Dwelling Replacement Cost
Many things go into making a good homeowners insurance policy. You have to first understand what it is you are really covering. We are going to touch on 4 key items
First and foremost, a homeowners insurance policy should cover the cost of rebuilding the structure. The problems you read about after fires or other natural disasters start and end with Dwelling Coverage not being kept current, or being under insured from the start.
Secondly is Contents Coverage. Every policy covers shirts and books and “stuff. ” It may take extra coverage to make sure everything is covered properly.
No less important is ID theft. This coverage is critical in our web based world.
Lastly, is Personal Liability. What happens if Sparky bites someone? What happens if someone slips and falls on my property? Personal liability handles that and many other situations.
Dwelling Coverage
First and foremost a homeowners insurance policy should cover the cost of rebuilding your home. Each home is unique, and we factor in upgrades, additions and other changes in arriving at your home’s coverage amount.
Contents
When you think about contents, think about the items in your home. The cabinets, the things that came with the house are covered under the Dwelling Coverage.
Where most people make the biggest mistake is when it comes to Jewelry Coverage. In the event you lost your wedding ring or a prized watch, your homeowners insurance policy will not have enough coverage to replace it. You should review your coverage annualy to make sure you have the coverage required to replace your most valuable property.
There are 3 ways to handle getting the coverage for your jewlery:
- Schedule itScheduling involves the writing down of each individual piece and its value. Scheduling is like writing individulal policies on each piece. We will need to get an appraisal, and take photos. Because it is so detailed, and the coverage is so broad that the cost is the highest. Scheduled Jewelry Coverage is usually priced per hundred or per thousands of dollars requested.
- Purchase unscheduled personal property coverageJust as like when you shcedule your property you will need to know the total amount of coverage you are purchasing. The difference is that the coverage amount you purchase will not be assigned to each piece, it would be spread across the entire collection.
- Increase limits within the policyEasiest and cheapest way to work with jewelry coverage. You simply add the required coverage to the policy. Every company will usually limit this to a max of $10,000 . No appraisal is required, but pictures are.Don’t forget, with gold between $800 and $1,000 an ounce your jewelry is worth more than you know.Its not just jewlery though that needs extra coverage. That is why we make house calls. As your agent I feel its my responsibility to see what I am going to insure.
ID theft
There are literally thousands of articles on this subject. Almost every large insurer offers ID theft protection as a coverage. Amounts and how claims are handled vary from company to company.
The stats are stunning:
- ID theft occours every 3 seconds
- Average cost to repair ID theft : $8,000
- Average time to repair ID theft : 600 hours
DO YOU HAVE THAT KIND OF TIME ? Most people don’t.
