What does my Homeowner policy cover?
A standard homeowner’s insurance policy includes four essential types of coverage:
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Coverage for the structure of your home
-Coverage for your personal belongings
-Additional Living Expenses in the event that you are temporarily unable to live in your home because of fire or other covered peril
-Liability Protection
Why should I buy Homeowner Insurance?
Unlike driving a car, you can legally own a home without homeowners insurance. But, if you have bought your home and financed the purchase with a mortgage, your lender will most likely require you to get homeowners insurance coverage. That’s because lenders need to protect their investment in your home in case your house burns down or is badly damaged by a storm or other disaster.
A home can require a tremendous investment of money, time, and energy. Homeowners insurance is designed to protect that investment by restoring you to your pre-loss condition should a covered loss occur. Through homeowner's insurance, you can protect yourself and your family from enormous loss in the event of damage or destruction to your home and property.
If that is not enough, homeowner insurance also covers liability protection and will cover you and the relative residents in your home if found negligent for causing unintentional harm to another individual or their property. Your policy will pay for damages you are found liable for while providing legal defense.
IF you are interested in quote, please complete and submit our Homeowner Quick Quote Form.
What are the basic coverages?
Dwelling
This coverage applies to the house itself, as well as attached garages, wall-to-wall carpeting and built-in appliances. Land is not included.
Other Structures
These are structures that are separated from your house. Examples include a fence, detached garage, tool shed, gazebo, guest house and detached patios or decks. Again, land is not included.
Personal Property
Furniture, clothing, stereo equipment, televisions, sports equipment and kitchenware are all examples of personal property.
Personal Liability
Covers you for injuries to others, along with damage to their property, for which you are legally obligated to pay.
Medical Payments
Following an accident at your home, this coverage pays for the medical expenses of others, regardless of who is at fault. It does not cover your medical expenses or those of relatives who live with you.
What is a covered peril?
A covered peril is the type of losses that your homeowner policy will cover. Through our preferred carriers,
we offer coverage on "special form" basis so that additional perils are included at little to no charge.
Here is a list of typical covered perils on a special form policy:
Fire and lightning
Windstorm and hail
Explosion
Riot and civil commotion
Aircraft
Vehicles
Smoke
Vandalism and malicious mischief
Theft
Volcanic eruption
Falling objects
Weight of ice, snow, and sleet
Water Damage
Electrical surge damage
What kind of damage is not covered under my homeowner policy?
It depends on the type of policy you purchase as each company structures coverage differently. In general, unless you buy additional coverage, you won't be compensated for losses due to floods, earthquakes, nuclear accidents, wars, intentional damage, and normal wear and tear. Other exclusions may also apply and it is important to know what you’re purchasing and where you may be vulnerable. We encourage our clients to review their policy in depth and discuss any concerns with one of our agents. If you would like to review your policy, please feel free to contact us.
What is a deductible?
A deductible is the amount of the loss which the insured is responsible to pay before benefits from the insurance company are payable. In other words, the amount of damages must exceed the deductible in order for the insurance policy to be activated. Deductible calculations can be easily computed. For example, if the total damages of a fire loss to your home equals $6,500.00 and your deductible is $1,000, the insurance company will settle your claim for $5,500.00. The deductible that you select has a direct effect on the amount you pay in premium. The higher the deductible, the lower your premiums will be.
What do I do about my expensive items like jewelry, silverware, fine arts or furs?
Policies do include sub-limits for the items listed above as well as other items that are more valuable and may easily exceed the limit of liability you are carrying if the item was lost or stolen. It is important to take stock of your expensive items and contact us to determine what coverage your policy affords for that item. IF your policy does not provide enough coverage, we can easily add a Personal Property Schedule for your items to your home policy or discuss other provisions that may be available. We can also write a separate Personal Article Floater policy if your items require more specialized coverage.
How can I lower my premium?
If you are looking to lower your annual premium for your homeowner policy or purchase more coverage without a large increase in premium, the shortest answer is to review your deductible. Many companies offer significant premium discount when a $1,000.00 deductible is selected over a $500.00 deductible. Your out of pocket expense in the event of a loss has increased, but most times, the premium savings out weighs the additional financial risk. A higher deductible also may make sense if you believe that your chances of making a claim are remote enough to warrant assuming extra financial risk. There are other discounts that may be available to you due to the safety or construction features of your home.
