home insurance coverage comparison

Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 02:18 am Post Subject:

The insurance on owning is quite different and covers more then renting. Renters insurance provides a more narrow breadth of coverage, offering liability coverage and theft or loss protection for a tenant's personal belongings. And in many cases, the landlords policy will not cover you either. If you own a condo, there are some differences in the policy than owning a home. In many cases that insurance on a condo, will only cover things inside the walls of the condo. Meaning, external damage that leads into the condo-will in most cases not be covered. For instance, I just had a case last winter where a dishwasher inside the condo had a broken pipe due to cold weather. Even though the water line leading to the dishwasher (outside) the condo burst, the water flooded the condo and the two below it. Because the line burst outside outside the owners property, the policy did not cover any of the damages.

Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 04:06 am Post Subject:

The coverage you need really depends on the condo association's bylaws and their insurance policy. Most of the time the rule of thumb is the association's policy covers drywall out and the condo owner's policy covers paint on the walls in.

You need to find out what the bylaws state and more importantly what the association's policy covers to find out what coverage you need. I have handled claims where the assocition's policy covered original construction including cabinets, paint and floor coverings, but not a finished basement that was finished after the fact by a prior owner and not part of the original construction. Other's I have handled would only cover drywall out and would not consider interior finishes. I have also seen condo's where the owner is responsible for both interior and exterior. So you really need to check with the association to get a handle on what you need to cover.

Now if you are renting a home....you would normally only have contents coverage with the homeowner covering the house. You both could have liability coverage.

Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 09:26 am Post Subject:

The dwelling would simply be covered by the home owner's insurance. The portion of the building that you own would be covered under condominium insurance.

Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 07:02 am Post Subject:

It's certainly a very good aspect of Condominium insurance that it not only pays you for the property improvements, but also safeguards against damages that you may cause while getting it repaired.

Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 11:51 am Post Subject:

Hi,

Factors like negligence, deliberate attempts and power failures are not covered under condominium and renters' insurance.
But then you may not find it in your policy exclusions.

Steven

Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 01:09 pm Post Subject:

See..it's truly important for us to maintain a good relationship with our neighbors. We should be able to pay in case they're injured within our premises.
I think home owners' insurance is a good solution to such a possibility. Pinkfloydfan

Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 03:29 pm Post Subject:

Renters primarly covers personal property that you bring into a rented property (apartment, house, or condo).

Condominium Insurance - in most cases covers personal property, inside structure (upgrades to flooring and fixtures). It really depend on the condo association by laws. It's important to really read thru those bylaws along with your agent to be sure you have adequate protection.

Homeowners - provides coverage for the outside and inside structure along with personal property.

All of these policies are similar the only difference is ownership. Be sure to work with your agent on specific coverages you are concerns about such as mold and water backup.

Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 09:19 am Post Subject:

Hi Lady bradwell..it's good to know about Condominium insurance and that it even covers for such upgrades.

But my friends are of the opinion that they needed to list the items that they wanted to cover under condominium insurance. Does it again depend on the bylaws?

Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 04:35 pm Post Subject:

First of all I would not listen to "friends" if they are not actively involved in the insurance industry.

Every company has differences in there condo policy I have never heard of a policy that will allow you to list what you want covered individually as far as fixtures.

Your friends may be referring to scheduling personal property. If you have any high value items such as jewelry, watches, furs, camera equipment or fine art etc.. in most cases you would provide your insurance company with and appraisal and this will provide you with additional coverage for the item listed for losses like mysterious dissappearance or damage.

An earlier post mentioned that Condo does not cover negligence but that is why you should include Liability on whatever property policy you obtain.

Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 07:14 am Post Subject:

Thanks for rectifying my views. I've just been confirmed that they were indeed referring to personal property. But can you schedule the same with home insurance too?