Title: Home owner insurance, what to expect and what to ask your agent
Author: Simon Goodman
Article :
Your home is probably going to be your single most important
purchase in your life, you spend months searching for the
perfect place so it makes sense that you would be just has
careful when it comes to your home owner insurance.
But what is home owner insurance?
As the name indicates, home owner insurance will insure your
home against most disasters. But there are some pitfalls to
lookout for.
What does home owner insurance cover?
Good home owner insurance will cover everything in your home as
well as your house itself.
Your home owner insurance should at least:
--Cover the price of the house should you need to re-build it,
(about the current value of the house).
--Cover at least your mortgage.
--Inflation guard, the total cover should increase every year in
line with inflation.
--Does your home insurance offer temporary accommodation after a
disaster?
--If you rent part of your house, your home owner insurance
should cover your loses, (even if your part of the house is
still habitable).
--Cover 50% of the value of the house as contents.
--What are the requirements you need to have along with the
insurance? Smoke detector? Burglar alarms?
--Liability cover, (the cover should be fairly high due to the
cost of most court cases).
--Pet cover? If your pet causes damages, to property or to
another person, are you covered, are you covered against legal
actions?
What else should you speak to your agent about home owner
insurance?
Bear in mind the property itself, if you have an old, special
home, you might want it repaired at all costs rather than a cash
payout. Or if it is beyond repair, does your home owner
insurance offer to purchase another, similar, home?
Most home owner don't offer flood or earthquake cover, are you
in a high risk area? Can you afford not to have such insurance?
After a disaster, building materials are usually more
expensive, does your home insurance take this into account?
Do you need to take an inventory of your house content? If you
have some special items that are likely to be more
expensive/valuable, can your agent offer you a
floater/endorsement on your home owner insurance?
How can your home insurance be cheaper?
You also need to ask your agent for special deductions on your
home owner insurance. --If you have a smoke detector.
--Fire alarm.
--If you have more than one property.
--Will your home insurance be cheaper if you had some of the
above?
Want more protection?
For greater peace of mind you can get an excess liability or an
umbrella insurance. First if offers you greater financial
coverage and secondly it offers you even more protections that
are not always associated with home owner insurance, for example
invasion of privacy, slander or even libel.
Find out more about home
owner insurance
About the author:
Insurance Owl gives
simple, clear information about insurance. Everything, ranging
from health insurance to indemnity claims, including Auto,
Travel and life insurance.
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