We Are Dedicated to Helping Americans Find Affordable Home Insurance
Your most important purchase should be protected. Obtaining an affordable policy that meets your unique home is essential to covering one of your biggest assets. We help narrow your search to connect you with the right insurance provider. Our goal is to get you the best price with the best coverage across the United States.
Your most important purchase should be protected. Obtaining an affordable policy that meets your unique home is essential to covering one of your biggest assets. We help narrow your search to connect you with the right insurance provider. Our goal is to get you the best price with the best coverage across the United States.
Why Do We Need Homeowners Insurance?
People take out homeowners insurance for the same reason they take out car and health insurance: If a home is damaged or someone else is injured on the property, insurance helps owners cope with the financial consequences. Your home is likely your largest financial investment. It is subject to natural disasters, burglary, vandalism, and liability from injuries suffered on the property. In order to insulate your home from such financial risk, you will most likely want to buy the proper level of homeowners insurance.
When you look at a home insurance declaration page, which is usually the first page in a homeowners insurance policy, you see Part I: Property Protection. This protection is usually broken down into four additional sections:
A. Dwelling
B. Other Structures
C. Personal Property
D. Loss of Use
Homeowner Coverages for Property
Coverage A. typically covers your house, attached structures, fixtures in the house such as built-in appliances, plumbing, heating, permanently installed air conditioning systems, and electrical wiring. Many people underinsure their dwelling because they dont understand how to determine the right value for the dwelling amount. The dwelling insured value should cover reconstruction cost and not real estate value.
Coverage B. Other Structures typically covers detached structures such as garages, storage sheds, and fixtures attached to the land including fences, driveways, sidewalks, patios, and retaining walls. Detached structures used for business purposes are not covered under a personal homeowners insurance policy.
Coverage C. Personal Property typically covers personal property including the contents of your home and other personal items owned by you or family members who live with you.
This protection can be based on actual cash value (ACV) or replacement cost.
Home insurance policies may provide limited coverage on certain items, for example, small boats, however, most home insurance policies do not cover motorized vehicles unless they are unlicensed and used only at your home. Some items may have coverage limits such as firearms, artwork, business property, electronic data, jewelry, and money. Extra coverage is usually available by adding endorsements to your policy.
Coverage D. Loss of Use typically covers living expenses over and above your normal living expenses if you cannot live in your home while repairs are being made or if you are denied access by government order. Additional living expenses are an important coverage and you can learn more about how they work in this article: How to Get (and Why You Need) Additional Living Expenses Coverage
There are also Additional Property Coverages homeowners insurance policies may provide such as the removal of debris along with damaged trees and shrubs, fire-department service charges, property removal, theft or illegal use of credit or transfer cards, collapse of buildings, and glass breakage if caused by a covered perils.
Endorsements can also be added to your homeowner insurance policy at an additional cost to provide extra protection.
Does Homeowner Insurance Cover Flooding?
A standard homeowners insurance policy does not cover flooding. You will need a separate flood insurance policy. Your premiums will be much lower if the home has never had a flood claim.
How Much Does Flood Insurance Cost?
The question really is how much does it cost not to have flood insurance. One inch of water can do considerable damage and run into tens of thousands of dollars to fix.
What is Flood Insurance
Flood insurance is a type of property insurance that covers a dwelling for losses sustained by water damage, as it specifically relates to flooding. A separate coverage rider is needed to cover sewer backup, if the backup was not caused by the rising floodwaters.
Who Needs Flood Insurance?
Since floods can happen to anybody just about anywhere, you probably should consider taking out a flood insurance policy. Its not expensive. If you live in a high-risk flood area and buy a home with a loan backed by a federally insured mortgage, your lender will require that you buy flood insurance.