Home, Property & Personal Liability

Your home is probably your most valuable asset, both as an investment and as your sanctuary in a hectic world. When your home is damaged or destroyed, you need your claim settled by an insurance company that understands this simple fact. Coverage availability and prices may vary by company. We can help you determine which company we represent will best meet your needs and provide the most valuable combination of tailored coverage, quality service and fair pricing.

How Much Insurance is Enough?
The cost to rebuild your home is its replacement value. This can be very different from the estimated market value or actual purchase price. In most cases, it costs more to rebuild the home you own than to buy a new one. This is an important insight into why your Dwelling (Coverage A) limit is so important.

We’ll work with you to estimate the replacement cost for your home and to adjust your policy limits from time to time as needed.

Does your policy provide coverage for extra costs resulting from building code changes? Does it automatically increase coverage limits annually to keep pace with inflation? Does it provide additional funds if the cost of rebuilding your home exceeds the policy limits?

It is critical that you provide us with accurate, updated information about your home and contents. If your dwelling limit accurately reflects your home’s true replacement cost, some companies will pay more than the limit if a covered loss is greater than the limit on your policy. Ask us if Extended Dwelling Coverage is available on your policy.

Does your policy include replacement cost coverage for contents (clothing, furniture, appliances, and other personal property inside your home)? If not, you can add it by endorsement. The cost is small, the protection valuable. Replacement Cost Coverage pays for losses to your possessions at the cost of brand new items. Without this option, a covered loss to your personal possessions would be depreciated by their age and condition, reducing the size of your claim settlement.

If you have an art collection, antique furniture, jewelry, or other valuable possessions, talk to your agent about supplemental coverage’s, such as fine arts or scheduled property endorsements, to adequately protect your investment in these items. The cost is modest for the extra protection, and often the deductible is waived.

Consider whether you should have more coverage for personal property (contents) than your policy provides. Personal property coverage is usually 50 TO 75% of the coverage limit for the structure. Your limit may be lower than 75%. Supplemental protection is available for a small additional premium.

Here are some steps you can take to reduce the danger of being seriously underinsured:

Call us. If you have questions or concerns about the limits in your policy, ask us to show you how those amounts were calculated. This will also give you an opportunity to make us aware of any overlooked information.

Read your policy. Certain property, such as jewelry, and certain perils, such as earthquake or flood, is better insured separately. Knowing what is covered and for how much will help you insure properly. If there is anything in your policy you don’t understand, contact your agent and ask for an explanation.

At each annual renewal of your policy, you receive a new Policy Declarations page showing limits of coverage and optional coverage’s. Review this information. If you do any significant remodeling or add a family room, extra bedroom or bathroom, etc., tell us about these changes so your coverage limits can be adjusted to cover the improvement.

Prepare an inventory of personal property items, update it periodically, and keep it in a safe place outside your home, such as a safe deposit box at your bank. It will save you hours of time trying to list everything damaged or destroyed if you need to make a claim. It will also help ensure you don’t forget some items. We can advise you on ways to simplify the job of preparing a personal property inventory such as videotaping each room with descriptive information on the sound track.

Besides making sure you have enough protection to cover possible damage to your own home and contents, you should also evaluate your exposure to liability risks. These result from damage to the property of another, or injury to a person, not a member of your household, for which you can be responsible. In recent years it’s become common for homeowners to be sued for injuries or damages to others, even when there is no evidence of negligence by the homeowner. The reality today is if you have any appreciable assets, you are exposed to the risk of being sued. Even if you ultimately prevail in court, your legal fees and the months or years of worry and uncertainty can be a terrible burden on you and your family. In our very litigious society, even individuals with modest incomes and assets are often subjects of large lawsuits. Since they are even less able than a wealthy individual to pay large damage awards, they recognize the need to have coverage limits greater than what can be obtained from their homeowner or auto policies.

The Personal Liability coverage provided by your Homeowners Policy usually provides a limit of $100,000, $300,000, or $500,000. We recommend increasing this protection with a Personal Umbrella Policy. Not only will it increase your personal liability, but also your auto liability. Limits are available from $1 million to $10 million and beyond. The cost of this coverage is usually very reasonable.

In certain circumstances, an Umbrella policy may provide personal liability coverage that is otherwise excluded from your other policies. For example, an umbrella policy provides coverage anywhere in the world, whereas your auto policy usually provides coverage in the US and Canada only.

PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL PROPERTY WHEN YOU RENT
Owners of apartment complexes buy insurance policies for their liability and to cover their buildings and personal property. However, these policies do not cover any of the tenant’s property or liability. By requiring their tenants to have renters insurance, the apartment owner is assured that the tenants will not mistakenly believe the apartment complex owner’s policy will provide coverage for a tenant’s property or personal liability. Although this type of requirement benefits that apartment complex owner, there are benefits to the renter as well. We recommend that you purchase renters insurance regardless of what your landlord requires. 

If you live in an apartment or a rented house, renters insurance provides important coverage for both you and your possessions. A standard renters policy protects your personal property in many cases of theft or damage and may pay for temporary living expenses if your rental is damaged. It can also shield you from personal liability. Anyone who rents or leases a house or apartment should consider this type of coverage.

Standard renter’s policies cover only you and relatives that live with you. If your roommate is not a relative, each of you will need your own renter’s policy to cover your own property and to provide you liability coverage for your own actions.

Depending on the company you choose, you can get discounts for:

  • Having a burglar alarm
  • Having a newer home
  • Being claim free in the past
  • Insuring your vehicles with the same company

Other advantages you could enjoy include:

  • Repair Guarantees
  • 24-Hour Claims Hotline
  • Flexible billing -including coordinating with your mortgage company
  • Living expense if your home becomes uninhabitable due to a claim