Homeowners Insurance

Your home is likely the biggest investment you’ll make in your lifetime and one of your most valuable assets (second to your health and family). And like any valuable asset, it’s worth protecting from potential damage from theft, fire, weather, and other disasters.

Most homeowners are required to have an insurance policy if they have a mortgage. The type of insurance you need, the amount of coverage, and how much you’ll pay for your plan will depend on several factors, including where you live, your deductible, and the condition of your home.

Types of coverage

Every homeowner is unique, and fortunately, there are different types of policies to suit each individual’s needs. Here are the most common types of homeowners coverage:

• Named Perils: Provides coverage only for disasters and circumstances explicitly named in the policy.
• Open Perils or Comprehensive Coverage: More comprehensive coverage that includes everything except what’s named as a specific exclusion in the policy.
• Liability Coverage: If you’re found legally responsible for an injury-causing accident on your property sustained by someone who doesn’t live there, Liability Coverage would protect you in this situation.
• Actual Cash Value:Covers the cost to replace your home minus land and depreciation.
• Replacement Cost: Covers the cost to replace your home or the damaged Personal Property items without depreciation being deducted.
  While this list describes the majority of the different Coverage available, there are also options for Extended replacement costs, Additional living expenses, as well as Business and Personal Liability. There is also an option for adding coverage available for luxury items like Fine art, watches and jewelry.
• Other Policies available: If you are a landlord and renting out your home or condo to vacation renters, short-term renters or long-term renters, you will need a policy to cover this risk specifically, as this is considered a business activity. Similarly, if your home is vacant over 30 days, a Vacant Home Insurance policy may be required.

What does it cover?

• The property: This includes your Residence, Other Structures you purchased coverage for, and, if added, Land stabilization.
• Your personal belongings: The items inside your home and on your property. This includes clothes, furniture, appliances, and electronics. Simply put, it includes anything that’s not a fixture of the home. Additional coverage may need to be purchased for exceptionally valuable items like jewelry, watches, guns, rugs, collectibles, etc.
• Legal protection against accidents incurred by your guests or visitors:If someone who is not a resident at your home or a family member (i.e., a visitor or guest) has an accident or injury on your property, it’s covered by the Liability & Medical payments on your policy. Often this entails coverage for their medical expenses, though it can also provide Legal protection if you’re sued for your assets.
• Reimbursement for temporary housing during repairs: If you need lodging while your home is being repaired, it’s also covered. Another phrase to describe this is “loss of use.”

There’s a lot that can happen to your home and its belongings, and the tragedies that Homeowners insurance covers typically falls under three categories:

1. Weather: Storms, fire, smoke, lightning, wind, frozen plumbing systems, damage from the weight of ice and snow
2. Non-weather: Vehicle and aircraft collisions, vandalism, theft, and riots
3. Accidental direct physical loss: Plumbing leaks, artificially generated electrical currents

Note: each situation is unique, and depending on the plan you select, not all of these circumstances may be covered under a basic policy.

Most basic policies won’t include the items in the list below, and it’s a good idea to assess your risk of each of these circumstances to determine if it makes sense to have additional coverage:

• Floods – Depending on where you live, this could be crucial to add to your policy.
• Earthquake – Big storms and natural disasters are usually covered except for earthquakes.
• Sinkholes – These are also not covered, but if you live in an area where sinkholes are a regular occurrence, consider adding this to your policy.
• Pets – sometimes included, other times not. There are often additional restrictions, including the inability to insure some types of dog breeds.
• Future assets – Items that you acquire after coverage begins may not be covered. If you purchase something valuable, it may require a policy update. However, some umbrella policies will cover future assets.
• War and nuclear explosions.
• Neglect and intentional acts – If you purposefully destroy your home or fail to take care of it properly, any subsequent damages aren’t eligible for coverage.
• Ordinance of law – Losses due to a city or municipal ordinance or law are typically not covered in a standard policy. A Standard HO3 Policy provides 10%.

Claim examples – How coverage works

The peace of mind delivered from a carefully selected insurance plan is well worth the cost, and you may be pleasantly surprised at the affordability. For example, let’s say a tree on your property lands on a neighbor’s home or vehicle. The damage could run into the tens of thousands of dollars but having a basic Homeowners insurance policy will compensate your neighbor for damages sustained, and you’re saved from out-of-pocket expenses, even deductibles.

Why Click2bind for your homeowners insurance?

As an independent agency, we have access to multiple carriers. We do all the research and comparison shopping for you, helping you lock in the most competitive prices while getting a plan that best fits your needs. We take a data-driven approach to find the perfect policy so that you have the coverage you need without paying for the things you don’t.
Our easy, do-it-yourself quoting platform provides you with multiple quotes in minutes. Just answer some questions and after a few CLICKS, you can BIND your policy!

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