Most coverage gaps come from a standard policy meeting a situation it was not written for. This asks a few questions about your circumstances and points to the ones worth checking in your own documents.
This does not review your policy and cannot tell you whether you are covered. It has never seen your documents. What it does is narrow a long list of possible gaps down to the ones that apply to your situation, so the conversation with your insurer is specific rather than general.
What to do with the result
Each item names the thing to look for and where to look. Take the list to your declarations page first, and then to your insurer or agent for anything you cannot find. A specific question — "does my policy include water backup coverage?" — gets a checkable answer in a way that "am I fully covered?" does not.
What the questions above are actually testing
Every question in the checker corresponds to a gap that appears repeatedly in real claims — not because people made bad decisions, but because coverage is sold in pieces and nobody assembles the whole picture for you.
This page explains each of them, so the result you got is something you can act on rather than a list of flags.
The gaps that appear most often
| Gap | Why it exists | What closes it |
|---|---|---|
| Flood | Excluded from every standard property policy, without exception | A separate flood policy, subject to a waiting period |
| Sewer or drain backup | Excluded from base policies almost universally | A water backup endorsement |
| Earthquake | Excluded or separately rated in most states | A separate policy or endorsement, frequently with a high percentage deductible |
| Contents at actual cash value | Many policies settle personal property at depreciated value by default | Ask what it costs to move to replacement cost |
| Jewellery above the sublimit | Standard policies cap certain categories, usually for theft specifically | Scheduling individual items, or a blanket increase |
| Business activity at home | Business property is capped and business liability excluded | A home business endorsement, or commercial coverage |
| Rideshare or delivery driving | Personal auto policies exclude the activity once the app is on | A rideshare or delivery endorsement — they are different products |
| Underinsured motorist limits | Frequently set at the state minimum by default | Raising them; in trigger states, matching the minimum can mean the coverage never responds |
| Liability limits set years ago | They do not adjust themselves as assets grow | A review, and possibly an umbrella policy |
| Dwelling limit below rebuild cost | Set at issuance while construction costs moved | A fresh replacement cost estimate; extended replacement cost |
| Ordinance or law | Base policies pay to restore what was there, not to current codes | An ordinance or law endorsement, especially on older properties |
| Umbrella underlying limits | Changing a policy beneath an umbrella can drop you below its requirements | Checking the schedule every time you touch any underlying policy |
The last row creates the most invisible exposure on the list. An umbrella requires stated minimum limits underneath it. If an underlying limit falls below them, most umbrellas still respond only from the point the schedule assumed — leaving you to absorb the difference personally, with nothing in the paperwork announcing it.
The gaps that are not really gaps
Equally worth knowing, because closing a gap that does not exist wastes money.
Frequently already covered
- Belongings stolen from your car — homeowners or renters, not auto
- Your belongings while travelling — usually covered worldwide at a reduced percentage
- A guest injured at your home — liability and medical payments
- Damage you cause at someone else’s property — liability
- A child’s belongings at university — frequently covered under the family policy
Frequently duplicated
- Roadside assistance, from up to four sources at once
- Rental car damage, from a policy and a card
- Identity theft services, from a card, a bank and an endorsement
- Extended warranties overlapping a manufacturer warranty
- Travel medical, from a card and a health plan
Working through your results
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Step 1
Separate the serious from the minor
A missing flood policy in a flood-exposed area and a missing roadside assistance are not the same category of problem. Rank by what a loss would actually cost you.
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Step 2
Check your declarations page against each flag
Some gaps the checker raises may already be closed by an endorsement you forgot you have.
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Step 3
Separate endorsements from separate policies
The first is a conversation with your existing insurer. The second means a different product entirely, and knowing which saves a wasted call.
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Step 4
Ask for the cost of each, in writing
Several of these are inexpensive relative to the exposure. Some are not. You cannot judge without the figures.
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Step 5
Deal with the waiting periods first
Flood coverage generally does not take effect for 30 days. It cannot be arranged in response to a forecast, so it is the one that has to be decided in advance.
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Step 6
Repeat after any life change
A move, a marriage, a new business activity, a child driving, a property improvement, a change in assets.
The questions to take to your insurer
All of these have short, checkable answers
- Is my personal property settled at replacement cost or actual cash value?
- What are the sublimits for jewellery, firearms, silverware and cash — and do they apply to theft only?
- Does my policy contain a roof surfaces schedule or a cosmetic damage exclusion?
- What percentage deductibles apply, and what dollar figures do they currently produce?
- Is water backup coverage included, at what limit, and with what deductible?
- What dwelling limit does your replacement cost estimate produce today?
- Is extended replacement cost available, and at what percentage?
- What liability limit do I carry, and what would a higher one cost?
