Dwelling insurance is only part of your homeowners insurance policy. Also called Coverage A, dwelling insurance covers the physical structure of your home.

It might also cover permanently attached structures, such as your garage, porch, or deck. If certain covered perils damage your home, such as a fire or tornado, dwelling coverage can help you pay for repairs.

Comparing home insurance quotes can help you find the best deal on dwelling coverage. Here’s a look at how this insurance protects your home.

What dwelling insurance covers

Dwelling insurance is just one part of a standard homeowners insurance policy, also known as Coverage A.

Dwelling insurance generally covers the following:

• The physical structure of your home

• Chimneys and roofing

• Permanent fixtures in your home, including cabinets, countertops, windows, and flooring

• Wired-in appliances, like your stove and water heater

• Attached structures, like a deck, garage, or porch

• Your home’s foundation

Dwelling insurance covers damage to your home caused by the following perils:

• Falling objects

• Fire

• Hail

• Lightning

• Vandalism

• Theft damage

• Windstorms

• Riot and civil commotion

• Explosion

• Vehicles

• Smoke

• Aircraft

• Volcanic eruption

• Weight of ice, snow, sleet

• Accidental discharge or overflow of water/steam

What dwelling insurance doesn’t cover

While dwelling insurance covers many aspects of your home, it doesn’t cover everything. Below are some things that dwelling coverage excludes:

• Damage to or theft of personal belongings: Most policies cover these in a different capacity, under Coverage C for personal property.

• Detached structures, such as a gazebo, pool, or fence: These also usually don’t receive coverage in a dwelling policy. You’d need other structures coverage, or Coverage B, for these.

• Earthquakes and floods: These usually require specific add-on protections for coverage.

• The land your home is built on

• Other parts of the home, such as maintenance lines and sump pumps

• Water back-ups

• Damage caused to your home’s structure due to lack of maintenance

Types of dwelling coverage

The nature of your dwelling coverage relates largely to the type of dwelling where you live.

If you own a home

In general, a dwelling insurance policy is based on your home’s replacement cost. You can also get a replacement cost policy that’ll cover the cost of construction materials, labor costs, and other items that might go into rebuilding your home. Actual cash value coverage can also help you repair or replace necessary materials — but these policies take depreciation into account, meaning your total compensation will likely be less than you originally paid for the item.

If you own a condo

If you live in a condo complex, you need to understand the differences between your own condo policy and what the condo association’s master policy covers. There are dwelling coverage limits based on who’s responsible for which parts of your condo, the overall structure, and the common areas. Condo owners should know what’s covered and the maximum amount the master policy will cover.

Also, if you have condo insurance, you need to pay attention to your HO-6 policy, which applies to the parts of the structure you own rather than the common areas of the condo complex.

If you rent

Renters typically don’t pay for dwelling coverage. They often get coverage for personal property damage and theft, but the landlord is usually responsible for the structure coverage for the rental properties they own.

If you’re a landlord, it’s important to understand how this works. Make sure you’re on the same page with your insurance company so you know what you’ll have to cover.

How much dwelling coverage do you need?

You need enough dwelling coverage to cover the cost of rebuilding your home if it’s completely destroyed. Your dwelling coverage amount will probably be different from the purchase price of your home. The amount it’ll cost to rebuild your home if it’s a total loss depends on the age and size of your home, as well as building costs where you live.

As you determine coverage, realize that your mortgage lender or financial institution might require basic coverage amounting to your home’s market value. But you might need more coverage if you’re worried about things like how the replacement cost of your home might change later.

The limits of the actual policy are usually spelled out, so consider the descriptions of covered items, the coverage amount you want, the square footage of your home, and the contents of your home. Look at whether you would need to rebuild attached structures, like a porch, garage, or deck, and how much that might cost.

Finally, don’t forget to consider the loss of use you might experience and other risks, such as flooding and personal property coverage. Some of these might come with limits or be outside the scope of your dwelling coverage. Talk to your insurance agent about how to get the right amount of dwelling insurance in conjunction with other coverages.

How to file a dwelling insurance claim effectively

If your home’s physical structure is damaged, you’ll likely want to file a claim to get help repairing or replacing some or all of the structure. Follow these steps to file a dwelling loss claim: