Owning a home is something most adults strive to do. It is a milestone deemed part of the American dream. Homeowners will likely be the biggest investment you make in your life. It will be the asset you can sell when it's time to retire or tap into the equity when you need extra cash.
It's essential as a homeowner that you carry the right coverage of insurance for your home. Homeowner's insurance can cover a variety of features, including the roof, siding, personal property inside the home, the people in or outside the property, and much more. Similar to a business, if accidents occur at your home, you would be liable for medical payments and such. Insurance offsets these costs.
What Does Homeowners Insurance Cover
Insurance for your home is customized to meet your needs, along with any requirements a bank has for fulfilling a mortgage. This insurance type is meant to protect you against damages to your home and belongings. Your policy may say it covers fire, theft, windstorms, vandalism, flood, and more. Most policies will have typical coverage of fire, hail, lightning, wind storm, theft, and vandalism, whereas It won't always include floods and earthquakes. Other hazards such as these will need to have additional coverage purchased.
Top Factors That Could Change Your Premium
-Remodeling
When you remodel your home, you can expect it to increase in value. With an equity increase, should something happen, it would cost more money to replace. It's important to note that your insurance won't know about the remodel unless you tell them. That is why it's important to notify your agent ASAP for the changes. O'Kane and Tegay Insurance Brokers make it simple to adjust your homeowner's policy. You should remember to list what type of materials are used as well. For example, if you replace your countertops with a high-end material like marble, you would want your new policy and premium to reflect that. The reason being, it'll take more money to replace that high-end material than it would a lower end replacement.
-Dangerous Additions
Anything that could cause injury will increase your homeowner's policy. For example, you want to install a new in-ground pool. While this is amazing for enjoying summers, it isn't great for your homeowners. Expect your policy to rise slightly due to the increased risks. Other additions that could affect your home is a deck without proper railings, pools, and ponds. Because homeowners insurance takes into consideration not only the assets, it has to replace, but the risks that are possible, adding hazards around your home can affect the premium.
-Age of Roof
For most homeowners, having to replace the roof is a worry. It is one of the most expensive home improvements he would likely have to make. If you have your premium examined every few years, you may notice an increase in your rate due to the age of your roof. This is more applicable to asphalt roofs versus metal roofs. Your policy should reflect the age of your roof so that should you need to replace it, it would cover the cost. The last thing you want to do is have to pay out of pocket for a new roof because your policy wouldn't cover it.
-Home Security
Should you install a home security system, you should contact your insurance company right away. This should earn you a discount on your premium. The more features you can have in place to safeguard against accidents, break-ins, etc., the better. Most insurance companies will reward you with a break on your premium for doing so.
