Buying Tips:

Homeowners Insurance

Be sure that you have Replacement Costs on your contents (the standard form only has actual cash value – depreciation on contents and replacement cost on the house).

• Review water damage coverage on your policy. Some carriers won’t write water backup through sewers and drains. Some carriers write water damage with sub-limits. Review your personal property exposures to determine your needs (i.e. walk-out basements and home theatres may require more coverage). Even if you don’t have a sewer, you need this coverage, because you have drains. Water damage is only covered on the homeowners form if it leaks from an appliance or enters in through a hole caused by a covered peril, such as wind blowing off the roof.

• Flood is always excluded. We can obtain it for you, but it will be a separate policy, written through the Federal Flood Program.

• Few companies offer full replacement cost on homes any more. More common, is replacement cost “up to 125% of the policy limit”.

• Keep your property values up to date. Your homeowner’s policy covers the cost to replace the building with the same level of workmanship and materials. It varies by area of the country based on labor rates and the local cost of materials. Your policy does not insure land. It does not matter what the house next door sold for. The cost to rebuild is what you are insuring. If you build on an addition or remodel kitchens or bathrooms, you probably need to update your insurance values.

• Consider buying an “Umbrella” policy. This normally cost between $120 and $250 and cover liability over your homeowners, personal auto, snowmobile, boat, or motorcycle policies. They usually respond after your liability limits are exhausted, but may respond following a $250 Self Insured Retention, when coverage is excluded from the aforementioned policies and not excluded on the umbrella.