As a homeowner, you most likely have homeowner’s insurance on your home and if you don’t, you should strongly consider it. If you have a mortgage on your property, the lender will require you to carry homeowner’s insurance and even if you no longer have a mortgage, having homeowner’s insurance is almost always worth the expense as it can cover damages caused by many things including a total loss due to fire, a storm or another catastrophe. Insurance policies don’t cover everything so it is important to get to know your policy and know what is and what is not included.
Here are some of the more common misconceptions:
- Homeowners policies usually do not cover replacement of all of your possessions. Check for coverage caps on personal belongings in your home. These can include jewelry, firearms, art or other high value items. If your home includes these, ask your insurance agent if they are covered with your regular policy or if you need an additional policy to protect them.
- Sometimes, secondary damage from a problem may not be covered. One example of this is mold caused by a water leak. Many policies exclude this from your coverage and it can cost thousands of dollars if you have to remediate mold after a water leak. An additional rider on your policy may cover this or other similar exclusions.
- Your homeowner’s insurance policy probably does not cover flood damage. You’ll need a separate flood policy if you want to protect yourself. If you live in a flood zone, you may be required to have such a policy. But, if you live near such a zone, you should still consider it a flood policy. They’re usually quite inexpensive if you don’t live close to water.
- You need to make sure you’ve got enough coverage to replace your house, but that isn’t the market value of your home, which can also include the price of the land. Ask your insurance agent how they determine replacement value and then make sure that would replace your property in case of a total loss.
If you don’t have an insurance agent that is looking out for your best interests, let me know and I can recommend someone for you to talk to. It is super important that your agent educate you while making sure you have the coverage you need without taking advantage of you.
Brooke Boles
Coldwell Banker Realty
501 E Camino Real
Boca Raton, FL 33432
561.595.4473
Brooke.Boles@CBREalty.com
www.BrookeSellsBoca.com
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Image by Николай Егошин from Pixabay
