What Are the Different Types of Property Insurance?

There are two primary types of property insurance, which are residential coverage and commercial coverage. Under each of the two primary categories, there are several subcategories of property insurance coverage. The five primary subcategories of property insurance are dwelling or structure insurance, fire insurance, content insurance, earthquake insurance and homeowners insurance.

One of the types of property insurance is the dwelling or the structure insurance. This type of insurance covers damage to the home or the structure. Typically, if the building is damaged from some sort of peril, such as a tree falling on the roof during a windstorm, the property insurance provides the property owner with the money required to fix the damage.

Another one of the types of property insurance is fire insurance. Fire insurances provides coverage to a property that is damaged from a fire. The fire insurance policy provides the property owner with the amount of money necessary to return the structure to its condition prior to the fire damage.

Content insurance is another one of the different types of property insurance. These policies cover the replacement of the contents of the property, such as furniture, electronics and personal belongings. Generally, content insurance covers personal property whether it is stolen or damaged because of some kind of peril that takes place to the property. Even renters have the ability to put a contents insurance policy in place. For a renter that has this type of policy, again, it only protects personal property theft or damage. The landlord or owner of the property would still be responsible for carrying one of the other types of property insurance.

Earthquake insurance covers property damage that is the direct result of an earthquake. Typically, an earthquake policy is a special rider or special type of policy. Earthquake coverage does not tend to come with a typical property insurance policy. While anyone that owns property can opt for earthquake insurance, it is typically property owners that are in areas known for earthquakes that carry this type of property insurance.

Homeowners insurance is another of the types of property insurance. Homeowners insurance is specifically for residences, so it does not cover business or commercial properties. Homeowners policies can vary in the types of items it covers, but beyond covering damage to the home, a homeowners policy also tends to carry liability insurance. This type of policy protects the property owner if someone is injured while on the property or inside of the home.