There are any number of tragedies that can befall your house, making you glad you have good homeowners insurance, or making you wish you did. Realistically, most of us will never need to put in a claim to our insurance company and, if we do, in most cases it’s to repair minor storm damage or for something stolen from our property.

Of course, there are some tragedies we think about. We’re all aware that a fire could take everything we own, leaving us with nothing literally overnight. A tornado can accomplish the same thing, albeit with a bit more flourish. Here are some things that could happen, though, which you probably haven’t thought about which will make you glad you stroked that check to your homeowners insurance company:

1. Workers get injured. Say the home repair guys are up on your roof laying on a brand new layer of shingles. They’re supposed to be harnessed, but we all know roofers don’t bother with that most of the time. If one of them falls, it could be very bad for an uninsured homeowner (yes, believe it or not, even if he is stupid, YOU may be liable). But imagine if the one who’s falling hits the next guy. In a matter of seconds, you could have a whole roofing crew lying on the ground calling personal injury lawyers on their cell phones.

1. Sinkhole. We don’t know what the odds are, but it’s possible. Groundwater erodes layers of soil underground, occasionally collapsing the roof of an underground cavern you didn’t even know was there. In Guatemala City, this happened right at a busy intersection, and the hole it created sank over 300 feet. Imagine if that had been under your house. We hope it doesn’t happen, but if it does, we also hope that you’re not home, and that you have good homeowners insurance.

1. Global Thermonuclear War. OK, maybe that’s pushing it. Chances are if we ever experience a global thermonuclear war, there won’t be any insurance agencies left to make good on the claim. But if there are, you’ll certainly be glad to know that you can rebuild your house. The only question will be where you can find a place that isn’t still glowing.

On a serious note, there are a number of things that can happen to your home. Fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, theft, injured workers. All of these can cost you a ton of money, or even make you lose everything if you’re not insured.

Photo via Hryck.