Home insurance is a type of property insurance that covers private protection with various other coverages that many homeowners should invest in. No matter if the home is a newly built residence or whether it’s an older dwelling, home insurance needs to be purchased.
According to one set of statistics, about 70 million homes in the United States are covered by home insurance. The leading home insurance companies include Amica Mutual, Allstate, Geico, Metlife, USAA, and Chubb. When looking for home insurance from leading providers like these, or with any other home insurance provider, as an insurer, it’s best to find out what is covered under your insurance policy. Below are five important things you must make sure are covered by your home insurance.
1. Liability Protection
Liability protection is a must-have with home insurance coverage. This form of protection covers you against lawsuits for bodily injury or property damage that you or your family members cause to other people. It can even help to pay for damage caused by your pets.
For example, if you damage a set of windows in Grand Rapids at a neighbor’s house, that damage will be taken care of through liability protection. In no time, your neighbors will have a set of new windows installed due to the quick movement of your insurance company. In many cases, liability limits generally start at about $100,000. In addition, it would be a good idea to discuss whether you should purchase a higher level of protection with your insurance agent.
2. Structural Coverage
When you obtain home insurance, it’s best to ensure that the structure of your home is covered. At the most basic level, you, the insurer, will want to purchase enough coverage to ensure that you can rebuild your home after a catastrophic event. Your home can be damaged by no shortage of unfortunate events including fire, hurricane, hail, lightning, and other disasters.
Once you make sure that these disaster types are listed on the policy, check with your insurance company provider that structural damage to your home is covered. Home insurance policies should also provide coverage for detached structures. These include such structures as a garage, tool shed, or gazebo. Most standard home insurance policies won’t pay for structural damage created by flood, earthquake, or routine wear and tear. In cases like these, you’ll have to look for separate insurance coverage options, for example, flood insurance, or earthquake insurance.
3. Additional Living Expenses (ALE)
In the unfortunate event that you can’t live in your home due to an insured disaster, additional living expenses (ALE) are guaranteed to crop up. For example, let’s say you are displaced from your home because of a house fire. In cases like these, ALE covers such expenses as hotel bills, restaurant meals, and other costs. These costs should be covered over and above your usual living expenses. When doing a home insurance compare between insurance providers, looking into the different ALE options should be at the top of your list.
4. Personal Belongings
Your home is filled with personal belongings that you’ve accumulated over time. These can include jewelry, kitchen appliances, video game systems, plasma screen televisions, and a state-of-the-art sound system. When these personal items are stolen, destroyed by fire, damaged in a hurricane, or other insured disasters, they will be covered by your home insurance.
In such cases, the coverage is 50% to 70% of the insurance that you will have on the structure of the home. It’s suggested to conduct a home inventory of these items to determine if there is enough coverage provided by the policy.
5. Identity Theft
Unfortunately, we live in a world where cybercrimes are a daily occurrence. These crimes also include identity theft. When someone steals your identity to commit other crimes, it can feel like both an invasion of privacy, and an irritating hassle. Such crimes can also affect your credit score, unfortunately. Some home insurance policies include a limited amount of identity theft coverage while others provide such coverage/protection as an option.
