Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 11:20 am Post subject: A brief about Home Insurance
Home insurance or homeowner's insurance is an insurance policy which covers your home, its contents and your personal belongings. It protects your home from damage caused by perils like fire and storm. It also has a liability coverage for the accidents that may take place inside the home. Home insurance insures your home, whether that is your apartment, your condominium or your house.
Last edited by lakemen on Thu May 15, 2008 12:55 pm
Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2006 9:27 am Post subject: Standard Homeowner's Insurance policy
Four essential types of coverage provided by a standard homeowner's insurance policy. These are---
1. Coverage for the actual structure of home
2. Personal belongings coverage
3. Personal liability coverage
4. Additional living expenses
Coverage for the actual structure of home: It pays to rebuild or repair the home if damaged or destroyed by the calamities like fire, hurricane, lightning or any other disaster listed on your policy. But the standard homeowner's policy will not cover the earthquakes and floods. While purchasing home insurance it is important to calculate how much the cost to rebuild the home will be and one should have enough coverage accordingly. Almost all standard policies cover the detached structures of the home like garage, tool shed etc. These structures are covered for about 10% of the amount of the insurance on the structure of the home in general.
Personal belongings coverage: This part provides the coverage on furniture, clothing, and other personal items from the perils like theft, fire, and hurricane or from any other insured catastrophe. The coverage is about 50% to 70%.
The policy also includes off-premises coverage. Your belongings anywhere in the world are covered, provided you have mentioned those in your policy. There is a limit up to 10% of the amount of insurance for your possessions. Expensive items like ornaments are covered but there is dollar value limit if those are stolen. You have to purchase a floater to insure the items to their full values.
Personal Liability coverage: The liability coverage protects you against the lawsuits for bodily injury or property damage if you or your family members cause to others. This also provides you the cost of defending in the court up to limit of the policy that you have decided.
Liability limits starts from $100000 in general. But insurance professional generally recommends buying the coverage at least $300000. Even more coverage can be purchased. Also the umbrella or excess liability protection is available for more protection. The umbrella policy costs $200 to $350 for $1 million additional liability protection.
Additional living expenses: If you want to repair or rebuild your damaged house you need to stay elsewhere temporarily. The homeowner's policy provides the coverage, temporary housing expenses, for a set amount of time. Additional living coverage costs vary from company to company. But the coverage can be increased at the cost of extra premium.
This coverage also pays you for the rent that you collect from the rented part of your house if your home had not been destroyed.
Understanding the homeowner's insurance policy and the protection provided by it, is an essential part of owing a home. Always ask and make sure from your insurance agent or from the insurance company representatives about the amounts of protection and the types of coverage available. They can help to understand your specific needs.
Home insurance is an insurance policy that provides you with financial protection against disasters and accidents that occur on your property and in your home.
