Guides
Other structures coverage (Coverage B): fences, sheds and garages
Coverage B insures detached garages, sheds and fences, usually capped at 10% of the dwelling limit. What counts, what is excluded and when to raise it.
Other structures coverage, labeled Coverage B on your declarations page, insures structures on your property that are separate from the house: a detached garage, a shed, a workshop, a gazebo, fences, and usually patios, pavement and in-ground pools. On the ISO HO-3 the limit "will not be more than 10%" of the Coverage A limit, and using it does not reduce the dwelling limit. For many properties the 10% is enough. For a lot with a large detached garage or several outbuildings, it often is not.
The wording below comes from the ISO form HO 00 03 05 11. Your insurer's own policy may set Coverage B higher, define "structure" differently or settle claims on different terms, so check the declarations page and the form itself.
What counts as an other structure
The form covers other structures on the residence premises "set apart from the dwelling by clear space," and it treats a structure joined to the house only by a fence, utility line or similar connection as still set apart. So a garage joined to the house by a fence is a Coverage B structure, while a garage that shares a wall or roof line with the house is part of the dwelling under Coverage A.
Typical Coverage B property:
- Detached garages, carports, sheds, barns and workshops
- Gazebos, pergolas, playhouses and detached decks
- Fences, gates and retaining walls
- Driveways, walkways, patios and other pavement
- In-ground swimming pools and similar site improvements
Where a breezeway or covered walkway joins the two buildings, the classification can go either way. Your policy's definition of an attached structure and your insurer's practice decide it, so ask before you need the answer.
The 10% limit, in dollars
The California Department of Insurance says Coverage B is "normally limited to 10% of the coverage A limit," and that more can be bought for an additional premium (CDI homeowners guide). The limit is one pool for everything, per loss. A hypothetical shows the arithmetic. Say your dwelling limit is $350,000, so Coverage B is $35,000, and your property holds these structures at replacement cost:
| Structure | Say it costs to replace |
|---|---|
| Detached two-car garage | $62,000 |
| Garden shed | $7,500 |
| 200 feet of wood privacy fence | $11,000 |
| Pergola | $6,500 |
| Concrete patio | $9,000 |
| Total | $96,000 |
If a tornado or wildfire destroys all of it, the policy pays up to $35,000, leaving a $61,000 gap. The garage alone is $27,000 over the limit. Most losses hit one structure, not the whole lot, which is why the limit usually holds up until it does not. The homeowners coverage gap checker can help you run this for your own property.
Because Coverage B follows the dwelling limit by default, raising Coverage A raises it too. In a declared emergency in California, the law goes further: policyholders there may combine payments for the dwelling and other structures up to the policy limits for rebuilding the main house if the dwelling limit is not enough (CDI, Jan. 9, 2026 guide, citing Insurance Code section 10103.7). Do not assume your state has a similar rule.
What Coverage B does not cover
The HO-3 lists four exclusions that surprise people:
- Land. Coverage B pays for the structure, not the ground it sits on.
- Structures rented or held for rental to anyone who is not a tenant of the house, unless the structure is used solely as a private garage. A detached studio or guest cottage you rent out is outside Coverage B. See Insuring an ADU or backyard cottage.
- Structures from which any business is conducted. A detached office, a workshop where you take paying customers or a studio used for a trade is excluded, even if you own it.
- Structures used to store business property. The exception is narrow. The form does cover a structure that holds business property owned solely by an insured or a tenant of the house, but not if that property is gaseous or liquid fuel (other than the fuel in a vehicle's tank). Goods you hold for someone else, such as consigned stock, do not fit that wording. business property at home: what a homeowners policy pays explains where the lines fall.
Trees, shrubs and lawns are not Coverage B property either. They fall under a separate additional coverage with its own limits, which is covered in are trees, shrubs and landscaping covered?.
What causes of loss apply
Coverage B is written like Coverage A, on an open perils basis, so wind, hail, fire, a falling tree, vandalism and a vehicle strike are covered unless an exclusion applies. The exclusions that matter for outbuildings are specific. The form excludes freezing, thawing, and the pressure or weight of water or ice to a fence, pavement, patio or swimming pool, so frost heave that cracks a patio is not a claim. Wear and tear, rot, rust, settling and damage by insects or rodents are also out, which is how most shed and fence deterioration gets denied.
How a Coverage B claim is paid
The settlement rules split structures into two groups. Buildings under Coverage B, such as a garage or shed with walls and a roof, are settled like the house: replacement cost, subject to the 80% insurance-to-value condition and the rule that you receive actual cash value until the repair is finished. The ISO form lists "structures that are not buildings," such as fences, pavement and pools, for settlement at actual cash value, with no replacement cost option. Fannie Mae's Selling Guide accepts that arrangement for mortgaged homes (Fannie Mae B7-3-02).
Fences show how this plays out, and why a covered claim can pay nothing. Say a 15-year-old wood fence loses 60 feet to a windstorm. Replacing that stretch costs $4,200, and the adjuster applies 60% depreciation, so the actual cash value is $1,680. If your deductible is $2,500, the claim pays zero. With a percentage wind deductible the gap is wider. That math is one reason many owners do not file for fences, an issue covered in should you file a homeowners claim?.
Debris removal applies to Coverage B property, and a fallen tree that damages a covered structure triggers the tree-removal allowance of up to $1,000 per loss, $500 per tree (debris removal and tree removal coverage, falling tree damage: who pays and when).
Common scenarios
| What happens | Which coverage pays | Usually covered? |
|---|---|---|
| Windstorm peels the roof off a detached garage | B | Yes, less the deductible |
| A car backs through your fence | B | Yes; the insurer may pursue the driver's auto policy |
| Thieves break into the shed and take mowers and tools | C for the tools, B for the broken door | Tools: yes, as theft of personal property. Door: yes |
| Frost heaves your concrete patio | None | No, excluded |
| Termites hollow out a shed | None | No, excluded |
| A guest cottage you rent out burns | None under B | No, rented to a non-tenant |
When to raise Coverage B
Raise it, or ask about a separate limit for a specific structure, if you have a detached garage with finished space, a barn, a large workshop, a pool with a deck, or several outbuildings that together exceed 10% of your dwelling limit. Check three things in your policy: the price of the increase, whether the higher limit settles at replacement cost, and whether a structure used for business needs a different policy altogether.
Key takeaways
- Coverage B insures separate structures on your lot and defaults to 10% of the dwelling limit under the ISO form, as one pool per loss.
- Add up the replacement cost of your garage, sheds, fences and patios and compare the total with 10% of Coverage A.
- Rented, business-use and business-storage structures are excluded; so is land.
- Buildings are settled like the house, while fences, pavement and pools are settled at actual cash value under the ISO form.
- Many fence and patio losses fall under the deductible or an exclusion, so expect to self-insure the small ones.