Another great way to save money is to place your home and auto policies with the same carrier. Many companies will extend up to a 20% discount when they write both the home and auto policies. Please contact us if you would like more information.
How will I be able to recall the contents of my home if it is destroyed?
We encourage our clients to generate a detailed list of their possessions and to submit product warranty information to the manufacturing company when buying home appliances and electronic devices. Making a video or photographic record of your possessions is advisable as well. You may want to consider storing this inventory list in a safe deposit box off your property, in a lockable fireproof storage box in your home, or at your business location. Not only will this record take the guesswork out of remembering all of your belongings when filing a claim or a police report, but police say that such documentation can help you prove ownership in case your belongings are recovered. Post a loss, we advise our clients to videotape or photograph the damages before any cleanup has begun. This can help you to substantiate the extent of damage and allow you to begin getting your life back in order.
Taking an inventory of your belonging can be a daunting task. In order to make this process easier on our clients, we offer a Personal Property Inventory List to help you begin the assessment.
How can I reduce my exposure to loss or minimize the damages if a loss does occur?
The best way to reduce exposure to loss and/or minimize damage if a loss does occur is with routine general Home Maintenance. While you cannot predict a loss, you can take small measures to protect your home from greater damage if a loss does occur. Living in Southern California, our greatest natural threat is wildfire. Many proven precautions can lessen the chance of damage to your home. For more information on what you can do as a Homeowner, see our Homeowner Tips:
Homeowner Tips: Home Maintenance
Homeowner Tips: Maintaining Roofs and Gutters
Homeowner Tips: Water Leaks
Homeowner Tips: Prepare for Wildfires
If I am renting an apartment, will my landlord’s insurance cover my belongings if there is a loss?
The answer is no. The landlord of an apartment or house has no obligation to compensate their tenants for damaged or destroyed belongings if a loss occurs. The insurance the landlord purchases typically covers only the structure itself and does not extend to the tenants. Unfortunately, this is a common misconception among renters. If the apartment burns down, not only will you loose countless personal belongings, but you would be without a place to live. Renter’s Insurance policies cover not only your personal property but additional costs associated with having to relocate if your unit becomes uninhabitable after a loss. Personal Liability is also included. Many renters are not made aware of the necessity of purchasing a tenant’s insurance policy. These policies are extremely cost effective and often times only run about $150 per year depending on the amount of contents coverage you select. When combined with an auto insurance policy, many times a multi-policy credit is available and the renter’s insurance policy works out to be nearly free. If you would like a quote for Renter’s Insurance, please see our Renter’s Insurance Quote form.
I want to buy a condominium. Do I need to purchase a Homeowner Policy?
This is another area of property insurance that is often overlooked. Mostly commonly, we hear our clients say that they do not need to purchase homeowner insurance on their condo because they pay for fire insurance through their homeowner association dues. While it is true that insuring a condominium is different from insuring a house because of the way ownership is structured; standard fire insurance is covered under a master association policy, but it does not negate the need for a condo insurance policy. Condo policies are structured in a unique way to offer specified coverage unique to condo unit owners. We offer coverage for your personal belongings, your upgrades to the unit itself, personal liability and loss assessment. The extent of the coverage you buy will depend on what your master policy covers. Many condo owners are surprised to find that the association policy covers only the shell of the building and nothing specific to their unit.
We encourage our clients who own condos to become familiar with the coverage afforded under their association policy. We are happy to review the coverage under this policy and highlight areas of vulnerability where coverage is lacking. Condo policies are often times inexpensive to purchase and when combined with an auto policy can often be added to your account to take advantage of a multi-policy discount with little to no increase in annual insurance costs. If you are interested in a condo insurance quote, please complete and submit our Condo quote form.
What is umbrella policy and why should I buy one?
An umbrella policy can be considered an excess liability policy. They provide additional coverage for large losses that exceed the policy limits of the underlying policies in the cases, most typically incidents that deal with death, dismemberment, or permanent injury. These policies are designed specifically for each policyholder and will provide additional liability beginning at limit $1,000,000 in coverage and up as high as $10,000,000.
For the client who owns a home, a rental property, and a family auto policy with two vehicles and two drivers, the umbrella policy would include all of these exposures. If you own a boat or motor cycle, we would add these exposures and the additional coverage would be available over these underlying policies as well. An umbrella policy is an inexpensive way to add additional coverage to protect your current assets and future earnings. If you are interested in a quote, please complete and submit our Umbrella Quote Form.
