FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

September 13, 2009 — Prior to you passing the documents on that new house, you will want to think about insuring your large investment with homeowners insurance in the tragic event that disaster happens someday. You need to be protected from fire, wind, or a volcanic activity. Safeguarding yourself and your property against disaster is what homeowners insurance is all about. You can legally own a house without carrying homeowners insurance but it is highly unadvisable. This is your only protection against damage and loss and not having a homeowner’s insurance policy.

A standard homeowner’s insurance policy consists of paying for repairs or rebuilding of your house in the event of a disaster that is covered by your policy. Your policy will not include flood or earthquake. These must be added separately in order to be protected. Make sure that you do not base your coverage amount on the total amount you paid when you got your loan. You do not need to add into the coverage price the amount the land is worth either as the land will be there after the disaster that will not need to be paid for again. To figure out how much coverage you will need, multiply the house’s square foot by the square foot local construction cost. This data can be gotten from realtors, insurance agents, and building associations.

Your insurance policy will also help you to cover 70% of your furniture, clothing, and collectibles that have been lost or stolen in regards to a disaster. It is best to keep a video inventory of all of your possessions stored at a separate location. The liability coverage on your policy will allow protection for third party bodily injury and property damage that may be causes by you, directly or indirectly. This protection amount will usually start at $100,000; however, most professionals suggest having at least three times this amount on your policy. If you require more coverage, adding an umbrella policy to your repertoire is beneficial.

You have the option of adding additional living expense coverage to your policy. This will help to cover costs associated with hotels, restaurants, and other costs that you would incur with having to live elsewhere while repairs are being made on your residence. Keep in mind that going over your policy to find out the maximum allowance for this is very important so you know what to expect.

When an insurance company figures your homeowner’s insurance premium, many factors go into this. They will take your square footage of your home, the crime rate of your neighborhood, and how able your neighborhood is to disasters striking. The amount of coverage that you select will also be a determining factor.

It is important to factor in that the actual cash value of your home is figured by the cost it would be to replace your house and possessions less an amount for depreciation. The Replacement cost will be the cost of replacing your house along with you possessions but without factoring in an amount of depreciation. A guaranteed replacement cost will cover whatever the amount comes up to replace your house back to how it was before the incident.

Ideas for keeping your homeowners premium lower, you can buy your homeowners insurance and automobile insurance to receive a discount for having multiple policies. You can also raise your deductible amount in order to lower your premium, but keep in mind that this will increase the amount you must pay out of your pocket if an incident happened. It is figured that by increasing your deductible from $500.00 to $1,000.00 can give you a 25% reduction on your premium.

It is suggested for you to get at least 3 quotes from three separate companies before deciding on one to carry your coverage. It is recommended to contact your Department of Insurance when making your choice so that you know that the company you are choosing is reliable and financially stable.


# # #




homeowner’s insurance