For most consumers, homeowners' insurance is a grudge purchaseon par with retiling a roof or getting treatment at thedentist.

But while it isn't necessarily the most exciting way to spendmoney, it is an important factor to owning or renting a house, andthe peace of mind that comes along with those monthly payments ispriceless.

Related: Top 10 states for homeowners' insuranceprotections

However, recent studies show that a concerning number ofhomeowners don't fully understand their insurance policies, whichcould lead to some nasty surprises if unforeseen damages occur.According to an Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) survey, morethan 50 percent of homeowners didn't understand how their insurancecompany would calculate the cost if their homes were damaged, andfour out of five didn't realize they needed a separate hurricanedeductible to be covered from one.

Related: Top 15 homeowners' insurance carriers for 2016, asranked by NAIC

The fact is, a standard homeowners' policy doesn't protectpolicyholders from everything. Homeowners might be covered forthings like fallen trees, but floods, earthquakes and tornados area whole different ballgame — and as it turns out, so are a lot ofother traumatic events.

Related: 15 surprising consumer actions & beliefsrelated to homeowners' insurance

Here's three things policyholders may expect to be included intheir homeowners' insurance policy, but aren't:

(Photo: Shutterstock)

Expensive jewelry and fine art

Think of the items most people have in their homes: beds, tablesand appliances. Many have closets filled with clothing, towels andlinens. So, it makes sense for most insurance policies to coverthese things. However, in the aftermath of a calamity, homeownersare unlikely to find themselves losing any sleep over a damagedcloset. A wedding ring or jewelry box however is a differentsituation.

Related: Jewelry: A surprisingly large, and vulnerable,pocket of client wealth

The reality is that most jewelry, fine art or antiquecollections are not covered under a standard insurance policy. Apolicy might reimburse policyholders a maximum of $1,500 forjewelry for example, but that's nothing equivalent to the worth ofmany people's valued possessions — considering that these days,people spend on average $4,758 on just an engagement ringalone.

Related: Determining value is a fine art

So, it's best for clients to speak to their agents about gettingadditional coverage to better protect the finer items in theirhomes, known as scheduled personal property. And while that willmake insurance premiums higher, according to Allstate, there aresome major benefits. That is, customers likely won't have to payany deductibles on a claim, and will be covered for additionalrisks, like accidentally dropping a wedding ring down thedrain.

Related: 4 ways to safeguard jewelry

Inspectors examine a sinkhole in Studio City, north of LosAngeles, on Feb. 18, 2017. Two vehicles fell into the 20-footsinkhole and firefighters had to rescue one woman who escaped hercar but was found standing on her overturned vehicle. (APPhoto/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Sinkholes

Sinkholes are pretty rare, but not unheard of. Take the 30-foot-deep hole that opened up in the middle ofthe National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky in February2014, for example. While the occurrence might seem a bitsupernatural, they're actually caused by water eroding away atunderground rock and soil. In fact, 20 percent of U.S. land issusceptible, with Alabama, Texas, Missouri, Tennessee,Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Florida most at risk.

If a deep, gaping hole appears on a homeowner's property, arethey covered? The problem runs deeper than they may think. Asinkhole that occurs in a yard but doesn't touch the house isn'tincluded in regular insurance policies. So, homeowners would beleft having to fork up the cash to fill that hole on their own.

Related: Florida judge rules insured does not bear burden ofproving sinkhole loss

Unfortunately, many insurance policies won't immediately cover“earth movement” if it damages a home, either. According to I.I.I.,sinkholes are simply too hard to predict and investigate, as wellas extremely costly to repair. But that said, some states — likeFlorida and Tennessee — require insurance companies to offer opt-insinkhole coverage, so homeowners will be compensated for damages totheir homes and personal belongings affected.

All in all, it's best for homeowners to examine their insurancepolicy to see if they're covered for sinkholes automatically or ifthey need add the extra coverage — because freak accidents dohappen.

(Photo: Shutterstock)

Pool accidents

A swimming pool is probably covered in the “property”element of an insurance policy. So if a tree falls into it anddamages the lining, for example, homeowners will likely be covered.However, while a standard home insurance policy usually encompassesliability protection, any accidents that occur in a pool might beexcluded. That means if a family friend ends up in the hospitalafter a swimming incident, the homeowner could end up footing thebill.

Homeowners need to revise their insurance policies to make suretheir pool meets the proper safety standards for a claim to beaccepted. For example, if the pool has a diving board or slide,isn't surrounded by a fence or hasn't been installed by aprofessional, a liability claim could be denied. The claim may alsobe denied if the person injured was engaging in risky behavior.

Related: 10 swimming pool insurance and safetytips

And as most homeowners are protected with up to $100,000 ingeneral liability protection, I.I.I. recommends pool ownersincrease coverage to at least $300,000 — and more, purchase anumbrella liability policy to carry an additional $1 million inprotection, just in case.

While it would be nice if insurance policies protectedhomeowners from everything, that's simply not the case. Offeringmore basic policies keeps prices down for those who don't own$4,758 engagement rings, liable pools or live in sinkhole-proneareas. It's up to homeowners to examine their policies withinsurance agents and sign-on for the coverage that protects thembest — so that way, their peace of mind is truly warranted.

Sean Maher is the co-founderof Swyfft, a platform that usesmulti-patented big data and analytics to uncover accurate homeinsurance policies.