New Homeowners: How To Make Sure You Have The Homeowner's Insurance You Need

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When you sign up for homeowner's insurance, you have to provide the agent with so much information, it is easy to feel overwhelmed when it comes to choosing the coverage you actually need. If you are not sure if your policy actually covers everything you need it to cover, you need to take it, sit down, and review it to ensure that you really have the type of coverage that you need. 

Does Your Policy Cover Storms, Fire, Vandalism Or Theft?

The first thing you need to check is if your policy covers damage caused by storms, fires, vandalism or theft. Most homeowner's insurance policies cover these types of damages, but it never hurts to check. This type of coverage is generally the most basic homeowner's coverage you can get.

Does Your Policy Cover Mold From Water Damage?

Many homeowner's policies do not cover mold damage. The reasoning behind this is that if the water damage was there long enough for mold to develop, you as a homeowner should have identified the problem and taken preventative action.

However, that logic does not always hold up in reality. If you are on vacation and your pipe burst, you can easily have a large mold problem on your hands by the time you return home. Mold can also develop in a matter of hours, so even if it just took you a day to notice a leak, you could already have an issue. 

See if your policy covers mold damage or if that coverage can be added on. 

Does Your Policy Cover Natural Disasters?

If you live in an area that is prone to things like earthquakes, sinkholes, landslides, tornadoes or hurricanes, you need to make sure that you have supplemental coverage to provide you with protection in the event that one of these disasters strikes your home.

If you don't have this type of supplement coverage built into your current policy, call your insurance agent and find out the cost of adding it to your policy. 

Does Your Policy Cover All Your Jewelry?

Next, you need to make sure that your policy covers all your jewelry. Many policies are written so that only a set amount of jewelry is covered. For example, although your personal belongings may be insured for up to $100,000 dollars, your jewelry is only insured up to $10,000. 

If the value of your jewelry is greater than the amount covered in your policy, you will need to purchase additional protection for it.

Does Your Policy Cover All Of Your Electronics?

Increasingly, the modern home is filled with a variety of electronics, ranging from smart phones, tablets and computers to gaming systems and high-tech television sets. 

Due to the increasing value of electronics, many homeowner's policies only function in the same way for electronics as they do for jewelry. Your overall coverage for personal belongings may be a set amount, like $100,000, but only a certain percentage or amount of electronics will be covered, such as 15% or $15,000 dollars. 

Take an inventory of all of your electronics and add up the cost to replace them. Remember to add in the money that you have spent on applications, software, games and additional accessories for your electronic items. If this amount is greater than what your policy covers, you'll want to increase your coverage.

If you notice any areas where your policy is lacking after you review it, call up your insurance agent and discuss these areas and homeowners insurance quotes. You should be able to purchase supplemental coverage for these areas and rest easy knowing you have the coverage you really need. 


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