The cost to rebuild your home is its replacement value. This can be very different from the estimated market value or actual purchase price. In most cases, it costs more to rebuild the home you own than to buy a new one.
At Absolute Insurance Agency, we understand the home insurance needs of our customers. We’ll work with you to estimate the replacement cost for your home. It is critical that you provide us with accurate, updated information about your home and contents.
It’s a good idea to reexamine your coverage’s and limits at least annually so that you are properly insured.
Here are some steps you can take to reduce the danger of being seriously underinsured:
- Contact us if you have questions or concerns about the limits in your policy. This will also give you an opportunity to make us aware of any overlooked or changed information.
- At each renewal of your policy, you receive a new Policy Declarations page showing limits of coverage and optional coverage’s. Review this information. If you do any significant remodeling or add a family room, extra bedroom or bathroom, etc., contact us prior to making these changes so your coverage limits can be adjusted to cover the improvement.
Make sure you know:
- Does your policy include replacement cost coverage for contents (clothing, furniture, appliances, and other personal property inside your home)? If not, most companies give you the option to add it. The cost is small and the protection is extremely valuable. Replacement Cost Coverage pays for losses to your possessions at the cost of brand new items. Without this option, a covered loss to your personal possessions would be depreciated by their age and condition, reducing the size of your claim settlement.
Consider whether you should have more coverage for personal property (contents) than your policy provides. Companies often base this coverage off of a percentage of your dwelling amount. If you need to increase or decrease this amount, reach out to your agent.
Inventory your home. Prepare an inventory of personal property items, update it periodically, and keep it in a safe place outside your home, such as a safe deposit box at your bank. It will save you hours of time trying to list everything damaged or destroyed if you need to make a claim, and it will also help ensure you don’t forget some items.
Personal Liability
Besides making sure you have enough protection to cover possible damage to your own home and contents, you should also evaluate your exposure to liability risks. These result from damage to the property of another or injury to a person (not a member of your household) for which you can be responsible.
In recent years, it’s become common for homeowners to be sued for injuries or damages to others, even when there is no evidence of negligence by the homeowner. The reality is that if you have any appreciable assets, you are exposed to the risk of being sued and we want to make sure that you are adequately covered in a situation like this.
The right coverage for you is unique. Reach out to us to find out how to get the best price and value on home insurance for you and your family.