Important Things to Consider When Buying Homeowners Insurance
There’s no doubt that home insurance prices are increasing. But you might still see familiar prices when shopping around, and this is because many insurance companies are limiting what their policies cover and implementing exclusions to keep costs low and competitive, to retain existing customers, and attract new ones.
This means that things you might assume would be covered won’t be. So, how do you know if your home insurance coverage is enough to protect yourself, your family, and your assets?
Many types of accidents can happen to your home—be sure to consider all of them. Work with an independent insurance agent to make sure you will be covered in the event of things like floods, pipes bursting, and roof damage, especially if you live in a risk-prone area.
Let’s dive deeper into some of the most important things to consider when assessing the quality of your home insurance—and how to determine whether you should purchase additional coverage.
Matching Roof and Siding
Did you know that if your roof or siding gets damaged, your homeowners insurance policy might only cover the cost of replacing the damaged area, rather than the entire thing?
This might sound fine on the surface, but if this has happened to you, you’ll know that it can be difficult to find shingles or siding that match what you already have, especially if you have an older home. You might be forced to opt for a different type of shingle, giving your home a patchwork look and ultimately degrading its value. Your policy might also exclude windows, gutters, roof vents, and valleys.
If you live in an area that experiences frequent disasters like hurricanes or tornadoes, it’s important to ensure your policy includes roof and siding matching coverage.
Guaranteed Replacement Cost
It’s difficult to think about a hurricane, tornado, fire, or other incident causing such extensive damage to your home that it is unable to be repaired. But this unfortunately happens all too often, especially depending on where you live.
In these cases, it’s vital that you have a policy that requires the insurance company to pay the full cost of replacing your home—even if it exceeds your policy limit. This is known as guaranteed replacement cost coverage, and it can be added to your current policy.
Service Line Coverage
Have you ever hit a pipe or an underground power line from digging in the wrong spot in your yard? Has a pipe ever burst in your home in the winter due to freezing?
If not, consider yourself lucky, as these accidents can prove very costly. Repairing burst pipes typically costs homeowners between $200 and $3,000. Fixing underground utility lines can be even more expensive—up to $5,000 for a water line, for instance. Replacing a full sewer line can cost anywhere from $3,000 to $25,000.
That’s why it’s a good idea to make sure your insurance covers these important utilities. If you add what’s called service line coverage to your homeowners insurance policy, you’ll be shielded from the costs of utility line repairs, including power, water, sewer, gas, and internet cables.
Cybercrime Protection
Every day, more than 4,000 ransomware attacks occur in the US. Not only do cybercriminals expose your data and commit fraud, but they can also cost you a lot of money through extortion demand and legal fees.
You probably have at least a few internet-capable devices in your house, all of which are vulnerable to cybercrime. Even if you use secure passwords and take precautions to protect your data, you could still face risks.
Consider buying personal cyber coverage on top of your regular homeowners insurance. This will cover you in case your bank account is hacked, or you wire money to a scammer—or in the event of other direct losses due to cybercrime.
Personal Umbrella Insurance
You may have heard of personal umbrella insurance—this is a type of coverage that can help protect you from a number of miscellaneous risks that aren’t covered by regular homeowners insurance or help you if you’re held liable for a claim higher than the amount your regular liability insurance policy covers.
There are a number of reasons why you might want to purchase personal umbrella insurance, such as if you:
- Have inexperienced drivers in your household
- Hold significant saving or assets, own property (especially investment property)
- Own a business
- Own certain dog breeds
- Coach youth sports
- Are a landlord
- Participating in activities that could injure others
- Own a pool, trampoline, or other property that could lead to injury lawsuits
If you have questions about whether personal umbrella insurance—or any other type of coverage—is right for you, speak with an independent insurance agent at C&S today.