The world of insurance can be incredibly tricky, and sometimes it can seem like there are more exclusions and restrictions than anything.

Fire insurance and renter’s insurance are no different from the rest in that regard, and it is incredibly important to know what your fire insurance can do for you, and what it can’t.

Around the holiday season, the number of house and apartment fires rises slightly, mostly due to Christmas tree fires and grease fires.

Thankfully, fires such as these are covered by most fire and renter’s insurance policies, as they fall under accidental damage due to fire. In addition, if you have any interior or exterior holiday lights that accidentally ignite, that should also be covered. However, if the fire or damage were caused by a pet running around the house, it would not be covered. There are specific policies that may cover this type of damage, but for the most part, it is excluded.

There are quite a few common holiday occurrences that are not covered by insurance, in fact. If any fights break out, any resulting damage will not be covered, and if there are any sewage backups due to grease being poured down a drain, that will also not be covered.

National studies have shown that the number of fire-and-accident-related insurance claims rises about 15% during the holiday season, but if you make sure you check your insurance policy, you will not be caught unawares, expecting damage to be covered by your insurance policy when it is not.