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Home Owners Insurance Quote
We never think that fire, flooding, or robbery can knock on
our door but when is does, it can be devastating.
Auto Insurance Quote
Auto insurance is for your protection, providing the
financial resources to deal with harm to you and your auto.
Health
Insurance Quote
Health insurance is for your protection providing resources
for when medical or dental issues arise.
Wedding Protector Plan
Wedding insurance helps make things right if certain
unfortunate, unforeseen events should occur during the
period leading up to and including the wedding day. To
learn more, visit
www.agentprotectmywedding.com or call us.
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Few people
can afford to replace the loss of their home. If your
house burns down or is destroyed by a violent storm, or
if your possessions are stolen, homeowner's insurance
will pay to repair or replace what was lost. Therefore,
homeowners
insurance can offer valuable protection.
A common misconception is that homeowner's insurance is
simply a way to pay for repairing or rebuilding a
damaged home. While this certainly is an important
reason to buy insurance, the homeowner's policy covers
much more than that. Also know as "fire insurance", a
typical homeowner's insurance package covers the home
and its contents from loss by fire, theft, and other
specified perils, such as lightning, wind damage,
explosions, vehicle impact, vandalism, and so on. It
also includes public Liability protection against injury
to other people while they are on your property. Most
homeowner policies do no include earthquake or flood
protection, which must be purchased separately.
The proper home insurance coverage consists of getting
the right type of policy, having the proper levels of
protection within that policy, including special
provisions for jewelry, computers, etc., and
supplementing this coverage with special protection
against natural disasters that aren't included in your
basic policy. The key is obtaining proper homeowners
insurance which protects you.
How much coverage do you need?
To determine how much coverage you need, find out the
cost to rebuild the building only. You can insure the
building, not the land. If your house burns to the
ground, the land will still be there.
Your insurance agent can help you estimate the cost to
rebuild your home. Also, if you have a mortgage, the
lender will have done a mortgage assessment. You can ask
your lender for a breakdown of the assessment. It will
tell you how much of your home's value is for the
building only.
If you live in a condominium, townhouse, or apartment,
the exterior or common parts of the building are usually
insured by the condominium corporation. You are required
to insure the interior and its contents. Check with your
condominium manager to be sure what coverage they
provide and what you must provide. Renters
Insurance is a great option for your belongings.
The next step is to choose between regular coverage and
replacement coverage. Replacement coverage (sometimes
called guaranteed replacement) costs a bit more but it
covers you to rebuild the house at current prices.
Regular coverage pays only the depreciated.
Contents
In addition to building coverage, a "homeowner's
insurance package" will covert the contents (furniture,
clothing, equipment, and other personal property).
Generally, a basic package covers what you would need to
start over again if everything burned or blew up. If you
want to protect things like stamp, coin, or jewelry
collections, you'll need additional coverage by
itemizing those items.
To get enough coverage (but not more than you need),
list your possessions in an inventory log or video, by
description and value (keep sales receipts if you have
them). Keep this information in an off-site safety
deposit box to prevent loss in case of fire.
Liability
Insurance
Finally, your homeowners insurance package will include
liability insurance. This protects you from the ruin of
a visitor's fateful fall on the front steps. By the laws
of most lands, you are responsible for the safety of
other people while they are on your property. If anyone
is injured, even though you took no deliberate action to
cause the injury, you could be sued. Ask your agent to
recommend the appropriate amount of liability coverage.
In a world of lawsuits, there is little risk of having
too much liability insurance when compared to the risk
of having too little.
Structures not attached to the home
Structures not attached to your home, such as tool
sheds, gazebos, or unattached garages, are covered. The
amount of coverage that normally applies is 10% of the
replacement coverage amount you chose for your home. A
swimming pool is also considered an unattached
structure. As is the case with your personal property,
you should assess your needs to determine if you want to
pay extra amounts to increase these levels of
protection.
Additional living expenses and rental costs
If your home is destroyed or damaged and not in liveable
condition, then the expense over and above normal living
expenses to rent a home similar to your own would be
covered until your home is repaired, you are permanently
relocated, or the limit of this coverage is reached. The
amount usually offered is equal to 10% of the dwelling
coverage amount.
Keep your coverage up to date
If you increase or decrease the value of your property,
(such as by an addition or demolition of some of the
building or its attachments), remember to update your
insurance policy. Avoid the risk of too little coverage
or the cost of too much.
Coverage levels
As noted earlier, there are significant differences
between regular and replacement coverages. In most
cases, you want to insure your dwelling and its contents
for the replacement values, which will likely differ
from the dwelling's market value, tax assessment, and
your personal property's depreciated cash value. A
policy with automatic inflation adjustments, so the
replacement cost keeps pace with the general level of
price increases, is very important. Homes insured under
HO-8 policies are only covered for repair costs or
actual cash values, since replacing them would be so
costly. Owners of such homes could get replacement
coverage, but the premiums are much higher.
Standard coverage normally insures your possessions at
50% of the value of your dwelling. Many people boost
this coverage to 70% or 75% with additional protection.
But there are still individual limits on certain types
of personal property. Standard policies may fall short
of covering the replacement costs of even moderate
amounts of home electronics hardware or expensive
possessions. For relatively small premiums, you can
purchase "floaters" that will add protection to certain
types of personal property.
Homeowners policies regularly provide other types of
coverage, including off-premises theft protection and
unauthorized use of your credit cards. Make sure you
understand which provisions are included in the standard
coverage you elect to purchase and which may require
supplemental premiums.
"A Texas Family
Serving Texas Families."
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