Homeowner's insurance provides financial protection for your home and the things you keep in it. It covers damage to your property and your liability or legal responsibility for any injuries and property damage you or members of your family cause to other people. This includes damage caused by household pets. There are exceptions to damage coverage. The most significant are floods, earthquakes and poor maintenance. You must buy two separate policies for flood and earthquake coverage. Maintenance-related problems are the homeowner's responsibility.
Homeowner's Insurance
Why do I need to buy Homeowner's Insurance?
To protect your assets in case of a disaster; such as a fire, hailstorm or someone getting injured on your property. There are different types of homeowner's policies. Your agent can help you to find the best coverage to fit your needs.
What are the different levels of coverage available?
- Actual Cash Value: This type of policy pays to replace your home or possessions minus a deduction for depreciation.
- Replacement cost: The policy pays the cost of rebuilding/repairing your home or replacing your possessions without a deduction for depreciation.
- Guaranteed or extended replacement cost: This provides the highest level of protection. It pays whatever it costs to rebuild your home as it was before the fire or other disaster even if it exceeds the policy limit. It generally won't cover the cost of upgrading the home with current building codes. You can, however, get an endorsement (or an addition to) your policy called Ordinance or law to help pay for these additional costs. A guaranteed replacement cost policy may not be available if you own an older home.
Some companies offer an extended, rather than a guaranteed replacement cost policy. This pays a certain percentage over the limit to rebuild your home. It is generally 20%-25% more than the limit of the policy. For example, if you have a policy for $100,000, you could get up to an extra $20,000 or $25,000 of coverage. A guaranteed/extended replacement cost policy may be a bit more expensive, but it offers the best financial protection against disasters for you home.
Can I own a home without Homeowner's Insurance?
You can legally own a home without homeowner's insurance. But, if you have bought your home and financed the purchase with a mortgage, your lender will most likely require you to get homeowner's insurance coverage to protect their investment in your home in case your home is damaged in fire, storm, tornado or other disaster. If you live in an area that is likely to flood, the bank will also require you to purchase flood insurance. After your mortgage is paid off, no one will force you to buy homeowner's insurance. But it is not advisable to cancel your policy and risk losing what you've invested in your home.
How can I save money?
- Buy your home and auto policies from the same insurer.
- Make your home more disaster-resistant.
- Ask about discounts for home security devices.
- Seek out other discounts.
- Stay with the same insurer.
- Review policy limits and the value of your possessions annually.
Condominium Insurance
Why do I need insurance for my condominium or co-op?
A condominium combines the convenience of apartment living with the investment advantage of ownership. Your bank will require insurance to protect its investment in your home. Additional coverage would provide for your belongings and the structural parts of the building that you own against disasters.
What type of insurance do I need for my condominium?
You will need two separate policies to protect your investment:
- Your own insurance policy – This provides coverage for your personal possessions, structural improvements to your apartment and additional living expenses if you are the victim of fire, theft or other disaster listed in your policy. You also get liability protection.
- A “master policy” provided by the condo/co-op board – This covers the common areas you share with others in your building like the roof, basement, elevator, boiler and walkways for both liability and physical damage.
Renters' Insurance
What is Renters Insurance?
It provides financial protection against the loss or destruction of your possessions when you rent a house or apartment. While your landlord may be sympathetic to a burglary you have experienced or a fire caused by your iron, destruction or loss of possessions is not usually covered by your landlord's insurance. Because in most cases renters insurance covers only the value of your belongings, not the physical building, the premium is relatively inexpensive.
You would be protected against losses from lightning, vandalism, theft and more. It would also cover your responsibility to others injured at your home or elsewhere by you, a family member or your pet and pays legal fees if you are taken to court.
You would also be covered for additional living expenses if you are unable to live in your apartment because of a fire or other covered peril. Most policies will reimburse you the difference between your additional living expenses and your normal living expenses but set limits to the amount they will pay.
What are the types of Renters Insurance?
There are two types of renters insurance policies you may purchase:
- Actual Cash Value – pays to replace your home or possessions minus a deduction for depreciation up to the limit of the policy.
- Replacement Cost – pays the actual cost of replacing your home or possessions (no deduction for depreciation) up to the limit of your policy.
Why do I need to purchase Renters Insurance?
To protect your possessions when you rent a house or apartment; to cover your liability or legal responsibility if someone is injured and to cover living expenses in case of a disaster to your house or apartment in which you were unable to live there while repairs are being made.
Personal Umbrella Insurance
What is a Personal Umbrella Policy?
An umbrella or excess liability policy will provide extra coverage. They start to pay after you have used up the liability insurance in your underlying home (or auto) policy. It is purchased separately, not as part of your homeowners policy. If you own property and/or have investments that are worth more than the liability limits in your homeowners policy, you may consider an umbrella or excess liability policy. In addition to providing a higher dollar amount, they offer broader coverage. You are covered for libel, slander and invasion of privacy, which are not covered under standard homeowners or auto policies.
Why should I purchase an Umbrella Liability Policy?
If you are ever sued, your standard homeowners or auto policy will provide you with some liability coverage, paying for judgments against you and your attorney's fees, up to a limit set in the policy. However, in our litigious society, you may want to have an extra layer of liability protection. An umbrella policy kicks in when you reach the limit on the underlying liability coverage in a homeowners, renters, condo or auto policy. Because the personal umbrella policy goes into effect after the underlying coverage is exhausted, there are certain limits that usually must be met in order to purchase this coverage. Most insurers will want you to have about $250,000 of liability insurance on your auto policy and $300,000 of liability insurance on your homeowners policy before selling you an umbrella liability policy for $1 million of additional coverage.
