A standard homeowners insurance policy includes four essential types of coverage. They include:
- Coverage for the structure of your home.
- Coverage for your personal belongings.
- Liability protection.
- Additional living expenses in the event you are temporarily unable to live in your home because of a fire or other insured disaster.Additional living expenses in the event you are temporarily unable to live in your home because of a fire or other insured disaster.
- Do you have enough homeowners insurance coverage? Make sure you have enough insurance to cover the cost of rebuilding your house at current construction costs. To figure out the amount of coverage needed, take the total square footage of the house and multiply by current local rebuilding costs per square foot. For example: A 2000 square foot home with local rebuilding costs of $150 per square foot (2000 * 150) comes to $300,000 of dwelling coverage.
Make sure that your personal possessions are properly covered. We recommend that personal possessions are insured at replacement cost NOT actual cash value. Most homeowners policies will also provide coverage for loss of use. This means that if you need to live somewhere else while the house is being restored the insurance company will pay for this expense.
Liability coverage is also included on most homeowners policies. This is very important. The minimum on most policies is $100,000. We recommend at least $300,000.
In addition to the coverages mentioned, there are many other coverages to consider depending on the type of house, the contents in the house and any other structures located on the property. We recommend a review of your coverages be handled by a local insurance professional.
InsureMyHouse.com provides valuable information to homeowners and future homeowners offering an online directory of local homeowners insurance agents. If you are an insurance agent and want to join the directory you can visit the FAQ section.
Daren_DiSantis
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