Many things go into making a good homeowners insurance policy. You have to first understand what it is you are really covering. For me as an agent it comes down to 4 important coverages.

Dwelling Coverage

How much does it cost to rebuild the house ? Are there custom touches like granite and wall treatments that we shuold include ? My rule of thumb is $150 per square foot at a minimum. When we add in exteneded replacement cost coverage we can make sure we have up to $300 a square foot to work with in the event of a major claim like a fire. Its important to get this coverage amount right and review it regularly to make sure we have enough money to rebuild the home.

Contents Coverage

Every policy covers shirts and books and “stuff. ” It may take extra coverage to make sure everything is covered properly. Proper coverage includes replacement cost and inflation guard coverage. Those coverages together make certain you you are going to receive a fair settlement in the event of a claim.

ID THEFT:

You need this coverage… NOW.  Its more a ”WHEN” your important personal information will be compromised not an “IF”. This coverage will help you repair your good name and recover your reputation. The statistics are stunning:

• ID theft occours every 3 seconds
• Average cost to repair ID theft : $8,000
• Average time to repair ID theft : 600 hours

The days of people sifting through your trash looking for a bill or credit card statement is largely gone. The internet has made it possible to collect tens of thousands of victims in a matter of seconds. Don’t take the chance of being a victim, especially when this coverage is so affordable.

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. Make sure you have at a minimum $300,000.

Jewelry, Art work, and Antiques

There are 3 ways to handle getting the coverage you need for these:

Schedule it

Scheduling 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 coverage

Just 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. If you have a piece that needs to be covered quickly this is a good option. While the appraisals are being prepared you can  relax knowing the piece is covered

Increase limits within the policy

Easiest and most common way to work with this type of coverage need. Few companies will cover a wedding ring for what its fully worth.  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.