My homeowner policy will pay the cost to repair or replace damage caused by an insured peril. This is great stuff however the 'rub' is that while my house was built in 1914 per the building codes of the era any repairs made to the house would need to follow today's building codes. Fuses, 60 amp circuit boards and knob & tube wiring were okay in 1914 but circuit breakers, ground fault interrupters, PVC & PEX plumbing, hard wired smoke detectors are the order of the day in 2014. In short some homeowner policies will pay to 'replace' but may not pay to bring the damaged part of the house up to code. 'Ordinance or law' coverage will pay the additional cost to bring a bulding up to code while making repairs to damaged property and if your policy doesn't include it you could face some out of pocket expenses.