Coverage B: How Other Structures Protection Works for Detached Garages

If a storm tears the roof off your detached garage, you might assume the payout comes from the same pool of money that protects your house. It doesn't — a standard homeowners policy sets aside a separate pot of coverage, called Coverage B or Other Structures, specifically for buildings like garages, sheds and fences that aren't attached to your home. Here's how that part of the policy is built, and what it means in dollars for a detached garage.

Where Coverage B sits in the policy

A standard homeowners policy is organized into distinct coverage parts, and NAIC's consumer guide lists six of them: Dwelling, Other Structures, Personal Property, Loss of Use, Personal Liability and Medical Payments. Dwelling, or Coverage A, pays for damage to your house itself and to anything attached to it, including built-in fixtures like plumbing, wiring and permanent heating or air-conditioning systems. Other Structures, or Coverage B, is described right after Dwelling in that same guide, and it pays for damage to fences, tool sheds, freestanding garages, guest cottages and other structures that are not attached to your house. The distinction that matters most is attachment: a garage connected to your house by a shared wall or roofline falls under Coverage A, while a garage standing on its own falls under Coverage B.

What counts as an 'other structure'

NAIC's homeowners page gives concrete examples of what Coverage B protects, naming a detached garage, a work shed and fencing as structures covered under this part of the policy. Triple-I's consumer guidance adds a gazebo to that list, noting that most policies extend this protection to detached structures beyond just a garage or shed. Triple-I's hurricane-insurance FAQ draws the same line NAIC does, confirming that attached features like a garage or deck connected to the house fall under the main dwelling protection, while unattached buildings such as a separate garage, a shed, or even a swimming pool are treated as other structures instead. So if you have a detached garage, a work shed, or a fence line around the yard, those typically live under Coverage B rather than Coverage A.

The same perils, a separate limit

It's worth understanding that Coverage A and Coverage B are not protected against different sets of risks — a sample HO-3 policy form insures the dwelling and other structures against the same perils, combining both under one 'Perils Insured Against' section. That means wind, fire or a falling tree are addressed by the same combined perils section whether the damaged building is your house or your detached garage, subject to the exclusions and conditions spelled out later in the form, which this excerpt does not cover. What's different is not that section but the size of the pot: NAIC's consumer guide lists Dwelling and Other Structures as separate coverage components, each shown with its own typical limit.

How the Coverage B limit is typically set

NAIC's consumer guide shows Other Structures typically set at 10% of whatever dwelling limit you choose for Coverage A, listed as one of several coverage components expressed as a percentage of that dwelling figure. Triple-I describes the same general pattern, saying most policies cover detached structures for about 10 percent of the amount of insurance carried on the house itself. Both sources frame this as a typical or general starting point rather than a fixed rule — NAIC calls it a 'typical' limit, and Triple-I frames its figure as a general rule rather than a guaranteed percentage.

Document anatomy: the HO-3 Section I coverage parts that apply to a detached garage

• Coverage A — Dwelling: pays for damage to your house and anything attached to it, including built-in fixtures like plumbing and wiring.
• Coverage B — Other Structures: pays for damage to fences, tool sheds, freestanding garages and guest cottages not attached to the house.
• Typical Coverage B limit: about 10% of the Coverage A dwelling limit, per NAIC's table of typical policy limits.
• Perils covered: the same perils apply to both Coverage A and Coverage B under a sample HO-3 form's combined perils section.
• Examples named by NAIC: detached garage, work shed, fencing.
• Additional examples named by Triple-I: gazebo, separate garage building, swimming pool.

Coverage parts in a standard homeowners policy, per NAIC's consumer guide.

Structure	Attached or detached	Coverage part that applies
Garage sharing a wall with the house	Attached	Coverage A — Dwelling
Freestanding garage in the yard	Detached	Coverage B — Other Structures
Deck connected to the house	Attached	Coverage A — Dwelling
Tool shed or gazebo in the backyard	Detached	Coverage B — Other Structures
Fencing around the property	Detached	Coverage B — Other Structures

Attached versus detached structures and which coverage part applies.

Key takeaways

• Coverage B, also called Other Structures, protects buildings not attached to your house, such as a detached garage, tool shed or fencing.
• NAIC's consumer guide lists Other Structures as one of six main coverage parts in a standard homeowners policy, described right after the Dwelling coverage.
• NAIC's guide shows Other Structures typically set at about 10% of the dwelling limit, a figure Triple-I's consumer article echoes as a general rule rather than a fixed amount.

Frequently asked questions

Does a detached garage get its own coverage limit, separate from my house?

Yes. Other Structures, or Coverage B, is a distinct coverage part from Dwelling, or Coverage A, and NAIC's guide describes it as paying for damage to buildings not attached to the house, including a detached garage. Its dollar limit is typically about 10% of whatever Coverage A limit you've chosen, per NAIC's table of typical policy limits.

Is an attached garage covered the same way as a detached one?

No. Triple-I's hurricane-insurance FAQ confirms that attached structures like a garage or deck connected to the house are covered under the main Dwelling protection, Coverage A, while unattached buildings like a separate garage, shed, or swimming pool are covered as other structures instead.

Are a garage and a house covered against different risks?

Generally not, under a standard form. A sample HO-3 policy insures Coverage A and Coverage B against the same perils, combining both under one perils section, so the type of risk covered doesn't change between the house and a detached garage, only the dollar limit available does.

Is 10% always the Coverage B limit on every policy?

Not necessarily. NAIC's table lists 10% of the Coverage A dwelling limit as the typical limit for Other Structures coverage, so it's worth checking your own declarations page rather than assuming this figure applies to your policy. Triple-I similarly frames its about-10-percent figure as a general rule rather than a guaranteed amount.

What other structures besides a garage might this coverage include?

NAIC names a detached garage, a work shed and fencing as examples, while also listing freestanding garages, guest cottages and tool sheds in its broader coverage description. Triple-I adds a gazebo and notes that swimming pools can also be treated as other structures when unattached to the house.

Sources

• content.naic.org
• www.iii.org
• www.iii.org
• content.naic.org
• www.iii.org