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What is an insurance rider in a homeowner’s policy?

An insurance rider — also referred to as a floater or an endorsement — is an optional add-on to an insurance policy. A homeowner’s insurance rider amends a basic policy. By purchasing a rider on top of your standard coverage, you may be able to increase your coverage limits, expand coverage for certain property or extend protection to help cover additional perils.

Why would I need an insurance rider?

A typical homeowners insurance policy usually comes with a set of standard protections, including: Dwelling coverage, Other structures coverage, Personal property coverage and Personal liability coverage

Each type of standard protection helps cover certain risks, or perils, which are listed in your policy. Each standard protection is also subject to coverage limits and may have restrictions, exclusions or sub-limits. A rider allows you to pay extra to broaden your standard coverage.

Take personal property coverage, for instance. It may limit coverage for certain valuables, such as jewelry. Here's an example: Say your homeowners insurance policy has a coverage limit of $50,000 for personal property coverage. But, your policy also states that personal property coverage has a sub-limit of $1,500 for jewelry. That means if your valuable jewelry is stolen or damaged by a fire, for example, you'd only be reimbursed up to $1,500 to help replace it.

That's where a rider comes in. One common home insurance rider, called scheduled personal property, allows you to increase your base personal property coverage limits on a standard policy to help protect certain valuable items, such as jewelry.

Read your policy to understand what perils it covers, your coverage limits and any exclusions. Your agent can also help you understand how much coverage your policy offers.

Source: By Allstate https://www.allstate.com/resources/home-insurance/what-is-an-insurance-rider