most homeowners miss
The 12 above are the standard exclusions you'll find listed plainly in the policy form. These next six are quieter — buried in endorsement codes, sub-limits, or claims-handling language — and they cause more denied claims than the headline exclusions.
Anti-concurrent causation clause
If two perils combine to cause damage (e.g. wind + flood during a hurricane), and one is excluded, carriers can deny the entire loss — even the wind portion.
Roof age cutoffs
Many carriers reduce or deny roof coverage on shingle roofs over 15–20 years old, or force them to ACV settlement (depreciated value) instead of replacement cost.
Cosmetic damage exclusion (roofs)
An endorsement common in hail states that excludes hail damage to metal or shingle roofs if the damage is 'only aesthetic' — even though the roof shows obvious hail impacts.
Matching / 'line of sight'
Carriers often refuse to pay for undamaged siding, shingle, or flooring sections when nothing on the market matches the original — leaving you with mismatched repairs.
Vacancy clause (30/60 days)
If your home is vacant for more than 30–60 consecutive days, most policies suspend or reduce coverage — even for fire and theft.
Open perils → named perils downgrade
Some carriers have quietly moved policies from 'open perils' (everything covered unless excluded) to 'named perils' (only listed perils covered) at renewal. Same price, far less coverage.
Why exclusions exist
Insurance is priced on predictable risk. Floods, earthquakes, and wear and tear are either catastrophic (concentrated losses that would bankrupt a carrier in one event) or certain (every house will eventually need a new roof). Carriers exclude them so the rest of the policy stays affordable — and offer specialty products or endorsements for homeowners who want the coverage anyway.
The problem isn't that exclusions exist. It's that homeowners discover them at claim time, when it's too late to add the endorsement that would have changed the outcome.
Frequently asked
What does homeowners insurance not cover?
The big six: flood, earthquake, sewer/sump backup, mold (mostly), wear and tear, and intentional acts. Beyond that, every policy has 15–25 named exclusions in the policy form itself, plus dozens more limitations buried in endorsements — including roof age cutoffs, cosmetic damage exclusions, matching denials, vacancy clauses, and anti-concurrent causation language.
What does homeowners insurance cover and not cover?
A standard HO-3 policy covers your dwelling (Coverage A), other structures (B), personal property (C), loss of use (D), liability (E), and medical payments (F) — for sudden, accidental losses from named or open perils. It does NOT cover gradual damage (slow leaks, mold from leaks, wear and tear), excluded perils (flood, earthquake, sewer backup unless endorsed), intentional acts, business activities, or catastrophes specifically carved out (war, nuclear, government action). The exclusions list is typically 5–10 pages of the policy form most homeowners never read.
What does State Farm (or Allstate, Farmers, USAA) homeowners insurance not cover?
All major carriers exclude roughly the same perils because they all use ISO-based HO-3 policy forms with similar wording: flood, earthquake, sewer/sump backup, mold beyond a sub-limit, wear and tear, pests, intentional acts. What varies is the endorsements available and the carrier-specific exclusions added in high-claim states — roof age cutoffs in hail states, cosmetic damage exclusions, percentage wind/hail deductibles, and matching restrictions. The only reliable way to know what YOUR policy excludes is to read your declarations page and the policy form together, not to compare carriers by brand.
What are common hidden homeowners insurance exclusions?
Beyond the obvious (flood, earthquake): anti-concurrent causation language (if two perils combine and one is excluded, the carrier can deny the entire loss), vacancy clauses (coverage suspends after 30–60 days unoccupied), business-use exclusions (occasional Etsy sales can technically void coverage), open-to-named-perils downgrades (some carriers quietly switched policy forms at renewal), and matching exclusions (no requirement to pay for undamaged sections that no longer match repaired ones).
Are mold and water damage covered by homeowners insurance?
Sudden water damage (burst pipe, washing machine line) is usually covered. Gradual leaks are not. Mold is typically sub-limited to $5,000–$10,000 — if you have it at all — and excluded entirely when it results from a long-term unaddressed leak.
Is foundation damage covered by homeowners insurance?
Almost never. Foundation cracks from settling, soil movement, hydrostatic pressure, and earth movement are excluded under nearly every standard policy. The only common covered cause is a sudden, accidental event like a vehicle striking the foundation.
Are roof exclusions common in homeowners insurance?
Increasingly, yes. In hail-belt and coastal states, carriers have added: roof age cutoffs (no coverage or ACV-only after 15–20 years), cosmetic damage exclusions (no payment for hail damage that doesn't affect roof function), percentage wind/hail deductibles (1–5% of dwelling instead of flat $1,000), and impact-resistance requirements (full coverage only with Class 4 shingles). Check your dec page for endorsements with codes like 'HO-449' (cosmetic) or 'roof payment schedule.'
How do I know what my policy excludes?
Read Section I — Exclusions in your policy form (not the declarations page). The declarations page only shows limits and endorsements; the exclusions live in the long-form policy contract, which most homeowners never open. Or upload your dec page and we'll flag the relevant ones.
Can I buy back any exclusion?
Some, yes. Water backup, ordinance & law, earthquake, equipment breakdown, scheduled valuables, and service line coverage are all common buy-backs. Wear and tear, pest damage, and intentional acts can never be insured.
Find your exclusions before a claim does.
Upload your declarations page. We'll cross-reference the exclusions in your policy form against the endorsements you actually have — and tell you what's missing.
Related reading
General information, not legal or financial advice. Coverage and limits vary by carrier and state.