Saturday, 24 September 2011
Most Homeowners’ Plans Cover Falling Satellites
With the recent scare of a six-ton NASA satellite falling to earth and creating quite a bit of damage, it got people asking the question whether or not they’d be insured if their homes were damaged by falling space debris. Fortunately, there wasn’t any serious damage done when the satellite broke into pieces and entered the earth’s atmosphere, but asking if you’d be insured is a good question.
According to NASA, the odds of being hit by the falling satellite were 3,200 to one. But it’s still possible that your home could be hit by something falling from space, such as a small meteorite or even something from an airplane. There have been several instances in America in which people’s homes have been struck by a variety of objects, including a plane itself.
If you do happen to get struck by something hurtling to earth most homeowners’ insurance policies will cover the damage it causes. This is because most home insurance plans have a peril for falling objects. It doesn’t mean that all policies have coverage for falling objects, but most of them do. This is something you may want to look into or keep in mind the next time you renew your policy or are looking for a new one.
However, if your automobile happens to get struck by space garbage, it will depend on whether or not you have comprehensive insurance on it. If you do have comprehensive coverage the damage should be paid for. If you don’t have this type of coverage in the policy you’ll likely have to pay for the repairs out of your own pocket. A lot of Americans go without comprehensive insurance when their autos are older and on their last legs.
According to an article by foxbusiness.com, if you suffer any personal injuries due to falling debris you’ll be covered if you have a health insurance plan in place. If the injuries proved to be fatal, your life insurance policy will kick in as long as you have one and the premiums have all been paid.
While the odds of ever getting hit by a falling object may be astronomical, remember, that’s the reason we buy insurance in the first place, to protect ourselves just in case.
