If the home is where the heart is, then you should be in love with your homeowner’s insurance. Homeowner’s insurance is an essential part of keeping your home and your most important asset safe. It financially protects your home and your personal belongings in the event they are stolen or damaged.
Why You Need a Homeowner’s Policy
While you’re not required to have homeowner’s insurance, it is a good idea to have it. If you’re buying a home, you will not be able to get a mortgage or loan to buy a house without one. Your lender will require you to have a homeowner’s policy until the loan is paid off.
Even if you own your home outright, you should still have homeowner’s insurance—especially if you don’t have the financial means to start over with nothing. Not having a homeowner’s insurance policy can result in life-altering monetary loss. Your home is probably your most valuable asset, so you should want to protect it.
What Home Insurance Covers
Home insurance typically covers four areas: the exterior and interior of your home, your personal property, any other buildings or structures on your property (like sheds or garages), and provides liability if someone were to be injured on your property.
Your homeowner’s policy should cover damage from fire, storms, vandalism, and smoke. It will not cover any damage from earthquakes or floods, as those are separate from homeowner’s insurance.
In the event your home is damaged and you need a temporary residence, your homeowner’s insurance could cover it. If additional living expenses (ALE) are part of your policy, your insurance will cover the cost. This includes hotel, rent, and even meals.
The Best Policy for You
Everyone’s needs are different, and that’s why a homeowner’s policy is customizable. Depending on your needs, you may need more coverage. Apart from the four areas that a homeowner’s policy can cover, there are three different levels of coverage to choose from. There’s actual cash value, replacement cost, and extended replacement cost.
Actual cash value covers the cost of your home plus the worth of your possessions. This level doesn’t take into consideration the cost of your personal property when you buy them. Items depreciate over time, so this level of insurance covers how much your items are worth.
Replacement cost covers the value of your home and your items without factoring in the depreciation. This means you will get the same amount you paid for these items. This plan allows you to repair your home up to its original value, and not just how much it’s currently worth.
Extended replacement cost covers however much it costs to repair your home. Most policies only cover up to a certain limit (the minimum is typically $100,000). Because of inflation and a market that’s constantly changing, the value of your home and belongings changes day to day. This plan covers more than you actually purchase, so it can cover up to 25% higher than the limit.
Many homeowners opt to get insurance plans that only cover the cost of their home, but most insurers recommend the extended replacement plan because it covers more than you need. It is more expensive than the other plans, but it provides a comfortable cushion for homeowners to rest easy, knowing that their house and their belongings will be fully covered no matter the state of the market and the price of construction.
If you’re looking to buy a new home or just need a new homeowner’s policy, talk to your local independent insurance agent to discuss the best plan for your situation.
Earthquake damage can be costly. Depending on the severity and amount of damage, your home may need to be repaired or even rebuilt. Standard homeowners’/renters’ insurance does not cover earthquake damage, so earthquake insurance has to be purchased separately. Earthquake insurance is a good investment for those that live in areas frequently affected by earthquakes.
Why You Need Earthquake Insurance
Earthquakes can happen anywhere in the world, and the vast majority of people aren’t prepared. If your home is close to an active fault line (where earthquakes are the most likely to occur), then it is even more important to have earthquake insurance.
How homes are built also factors into how much damage can occur during earthquakes – the layout of the house, the materials, and even what kind of soil the house is built on are contributing factors. Softer soils will shift more during an earthquake, which can cause extensive damage to the foundation of the home. Homes that are too stiff and rigid (brick and mortar) or irregularly shaped are more likely to collapse than those with more flexibility (wood frames).
You may also want to consider the value of your home and its contents when purchasing an earthquake insurance plan. If you possess valuable China or crystal, you may want to purchase a more extensive plan that can cover the loss of these items.
What Earthquake Insurance Covers
Earthquake insurance and the amount of coverage received depends on an individual’s policy. Earthquake insurance typically has three parts consisting of dwelling coverage, personal property coverage, and ALE (additional living expenses)/ loss of use coverage.
Dwelling Coverage covers your home up to a set amount, also known as “the limit.” This is similar to homeowners’ insurance. This coverage helps pay to repair or rebuild your home in the event an earthquake damages it.
Personal Property Coverage covers objects in your home like TVs, computers, and furniture that can be damaged during an earthquake and may need to be replaced.
Additional Living Expenses (ALE), or Loss of Use Coverage covers the cost of living somewhere temporarily while your home is being repaired/rebuilt. It can cover the cost of a rental home, hotels, apartment, moving/storage, restaurant meals, and laundry depending on your personal earthquake insurance plan. This part of the coverage is bound to a set of time that it takes to repair/rebuild your damaged home or the amount of time it takes for you to move to a new, permanent one.
Consider these coverages when purchasing your earthquake insurance. Each person/family has different needs so it’s better to personalize your insurance plans.
What Earthquake Insurance Doesn’t Cover
Earthquakes can cause all different kinds of damage to occur, including fires and flooding. Earthquake insurance doesn’t cover damage caused by fire or flooding from outside your home. Fire damage is covered under homeowners’ insurance. If an earthquake caused a pipe to burst into your home resulting in water damage, homeowners’ insurance would cover this damage. If water from outside of your home were to flood your home as a result of an earthquake, a flood insurance plan would be the coverage you need.
Earthquake insurance also doesn’t cover any damage that may happen to land after an earthquake occurs, such as sinkholes. It doesn’t cover any damage that may occur to your vehicles – you will need to look at your automobile policy to see if it covers earthquake-related damage.
Earthquake insurance can cost a pretty penny, and many homeowners choose to forego it. Earthquake damage can be very pricy, so it is better to be prepared and insured than not, as you never know when a devastating earthquake may happen. Reach out to your local independent insurance agent to learn more about earthquake insurance and what plan your home would need.