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Homeowners Insurance

Homeowners insurance provides protection for your home and your belongings such as furnishings, appliances and electronics. There are a variety optional coverages and limits you may choose to protect what matters most to you. Most homeowners insurance policies also include liability coverage, providing protection for certain accidents that may occur within your home or on your property.

Keep in mind there are a number of ways a homeowners policy can be setup to accommodate for specific situations and needs.

What's Covered?

Buildings

Provides coverage for your primary residence along with additional structures (such as a shed) on your property along with permanently installed equipment like a furnace or hot water heater.

Liability

Protects you from claims of property damage or injury to others which occurs on your property or is caused by you. An often overlooked benefit is that this coverage helps pay for your legal defense in such cases, even if the lawsuit is false or groundless.

Loss of Use

Provides coverage in the event your home is deemed unlivable due to a covered cause. In such a case the policy pays for alternative living arraignments (like a hotel) while your home is being repaired.

Personal Property

Covers the property you own or use, both at home and outside the home subject to conditions and limitations.

CONSIDERATIONS
Named vs Open Perils

You can choose if your policy will cover losses due to named perils which is a list of specific causes like fire, lightening and wind or open perils which will provide coverage from any cause with the exception of a few specifically excluded causes such as war or nuclear disaster.

Actual vs Replacement Cost

Actual Cash Value (ACV) provides you the amount an object is worth today, minus depreciation. Replacement Cost Value (RCV) provides the value to replace that item with something similar. For example, a couch that cost $2000 new may only be worth $700 after a few years. ACV would pay $700 for the couch while RCV would pay $2000 for a replacement

High Value Items

It’s worth knowing that standard policies typically impose limits on particular types of property such as jewelry, money and firearms. You do have the option to add additional coverage for high value items such as a wedding rings – just be sure to mention this to your agent or on your application.

Identity Theft

Many homeowners policies provide the option to add identity theft expense coverage – in the event your identity is stolen the policy will pay up to a defined limit to help cover expenses.

Keep in Mind

While a Homeowners Policy packages multiple policies into one, it does not cover everything and you may need to explore additional coverages such as:

  • Residence Employees – If you have employees such as a gardener or nanny, you need to consider workers compensation coverage for them. Some states limit the amount of coverage under a homeowners insurance policy and additional coverage may be warranted.
  • Flood – Homeowners policies do not cover flood damage. They do provide coverage for water damage resulting from a covered cause but be sure to speak with your agent to understand what is and is not covered.
  • Home Business – If you run a home based business be aware that most homeowners insurance policies will exclude or limit the amount of coverage for business use and property. For example – a business computer that is destroyed by a lightening strike may not be covered or only partially covered or if a customer visiting your home falls and is injured you may need to pay for the resulting costs (treatment and/or legal) yourself. Fortunately there are options to either add this coverage onto your policy or obtain a standalone policy depending on your needs.