Some Basic Facts On Homeowners Insurance
(Homeowner’s insurance is just one of the many annoying bills that come along with owning a home. )
This type of insurance is required, so since you must have it, it is best to understand exactly what it is.
Otherwise, you could end up either being over insured, paying too much; or underinsured and risking the chance of losing a lot of money if something should happen to your home.
A November 10, 2006 article by Bobbie Sage of about.com, “What does my homeowner’s insurance cover,” looks into the basics behind a homeowner’s insurance plan.
To put it simply, homeowner’s insurance policies generally cover the following things:
“1. The structure of your home 2. Items in your home 3. Costs for living expenses if you can't live in your home because of a covered loss 4. Bodily injury or property damage you cause to others (including court costs!)”
Every time you add or remove or change anything about your home, it is vital that you review your homeowner’s insurance policy.
“So, if you have skimped on your homeowners insurance maybe you should review your policy. How do you skimp? Say you know you should have called your insurance agent when you added that new garage on but by doing so you knew your rates would rise. You are only hurting yourself. When you have a loss and everything is not covered to the dollar amount you need you will regret not paying that extra home owners insurance.”
Some people decide to buy their homeowner’s insurance online, while others opt to go with a local agent. Whichever you choose really doesn’t make much of a difference, as long as you go with a reputable and qualified agent and company.
For the most part, homeowner’s policies are divided into two parts: Home insurance property protection and home insurance liability protection.
“This protection is usually broken down into four additional sections: A. Dwelling B. Other Structures C. Personal Property D. Loss of Use.”
The liability protection section is usually broken down into a personal liability section (which covers the homeowner from any claims that may be made of bodily injury to others), and medical payments section. This section covers any medical expenses for anyone that was injured on your property.
You can also add certain things to your policy like theft protection coverage and inflation protection.
But you must also be aware of any limitations.
“As with every home insurance policy there are exclusions. A typical homeowners policy does not cover injuries to animals, damage to motor vehicles, aircraft, and parts. Nor do they typically cover losses due to floods, mudslides, water damage from sewer backups, damage resulting from war or nuclear hazard, neglect, earthquakes, power failures, seepage, dry rot, or vermin. All polices have different covered perils and exclusions so one will want to make sure to check with their home insurance company to verify all coverages for their individual policy.”
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