E-mail me with other questions not listed + What does a standard homeowners policy cover? A standard homeowners policy contains dwelling coverage (coverage for the physical structure of your home), personal property coverage (coverage for your personal belongings that you can move into or out of your home), liability (coverage that protects you and your assets in the event of doing something negligent on your property), and some coverage for additional expenses (coverage like additional living expense that would pay rent for living quarters in the event of a claim making your home inhabitable). + How much insurance do I need? This varies depending on the size and building materials used within the construction of your home. You want enough coverage to replace your home (new construction) in the event of a total loss. You also want enough coverage to replace the contents (personal property) of your home with brand new items. + What amount should my deductible be? This varies for each person depending on their budget. Many people with a home policy will set their deductible at $1,000 (most common). Keep in mind, the higher you make your deductible, the lower your premium will be because you are willing to share more risk with the insurance company. Saying that, please remember that deductible amount is the amount you cover / pay before your insurance kicks in. Many people make their deductible $1,000 or more since they also do not want to claim any damage less than that amount due to adverse charges in the future from their insurance company. + What are policy limits? A Policy or Coverage Limit is the maximum amount your insurance carrier is willing to pay for damage in the event of a claim. For instance if your home / dwelling has a coverage limit of $250,000, your carrier will not pay more than $250,000 to rebuild your home in the event of a total loss. Coverage stops once that limit is met. + Is Homeowners Insurance required? In many states Homeowners Insurance is not required. That being said, if you have a Mortgage / Loan on your home, your Mortgage Company will require you to carry a Homeowners Policy to cover their interest in your home / property. Is it still very advisable to carry a Homeowners Policy even if your home is paid off and you do not carry a mortgage. This is one of the biggest assets you own, why would you not want to protect it and yourself? + Is Homeowners Insurance included within my mortgage payment? Your taxes and Homeowners insurance premium are included in your monthly mortgage payment as long as you are escrowing inside your mortgage. Each payment you make contains a certain amount that will be held in an escrow account. At the end of the year (or when your homeowners policy renews) your taxes and / or homeowner's insurance premium will be billed to your mortgage company and they pay that bill for you from your escrow account. + Can I change the coverage on my policy or amount of coverage I have? Yes, most times you can change your coverages or the amount of coverage throughout your policy period. You might be working on a home improvement project like upgrading a bathroom or finishing space in a basement. These projects will add value to your home but also cost more to replace if something were to happen to your home. In this case you would need to increase the replacement cost of your home to cover your upgrades. + Do I need to create a list of my personal property (clothes, furniture, personal belongings) in case of a loss? Yes, it is very helpful especially in the event of a loss like a fire. When you are processing the claim for an event like this the insurance company is going to ask you to list the items within your home. If you already have a list, pictures, or a video it will be much easier to remember the items you had. When an event like this occurs, it is very traumatic and makes it harder to remember items within your home. + If my home were to be damaged by a covered event, will my policy help me cover the cost of renting someplace while my home is being repaired? Yes. Many policies do have coverage for additional living expenses. This coverage will help you rent an apartment or a home if you were to have a fire and your home was not habitational during the time of repair. + I have a roommate, are there personal belongings covered under my home policy? Unfortunately no, their belongings are not covered. Your roommate would need to obtain their own renters policy to cover all their personal property that is within your home. + Does my homeowners policy cover damage should an earthquake occur? Yes, you can add an Earthquake Coverage Endorsement to your homeowners policy that would cover damage to the structure of your home and also your personal property inside. + If my sump pump in the basement were to stop working and the pit were to overflow, would my policy cover the damage? It would be covered for a limited amount if you previously added the Sump Pump / Sewer Backup Endorsement to your homeowners policy. Many carriers offer this optional coverage in certain amounts. Fors instance you can purchase $5,000 / $10,000 / $25,000 worth of coverage on your policy.
