Insuring Your Most Important Possession - Your Home
May 8, 2008 – 5:41 pmThe home is an important part of most people’s lives but accidents often happen and houses can be damaged as easily as people can, and in particular from natural disaster events. Nothing is ever certain and we must learn to plan for these eventualities.
Other threats of course come from people in the form of arson or vandalism caused when a burglar doesn’t find what they are looking for, or sometimes even when they do. Insurance companies make agreements whereby they will pay out on your homeowner’s insurance policy providing you have kept your premium payments up to date since it was set up.
House insurance can help protect against many eventualities including; arson, flooding, vandalism and burglary to the more mundane things like the freezer breaking and spoiling all the food it holds. The amount that a normal policy will pay out is quite high and most likely the average person would not reach this limit but they will invariably have to pay a deductible first.
The availability of Internet sites has meant that insurers can now provide homeowner’s insurance to protect the home and contents directly. It doesn’t take that long to visit a decent number of websites to obtain quotes from all of them and see what you can get from each for the monthly premium they are asking.
Comparing insurance quotes, online or off is a good idea as just what the policy actually covers is more important than the cost. If you have a mortgage, your lender probably requires homeowners insurance and even if you do not have a mortgage, you probably want to cover your home against damages and liability.
Although monthly premiums may be an issue, it is quite common for discounts to be available for people starting a plan with a new insurer. You may also consider raising your deductible as the difference in premium cost between a 500 and a 1,000 dollar deductible can be considerable.
You also need to consider covering the replacement cost of your belongings versus covering the actual worth, as your old TV may cost 500 dollars to replace, but probably wouldn’t bring more than 50 dollars at a garage sale. This is one of the most important checks to make when taking out a policy; ensuring you have a Replacement Value plan so trips to budget and discount stores are not required.
Your home is probably going to be the most expensive thing you ever insure not just for the cost of replacing the structure but also, for the contents that are personal and dear to you, that are probably of even more value to you. The main benefit of a homeowner’s insurance policy is just how much it actually covers, so don’t assume that you can expect automatic coverage for valuable personal possessions you have failed to include. And don’t leave out coverage for third party lawsuits that may also arise.
Tags: Insurance
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