What does homeowners insurance cover for a home in Scottsdale?

A standard homeowners policy pays for damage to the house and to other buildings on the property, replaces your belongings, pays some of your extra living costs if you can't live in the home after covered damage, and covers your liability if you're found responsible for hurting someone or damaging their property. It pays only when the damage comes from a cause the policy covers, and it does not cover flood or earthquake. That's how the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) both describe it.

I'm Jen Keene, a REALTOR® with eXp Luxury in Scottsdale, AZ, and I'm the agent people call at every stage of their life. Homeowners insurance is one of the things a buyer needs to settle before closing, so I've put together what the NAIC, Triple-I, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Fannie Mae say about it, with the source named next to each fact.

This is general information, not insurance or legal advice. These are national consumer guides, so the wording of your own policy is what counts, and a licensed insurance agent can tell you what applies to the home you're buying. I checked each source on November 7, 2026.

The NAIC lists six: dwelling, other structures, personal property, loss of use, personal liability and medical payments. Dwelling pays for damage to the house and the structures attached to it, including fixtures like plumbing, electrical wiring and permanently installed air conditioning. Other structures covers things like fences, tool sheds and freestanding garages. Personal property covers furniture, electronics, appliances and clothing, even when they are somewhere else, like a storage unit. Loss of use pays some of your extra living costs while the home is being repaired.

Personal liability covers your financial loss if you're sued and found legally responsible for injuring someone or damaging their property, and medical payments pays medical bills for people hurt on your property. The Insurance Information Institute describes the same parts, and both say the limits for other structures, belongings and loss of use are usually set as a share of the dwelling limit. Your policy will show the actual amounts, so ask the insurance agent to walk you through them.

Flood and earthquake are the two the sources name first. The NAIC says homeowners policies don't cover flood damage, Triple-I says a standard policy won't pay for damage caused by a flood or earthquake, and the CFPB says standard homeowner's insurance doesn't cover earthquakes or floods, though you may be able to add that coverage. For flood, I've written about whether you need flood insurance for a home in Scottsdale, including how to look up a home's flood zone.

A homeowners policy also isn't a maintenance contract. The NAIC says it insures against damage from causes like fire, wind and hail, and it doesn't pay to repair things that simply wear out, and the Insurance Information Institute lists routine wear and tear among the things a standard policy won't pay for. The NAIC puts repairing a roof that begins to leak on the homeowner, so find out how old the roof is before you buy.

Usually it does. The NAIC says homeowners policies in most states cover damage caused by windstorm and hail, and the Insurance Information Institute says homeowners policies typically cover roof damage from a covered cause such as wind, hail or falling trees. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide, which sets the rules for loans it buys, lists windstorm and hail among the causes the property insurance has to cover.

The NAIC says windstorm coverage may come with a separate percentage deductible (it makes that point about coastal areas), so ask the insurance agent how the deductible works for wind and hail damage on the home you're buying and what that would be in dollars. And ask what the policy says about roof damage in particular, which the next section covers.

Because the lender wants the home protected. The CFPB says that when you have a mortgage, your lender wants to make sure your property is protected by insurance, and that lenders generally require proof that you have homeowner's insurance. The NAIC says most mortgage lenders require you to have insurance as long as you have a mortgage and to list them on the policy as the mortgagee.

Fannie Mae's Selling Guide puts the same rule on the lender's side. It says the lender or servicer must verify that a valid insurance policy exists that meets Fannie Mae's requirements, and that a loan where it can't tell whether the policy meets those requirements isn't eligible for Fannie Mae to buy.

The sources I read don't give a deadline for when the proof is due, so ask your loan officer what the lender needs to see and by when. The CFPB suggests asking your loan officer whether the quotes you collect meet the lender's requirements for homeowner's insurance, and sending the final policy information to your loan officer once you choose a company.

