Things You Need To Know About Homeowners Insurance
If your house is your biggest investment, then don’t you want to make sure that it’s properly covered? No one wants to discover that they have inadequate coverage or no coverage at all after a disaster.
The following tips can help you better understand your homeowners policy.
- Make sure you have the right amount of insurance. You need to check your policy in the following four areas:
- The value of your house – you need to be able to completely rebuild your house after a disaster.
- The value of your personal belongings – you will want to replace all of your personal belongings in case all is lost.
- Your liability to others – make sure you have enough coverage if you do get sued.
- Your living expenses if you are forced out in case of disaster – this will cover your living expenses while your home is being rebuilt or repaired. Make sure that both your home and its contents are covered by replacement-value insurance.
If you lose your possessions, you will want to be able to replace everything you lost with similar, new items. Replacement value does not use depreciation at the time of loss. As for your house, ask us about guaranteed replacement cost for your house. Unfortunately, not all homes can get guaranteed replacement cost coverage. Homes that over 30 years old can are not eligible for replacement cost coverage on the dwelling.
Take an inventory of all your possessions.
In case you have to file a claim with the insurance company, you will need to prove you owned the items that you claimed were destroyed and verify their worth. Important, do this before a disaster hits. It will be much easier if you still have your things. A simple way to take inventory of your possessions is to go through your house with a video camera. Go room by room with the video camera, chronicaling all items. If you don’t have access to a video camera, then you can make a list of your items and take pictures.
Make sure you have coverage on big-ticket items
Most insurance policies will limit the coverage on items like jewelry, furs, fine collectibles, computer equipment, and gold coins. To make sure these items are insured to value, you will need to add a special policy to your homeowners policy known as a floater or endorsement. Floaters will provide full coverage for these items and will also reimburse you in the even that you lose the item. To provide coverage for the items, we will need a copy of the bill of sale. In the case of older items that you don’t have a bill of sale for, we can accept an appraisal.
Don’t forget the basement, attic, closets, and any off premise storage facilities
the attic, closets, and any off premise storage facilities. Make sure you keep a copy of your inventory someplace other than your house. If your house should burn, you certainly don’t want your inventory to be lost with the house.Make sure you have coverage on big-ticket items. Most insurance policies will limit the coverage on items like jewelry, furs, fine collectibles, computer equipment, and gold coins. To make sure these items are insured to value, you will need to add a special policy to your homeowners policy known as a floater or endorsement. Floaters will provide full coverage for these items and will also reimburse you in the even that you lose the item. To provide coverage for the items, we will need a copy of the bill of sale. In the case of older items that you don’t have a bill of sale for, we can accept an appraisal.
Consider flood insurance
It’s important for you to know that your current homeowners policy will not cover your losses in the event of a flood. You should consider flood insurance if you live in an area that’s susceptible to flooding.
Consider an umbrella policy
Some insurance companies offer $500,000 in liability coverage, but most max out at $300,000. Your homeowners liability insurance covers you if someone is injured on your property and covers the actions of your family members. According to Don Griffin, assistant vice president of business and personal lines for the National Association of Independent Insurers, people usually don’t sue for $300,000 or even $500,000. Lawsuits usually start at $1 million. An umbrella policy can give you an extra layer of liability coverage on your homeowners and auto policies. If you want to protect your assets, then a personal umbrella policy can definitely help.
