What mobile & manufactured home insurance covers

Dwelling coverage pays to repair or replace the structure after a covered loss: fire, lightning, wind, hail, theft, vandalism, falling objects, the weight of snow, and the sudden escape of water from plumbing. Better forms are open-peril on the home and named-peril on contents; budget forms are named-peril on both, and the difference decides whether a loss that is not on the list is paid. The policy states whether the home is settled at replacement cost or actual cash value; on an older home the carrier may offer only the latter, and the limit should then reflect what the home would actually bring, not what a new one costs.

A carport, an awning, a covered deck, steps, skirting and a storage shed are insured under other structures or as attached structures, with a limit set as a share of the dwelling amount. On a long-occupied home these additions can be worth more than the coverage allows, and a large Arizona-style carport is a common shortfall after a wind claim. They can be scheduled for their own limits.

Contents pays for furniture, appliances that are not built in, clothing and electronics, at replacement cost or actual cash value per the form. Loss of use pays for somewhere to live while the home is repaired or replaced; after a total loss in a park it also has to carry the space rent until the replacement is set, so the limit and the time period should be read together.

Personal liability pays if someone is hurt on the lot or the household damages someone else's property, and it defends a suit. Parks and land-lease communities write a liability limit into the lease, and in a park a fire that spreads to a neighbouring home is the claim liability exists for. Medical payments covers small injuries to guests without a fault finding.

A standard policy covers the home at its stated location and not while it is being moved. Trip collision or transit coverage insures the home while it is jacked, towed and reset, including collision, overturn and the damage from a failed hitch, and it is bought for the move itself. A home bought used and moved to a new lot needs the transit coverage, then a new policy at the new address.