Acts of God; are you covered?

It has long been the case that "acts of God" are not covered on the majority of insurance policies. Indeed after the recent earthquake in Kent, many people automatically thought this to be the case.

In reality, more and more modern insurance policies are swinging towards removing this clause, with many already having done so.

After the Earthquake in which took place on 28th of April 2007, many homeowners were unsure as to whether their home insurance would be pay out, as an earthquake is not a common phenomenon in this country. The earthquake, which measured 4.3 on the Richter scale, resulted in at least 80 homes being deemed uninhabitable.

House insurance is not compulsory, as is the case with insurance for motor cars. For the 20% estimated to be without any policy in place, the prospect of having to pay out for repairs of this kind would be daunting to say the very least.

An important thing to remember is that your insurance policy will cover the cost of rebuilding your home should this be necessary but not the market value of the house.
Bearing this in mind, you should check how much cover you have in place and check that this would be enough financially in the event of a rebuild. Cover varies a great deal with some insurers willing to pay out up to £1 million to rebuild your home, whilst the vast majority of insurers will pay up to £500 thousand for houses with 5 bedrooms and under.
It is reported that the insurance companies take into account the cost of inflation on building costs and adjust the premium price in accordance.

The one positive that can be taken from the Earthquake is the awareness it has helped raise in relation to what is and what is not covered for those involved and thanks to the media this has been carried on to the masses.

Hopefully now, in the event of any "act of God", such as water/storm damage and even an earthquake, people will be able to rest that little bit easier, safe in the knowledge of their cover.

I would still suggest checking with your insurer to ensure this is the case, just to be on the safe side. You should more than likely find that it is.