Other Structures Coverage
It pays to repair or rebuild detached structures like a garage, fence, or shed. Your policy sets the coverage limit.
Free to compare
What counts as a structure
A detached garage, a shed, a fence, even a freestanding carport falls under this coverage instead of the main dwelling limit. If it's attached to the house, like a garage sharing a wall, it's usually part of dwelling coverage instead. Your policy's definitions section says which is which.
How the limit is set
Most policies set this limit as a percentage of your dwelling coverage, automatically, without you picking a number yourself. If you're buying a house with a detached garage or a pool house, check whether that default limit actually covers what's there. Your declarations page shows the figure.
Rebuilding cost, not sale price
What you paid for the house, or what it would sell for, has nothing to do with what it costs to rebuild a shed or fence. Rebuilding costs depend on materials and local labor. The loan amount won't tell you this number either.
What the lender actually checks
Before closing, the lender wants proof of dwelling coverage, usually matching or exceeding the loan amount. Other structures coverage rarely affects whether the binder gets approved. It matters more to you later, if a fence or shed gets damaged.
Check the number before you need it
If the lot has a detached garage, shed, or fence, the default limit may not cover rebuilding it. Comparing policies now shows you what's actually included before you're locked in.
Does other structures coverage need a separate deductible
Most policies don't give other structures its own deductible. The same deductible that applies to dwelling coverage applies here too, the one chosen when the policy was set up. If a storm takes out a fence and cracks a window, both repairs fall under that same deductible. Nothing stacks on top of it.
Smaller claims feel this the most. If a shed costs little to repair and the deductible is set high, the payout after the deductible is subtracted may be small or nothing at all. For a detached garage or anything with real rebuilding cost, the math works the same way it would for damage to the house itself. A fence panel or a mailbox is different. The deductible can end up larger than the claim, which means filing it may not be worth the trouble.
Some insurers offer a separate deductible, often lower, for specific structures like a pool or a detached garage. This isn't standard and usually has to be added to the policy on purpose. If the lot being purchased has something expensive to rebuild sitting apart from the house, it's worth asking whether that structure can carry its own deductible. Don't assume the dwelling deductible automatically applies at the same dollar amount.
None of this shows up in what the lender asks for before closing. The binder only needs to show dwelling coverage at the right amount. Deductibles on other structures are a detail that matters when something breaks, not a detail that affects approval. That makes it easy to overlook during a purchase, and worth a second look once the policy is actually in hand.
Can other structures coverage be removed or increased before closing
Some buyers see the default percentage on their quote and want to change it, either because the lot has nothing detached worth insuring, or because it has a guest house worth more than the default covers. Both are possible, but neither affects what the lender needs to see at closing. The binder is built around dwelling coverage, so adjusting this number won't speed up or slow down approval.
Removing it entirely usually isn't an option. Most policies bundle it in as a fixed percentage of dwelling coverage, and insurers rarely let it drop to zero even if there's nothing detached on the lot. If the property has no fence, shed, or garage apart from the house, that unused coverage doesn't typically lower the premium by much. It's a small piece of a larger number, not a line item priced on its own.
Raising the limit is more straightforward, and worth doing before the policy is finalized rather than after. If the lot has a detached garage built for two cars, a barn, or a pool house, the default percentage might fall short of what it would actually cost to rebuild any of those. A contractor estimate isn't necessary at this stage, but a rough sense of rebuilding cost for anything substantial on the property helps when deciding whether to raise the limit now.
Buyers should also ask what counts as a structure under the policy being bought, since definitions vary slightly from one insurer to the next. A detached garage is usually clear. A fence, a retaining wall, or a paved driveway can fall into gray areas depending on how the policy defines them. None of this changes what's needed to close on the house, but it decides what happens if that detached garage burns down five years from now and the limit set today turns out to have been too low.
Before you sign anything
Find the other structures limit on the declarations page. Walk the lot for anything detached, a garage, shed, or fence. If the number looks low against rebuilding cost, ask about raising it now.
