Do I need Insurance?
How to protect your biggest purchase - your home.
Home owner's insurance will allow you to rebuild after your property has been damaged or fully destroyed. It protects your home and its contents during disasters such as fire, extreme wind, hail, or lighting. It can also provide some liability coverage if someone is injured while on your property. If you live in a flood zone, somewhere prone to hurricanes or earthquakes, you may think about purchasing additional insurance to cover those disasters. If you are financing more than 20% of your home, you're required to carry a homeowners insurance policy.
How much coverage do I need?
See below for three tips to keep in mind when determining how much coverage you need.
- What would be the cost to rebuild your home?
- Go to USGS.gov to determine what the potential hazards are to the area you are going to purchase in.
- Place a value on your possessions - how much is it going to cost you to replace them.
Your homeowners insurance policy may cover more than just your home and contents; here are a few more things:
- Exterior of your home - damage from incidents from wind, hail, lighting, or even falling debris can cause major damage and your policy may cover this. These items can really add up. The average fire or lighting claim is $25,000 and wind or hail claims average more than $7,000.
- Detached structures (also includes garage, shed, gazebao, outbuildings, etc) - Your homeowners insurance will typically cover up to 10% of the amount you have on the policy of your entire home.
- Interior of your home - If you have water damage, theft, fire, or even frozen pipes that burst, your policy will cover these as well. The average frozen pip claim is $5,500.
Many more things are covered as well - reach out to your insurance provider today for a full list of things they'll be covering for you.