In general yes typically your fence being blown over or damaged by a storm should be covered under your homeowners insurance. Homeowners insurance will also cover fence damage for things such as wind, lightning, hail, fire, vehicle damage, and vandalism.
Will My Insurance Replace The Entire Fence If There Is Damage Covered By My Policy?
Insurance companies typically only pay to replace the affected or damaged areas of a fence. They do not generally cover the entire fence. In some situations the insurance company may pay to make the replaced sections of a fence have the same aesthetic as the rest of the fence. In most cases you can expect to pay out of pocket for additional work.
How Does The Insurance Company Determine If The Fence Damage Is Covered?
Homeowners insurance policies are designed to cover damages caused by sudden and accidental losses. For example if a car crashes into your fence, a tree falls on your fence, wind blows your fence down, lightning strikes the fence, hail damages your fence, and even fire damage. With specific comprehensive policies even vandalism and theft are covered losses. Insurance will not cover maintenance related repairs or the lack of maintenance on your fence.
How Does Homeowners Insurance Pay For Fence Damage?
In general homeowners insurance companies cover fence damages under an ACV policy (Actual Cash Value) especially if your fence is made of wood. An ACV policy means that the insurance company will pay for your fence based on the remaining life expectancy of the damaged fence. For example if you had a wood fence installed 10 years ago and based on the type of materials used, it has a 20 year lifespan the insurance company would pay out based on the 10 years of life left on the fence. You can expect to pay out of pocket for the remaining amount to repair or replace your fence. You can request to insure your fence using an RCV (Replacement Cost Value) policy if it is not wood and made of metal or other composite materials. The advantage of getting an RCV policy is that your insurance will cover your fence to repair or replace it with the same like, kind, and quality, meaning your fence will only cost your insurance deductible without additional out of pocket cost.
What Happens Now That I Filed An Insurance Claim On My Fence?
If you determined that filing an insurance claim on your fence is right for your situation, it’s time to find a fence contractor. The most important part of selecting a fence company is making sure they understand insurance and how it works. Your fence contractor will determine how well your fence is repaired and how much money your insurance company will be willing to pay toward your fence based on their professional assessment of what is needed. If you go with a cheap handyman or day labor type person, you may be missing out on the opportunity to get all you can out of your insurance to pay to repair or replace your fence. Just because you select the cheaper bid doesn’t mean you’re going to pocket the additional balance from the claim. In most cases especially if you have an RCV policy, the insurance is only going to pay out for the bid you receive from your fence contractor. In addition, understand your out-of-pocket cost including your insurance deductible and what share of the cost you will have based on your policy. In Texas it is illegal for a company to waive your insurance deductible to make the pricing of their bid more enticing. According to a Texas State Law (HB2102), that offer is entirely illegal and a sign that you shouldn’t do business with that company.
If you need help getting an insurance estimate for your fence we would be happy to help here at Butler Contracting you can get the easy process started here. In some cases, insurance companies have been accepting quotes based on our instant online fence estimator tool to streamline your claims process.
