Are you really fully covered by your homeowners insurance?

Most home insurance policies will cover you for the same litany and levels of catastrophe, but there is one disaster for which you may not have coverage.

From hail damage to fire to theft, you’re covered. You’re probably even covered it flooding damage is due to a busted pipe. But the homeowner policy you now have will likely not include any coverage to help with your mortgage if either you or spouse die unexpectedly, Dan Zeiler, who owns Zeiler Insurance Services, said in a posting on the company's website. 

It is the sad truth that all of us are going to die someday. It’s hard to tell when in most cases. It could be today; it could be 50 years from now. The reality is, we don’t know. The death of the breadwinner in a family can be tragic enough on its own, but it can also mean the family may have to move out of their home if the mortgage lapses.

But with an inexpensive term life policy in the same amount as the mortgage, the payout can cover the mortgage amount, meaning the house can be paid off when a spouse dies and your family can stay in their home, the posting said. Depending on your financial situation, it can actually be pretty cheap too. For less than a few fancy coffees every month, you can be covered.

Another option you have could be a whole life or universal life policy, which also would enable you to collect cash equity in the policy that could be used to help pay off that mortgage early, the posting said. Of course, such a policy will cost a little bit more per month, but with the extra cost comes greater coverage.

Whichever policy you choose, it is important to keep in mind that this issue, although tough to think about, is one of the few inevitable problems we will all face one day.