Having homeowner's insurance in place is one of the best ways to protect yourself, and there's good news: The coverage extends outside your home. That means that if you find yourself faced with situations like theft, injury, or damage, you could find most of those costs covered by your homeowner's policy if no other insurance will cover them first. The key to figuring out what is covered outside the home is whether or not the items affected were personal, either personal belongings that were damaged or stolen, or items that were damaged by you.

The Stuff in Your Storage Unit

Your storage unit is technically your personal space as far as homeowner's insurance goes, and your policy should cover the items in there like it would items in your actual home. If you rent a storage unit, the managers at the storage facility will likely want you to call your agent on the spot to verify coverage (many facilities require insurance coverage and will force you to buy their policies if you don't have one of your own in place). But placing items into storage is such a common situation that your agent's office will be able to tell you immediately if your items in storage are covered (and the answer will likely be yes).

The Stuff in Your Car

Your personal belongings in your car, such as emergency blankets, shopping items that you stored in the trunk, and so on are not usually covered under auto policies if the items are stolen. You would activate your homeowner's insurance for these items. If your auto and homeowner's policies are with the same agent, you might be able to use a streamlined claim process or even get a reduced or eliminated deductible, though not all policies will be like that. Your agent would be the person to ask about that.

The Stuff in the Path of Your Poor Aim or Clumsiness

Even the most graceful, athletic person out there has moments where concepts such as good aim and balance just go out the window. From walking through screen or glass doors to dropping breakable items accidentally to tripping and crashing into a store display, your homeowner's insurance could actually cover some of that. Homeowner's insurance has personal liability coverage, which often applies to these out-of-the-home accidents that cause damage. The exact coverage can vary from policy to policy, so contacting your agent to find out just what you could expect in situations like these is a good idea.

Your agent (like those at Ronald H. Krupa Insurance Agency) can give you more information about how your particular policy would work in these situations, so don't assume anything until you've called your agent. It would also be a good idea to discuss coverage limits, such as those for jewelry, which might necessitate adding riders if you have certain types of belongings.