If A Meteor or Space Junk Hits Your House, Are You Covered?
The odds of a meteor or a piece of space junk slamming into your house seem pretty high. According to wired.com, actually, they're 1 in 3,921.910.064,328.
Yet, in Northern California, a house was destroyed, and the homeowner claims a meteorite hit it. Several witnesses came forward and reportedly saw a ball of light descending from the sky at the time of the fire.
NASA seems to confirm that the southern Taurids meteor shower is indeed peaking this week. This meteor shower occurs every year between September and November. It happens as the earth passes through a broad stream or comet pieces left behind when Comet Encke passed churns past earth's orbit.
It isn't the first time a meteorite has struck a home in the United States. In 1954, Ann Hodges was hit by a space rock in her hip while she was in her home in Alabama.
There was also widespread damage in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk in February 2013 when a 10-ton meteorite exploded in the sky above the city. Buildings collapsed, glass shattered and many injuries occurred.
So the big question that arises from all this, especially today with the abundance of insurance commercials constantly invading tv and radio, is if a meteor strikes your house, does your insurance cover it?
According to Michael Barry, a spokesman for the nonprofit Insurance Information Institute, most standard homeowner's policies will cover not only meteors but asteroids, jet engines, or even space junk.
Insurance companies consider these types of perils "falling objects" just like tree limbs, missiles, and spacecraft. That's great to know, especially with North Korea hurling missiles into the sky every other day and the Chinese dropping satellites almost every week.
There is a caveat. It must be a direct hit. If the meteor lands across the street and some things are damaged in your home as a result, no dice.
If something falls from the sky and strikes your house, take lots of photos. The claim process won't be all that different from any other covered event. Although the Geico might do a commercial about it, or the Farmer's Insurance spokesman might finally declare, "we've finally seen it all."