For homeowners in Rosemount, Lakeville, Farmington, Apple Valley, the Twin Cities Area and surrounding Minnesota.
Your homeowners insurance gives you a lot of protection — and for most people, it works exactly as expected when something goes wrong. But there are a handful of situations where homeowners find out too late that their policy has a gap. Here are five of the most common surprises, and what you can do about each one.
1. Flooding
This is the big one. Standard homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage — full stop. That includes water that enters your home from outside, whether it’s from a heavy rainstorm, a nearby creek overflowing, or snowmelt backing up against your foundation.
Minnesota families know better than most how quickly spring thaw or a summer storm can turn into a basement full of water. If you’re in a low-lying area of Rosemount, near the Mississippi River corridor, or in any neighborhood with older drainage infrastructure, flood risk is real and worth taking seriously.
Flood coverage is purchased separately, typically through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or certain private insurers. It’s not expensive for lower-risk properties — and it’s one of those coverages you really don’t want to discover you’re missing after the fact.
2. Sewer or drain backup
Related to flooding but different — and also not covered by a standard homeowners policy. If your sewer line backs up or a floor drain overflows, the water damage to your finished basement, flooring, and belongings is typically excluded.
Sewer backup coverage is usually available as an affordable add-on endorsement to your existing policy. Given how common this claim is in the Twin Cities metro — especially in homes with aging sewer lines — it’s one of the first things we recommend South Metro homeowners ask about.
3. Normal wear and tear
Homeowners insurance is designed to cover sudden, unexpected losses — not gradual deterioration. If your roof is 25 years old and starts leaking, or your HVAC system fails after years of use, your policy isn’t going to step in.
This surprises a lot of homeowners, especially when a claim is denied because an adjuster determines the damage was due to deferred maintenance rather than a covered event like a storm. The best protection here is staying on top of routine maintenance so that when a covered event does occur, there’s no question about the cause.
4. Trampoline and pool liability — sometimes
If you have a trampoline, in-ground pool, or hot tub, your homeowners liability coverage may be limited — or your insurer may require specific safety measures like a fence or locking cover as a condition of coverage. Some carriers in Minnesota exclude trampolines altogether or will non-renew a policy if they discover one on the property.
If you’re adding any of these to your Rosemount or Apple Valley home this summer, give your agent a heads-up before the install. It’s a quick conversation that can prevent a much harder one later.
5. Home-based business equipment and liability
More people than ever are working from home — and most of them assume their homeowners policy covers their business equipment and any business-related liability. It usually doesn’t, or covers it only up to a very low sublimit.
If you have clients visiting your home, ship products, or have significant business equipment, you likely need either a home-based business endorsement or a separate business owners policy. We’ll cover this topic in more depth in an upcoming post, but the short version is: don’t assume your homeowners policy has you covered just because you work from home.
Already have a homeowners policy? It’s worth a quick review.
Coverage gaps are easy to miss when you’re just renewing year after year without a second look. At Sentinel Assurance Group, we work with homeowners across Minnesota to make sure their coverage actually reflects their home, their life and current gaps in the market — not just what it looked like when they first bought the policy.
Give us a call or send us a message. A quick review costs you nothing and could save you a lot.
Serving homeowners in Rosemount, Eagan, Apple Valley, Lakeville, Farmington, and the greater South Metro.