Start with a quote on the specific home. The NAIC says that if you're thinking of buying a home, you can ask an agent to estimate the cost of insurance, and Triple-I says to ask whether a house will qualify and to request a premium estimate. The CFPB says to get quotes from several companies, in writing, and to compare both the cost and the coverage amounts. I'd ask for that while you're still deciding on the house, because it's a cost that goes into your monthly budget. Here's how financing works when buying a home, and here's how the inspection period works in Arizona.

When you compare quotes, compare the same things. The NAIC and Triple-I both explain the difference between actual cash value, which subtracts depreciation when a claim is paid, and replacement cost, which doesn't, and the NAIC and the CFPB both say to check how the premium changes if you raise or lower the deductible. The dwelling limit should be based on the cost to rebuild the house, which the NAIC says is not the same as the purchase price because the price includes the land, and the Insurance Information Institute says to buy enough coverage to rebuild after a total loss.

Then ask about flood. A standard policy leaves it out, so if the home is in a flood zone or your lender asks for flood insurance, that's a second policy to line up, and I've covered it in my flood insurance post.

Ask whether the roof's age and condition change the price or the coverage. The Insurance Information Institute says age and condition are among the biggest factors in how an insurer pays for a roof, that an insurer may only cover an older roof at actual cash value, and that some insurers decline older roofs. The Texas Department of Insurance, a state regulator, says an insurance company will inspect your roof when you apply, that it may charge you more or refuse to insure you based on what it sees, and that as roofs age some companies switch to actual cash value.

So the questions I'd put to the agent are these. Will the company insure this roof? Would a claim on it be paid at replacement cost or at actual cash value? Does anything about its age or condition change the premium? The NAIC also says to ask about discounts, and it names getting a new roof as one that some insurers offer. If you don't know how old the roof is, I'll help you ask the seller what they know about it and what records they have.

Ask how it changes the price and how much liability coverage the agent recommends. The NAIC lists having a swimming pool, trampoline or playscape that could cause injuries among the things that can affect what an insurer charges. Triple-I says homes with pools and similar features will likely need more liability insurance, and it suggests an umbrella liability policy as added protection if someone is injured. The NAIC also describes personal umbrella insurance as a way to raise your liability coverage above what a homeowners policy offers.

A CLUE report is a record of insurance claims made on a home, and insurers use it when they decide whether to insure a home and what to charge. CLUE stands for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, and Triple-I says most homeowners insurers contribute to the database, which LexisNexis provides. The CFPB describes it as a claims information exchange used to inform insurers' pricing and underwriting decisions, and the NAIC says insurance companies use these databases to see the claims you've submitted in the past.

It matters to a buyer because the NAIC says the claims history of the home might affect your premium, and it lists "How can I find out the claims history of the home before I buy it?" among the questions to ask an agent. Triple-I says the report lists each claim's type, the date of the loss and the amount and status of the claim, and that the current homeowner can request a copy, which is useful for a buyer to review before buying. I'd ask the seller for one in writing, and if it shows past damage, bring it up with your inspector.

The sources give different lengths for how far back the database goes, so I'm not going to quote a number, and your insurance agent can tell you what they see. You can also request a report on yourself. Triple-I and the CFPB both say you can get one free report a year.

It depends on the home and the coverage you choose, so I'm not going to quote a price, and a written quote for the address is the only number that counts. The NAIC lists what goes into it, including the cost to rebuild the home, the age and condition of the home, the claims history of the home, the coverages and deductible you choose, and extras like a pool. Ask each agent to quote the same coverage so the quotes can be compared fairly.

Here's how buying a home works in Arizona, step by step, and here's my guide to buying a home in Scottsdale. If you're comparing insurance questions for a specific community, I've written about homeowners insurance in DC Ranch and home insurance in Grayhawk.

If you have a home in mind and want help working out what to ask, get in touch or call me at (480) 203-6605. For anything that depends on your own policy, your lender or an insurance agent is the person to ask.