Most insurance policyholders are confident their Missouri home and auto insurance will cover them no matter what. But they may not be aware they have gaps in their coverage that could leave them vulnerable to legal and financial risk. In today’s rapidly changing world, there are a couple of ways you might be putting yourself at risk. Here’s how to avoid them.

Home Insurance Gaps

Renting out your home

Your home insurance policy likely covers many scenarios, but does that include renting out your home or parts of your home? Whether you’re a landlord with tenants sharing your home or an Airbnb, VRBO, or another type of homesharing participant, your homeowners insurance may not cover you.

If your policy is like many others, it covers renting out your home for a single time but not multiple times. You should ask your insurance agent about landlord insurance or business insurance to cover this gap.

Undervaluation and home businesses

There are additional situations in which you may find yourself with a gap in your home insurance:

• Undervaluing your home and not purchasing enough insurance
• Running a business from your home
• Named insured not living in the home

If you don’t update your home policy periodically, you may not have enough coverage. Each time your policy renews, you should discuss with your agent whether or not you have enough protection for the replacement cost of your home and belongings, especially if you’ve done any upgrades recently.

When running a business from your home, you should also confer with your insurance agent. You want to make sure your business property is covered, which might mean taking out a separate policy. You also want to be certain that any insurance claims resulting from your business, such as a client falling on your premises, would be covered by your home policy.

When it comes to named insureds on your policy, you want to make sure anyone who is named on your insurance is actually living on the property. For example, you’re going through a divorce. One spouse moves out, leaving the residence to their partner. Then, the other spouse decides to move out also, renting the property to another party.

Any insurance claims for damage to the home during this period would likely be invalid. It’s therefore important to keep all named insureds on your home policy up to date.

Auto Insurance Gaps

Using your personal vehicle for business

If you are using your own car or truck for work reasons, an accident may not be covered by your personal auto insurance. You should ask your insurance agent about getting business auto insurance for the following situations:

• Driving your own vehicle while on the clock for an employer
• Making deliveries like flowers or pizza in your personal vehicle
• Driving to sales calls for an employer in your own car or truck
• Covering vehicles for your business with your personal auto insurance
• Driving for a rideshare business (see below)

You probably even need business auto coverage if you’re regularly driving rental vehicles while out of town for work.

Driving for a rideshare company

Because of the uptick in people driving for rideshare businesses like Uber and Lyft, we’ve seen a huge rise in insurance gaps. This is the area where drivers are most likely to assume their personal auto insurance will cover them, when in fact, they likely need business auto coverage.

Are you worried about gaps in your Missouri home and auto insurance coverage? We’re here to answer all your questions, with independent agents who have a large range of insurance products and the personalized service you love. Call Lang Insurance at 636-229-7000 today to learn more.