- What are my uninsured and underinsured motorist limits?
- If I have an umbrella, what underlying limits does it require?
What this checker is not
It is a set of questions, not a review of your policy. It cannot see your declarations page, it does not know your state's rules, and it cannot tell you whether a gap it flags actually matters in your circumstances.
What it does is surface the questions worth asking, in a form you can take to whoever sold you the policy. The answers are theirs to give, and getting them in writing costs nothing.
What we are not saying
We are not telling you to buy any coverage, and we do not sell insurance, take referrals or receive commissions. Several of the gaps described here are closed by products someone would earn money selling you — which is exactly why it is worth knowing which ones apply to you before anyone recommends anything.
The four gaps worth acting on first
If the checker flagged several things, these four tend to matter most because the potential loss is largest and the fix is time-sensitive.
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1
Flood, where there is any exposure
Excluded from every standard policy, and subject to a waiting period of around 30 days with narrow exceptions. It cannot be arranged when a storm is forecast. A substantial share of flood claims come from properties outside mapped high-risk zones.
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2
Liability limits against actual assets
Everything above your limit is a personal obligation. Limits chosen years ago reflect a financial position most households no longer have, and nobody will raise this with you.
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3
The dwelling limit against today’s rebuild cost
Construction costs move. A limit set at issuance can leave a household unable to rebuild, and where a loss settlement threshold applies, falling below it can change the basis on every partial claim.
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4
Business activity nobody was told about
The exclusion turns on the activity, not on whether you registered a company. It removes liability coverage as well as capping property, and a personal umbrella does not fill the gap.
Where each gap is actually closed
| An endorsement on your existing policy | A separate policy entirely |
|---|---|
| Water backup and sump overflow | Flood |
| Service line coverage | Earthquake, in most states |
| Equipment breakdown | Umbrella liability |
| Ordinance or law | Professional liability |
| Scheduled personal property | Commercial coverage beyond incidental business |
| Extended replacement cost | Short-term rental, in many cases |
| Home business, at limited levels | Non-owner auto, if you drive without owning |
| Rideshare or delivery | Standalone rental car coverage |
The left column is one phone call to whoever holds your policy. The right column means a different product and frequently a different insurer. Sorting your flagged gaps into these two columns before you pick up the phone saves a good deal of time.
When to run this again
Any of these changes the answers
- Moving house, and especially moving state
- Buying a property, before your contingencies expire
- Marriage, divorce, or a household member leaving
- A child starting to drive, or leaving for university
- Starting any activity that generates income from home
- Acquiring anything valuable enough to exceed a sublimit
- Any significant change in assets or income
- Retirement
- Renovating, extending, or replacing a roof
- Adding or removing any policy, especially beneath an umbrella
Twice is enough for most households: once now, and once whenever one of the above happens. The gaps do not appear gradually — they appear at the moment something changes and nobody updates the policy to match.
Recording what you find
The result of this exercise is worth writing down, because it answers a question that otherwise has to be reconstructed from scratch every few years.
One page, kept with your policies
- Each gap the checker flagged
- Whether your declarations page already closes it
- What it would cost to close, as quoted
- What you decided, and why
- The date you decided it
The fourth line is the useful one. A gap you consciously decided to accept is a different thing from one you never knew about, and recording the reasoning means the decision does not have to be made again from nothing when circumstances change.
One thing to do before you close this page
Take the three or four most serious flags and put them in an email to your agent or insurer, asking what each would cost and whether your current policy already covers it.
You will have written answers within a few days, at no cost, and the whole exercise will have taken under an hour. That is the entire point of the checker: not to tell you what to buy, but to give you a short, specific list of questions worth asking.
What this tool does not collect
Nothing you enter is uploaded, stored, or sent anywhere. The questions run entirely in your own browser, and closing the page leaves no record.
We mention it because a coverage questionnaire is exactly the kind of thing that is normally a lead-generation form, with your answers routed to someone who will call you. This one is not. ClaimWise does not sell insurance, take referrals, or receive commissions from anyone.
What we are not able to tell you
Whether a gap the checker flagged actually matters for you. That depends on your state's rules, your property, your assets, and what a loss would cost your household — none of which a set of general questions can see.
What it can do is make sure you are asking about the right things. The gaps listed on this page are the ones that turn up repeatedly in real claims, and knowing which apply to you before anyone recommends a product is the whole advantage.
Run it again whenever your circumstances change rather than on a schedule.
The answers change when your life does, not when the calendar turns over.
That is usually two or three times a decade, not annually.
This is general education, not advice. Insurance law and claim rules vary by state and change over time. Nothing here is legal, financial, or insurance advice for your situation, and reading it does not create any professional relationship. For your specific case, consult a licensed professional in your state or contact your state Department of Insurance.