Home Insurance Issues To Think About When Moving From An Urban To A Rural Home

If you are planning to move from an urban to a rural dwelling, expect your home insurance rates to change. The changes can take any direction, but the following factors associated with rural homes mean your rates are likely to increase:

Bigger Houses

A home's square footage is one of the factors that determine its insurance rates. The bigger your house is, the costlier it is to rebuild or repair after damage; bigger houses also tend to hold more contents (that are also covered by home insurance). Rural houses tend to be bigger and have more rooms than urban houses. Therefore, your rates may be calculated at higher rates when you move to a rural area.

More Structures to Cover

Most home insurance policies don't just cover your main dwelling (main house); they also cover other structures in your compound. Rural homes also tend to have more outdoor spaces than city homes, which means they are also likely to have more structures too. In a rural home, there might be a dog kennel, a separate garage, or even a separate guesthouse. Your rate calculation will take into account such structures too.

Distance from the Fire Department

Your proximity to the fire department may be a factor in calculating your rates. Insurers want reassurance that small fires that may ignite in your house will be put out before they can burn down the entire house; being near a fire station provides this reassurance. Distance from a fire station isn't usually a problem in urban centers, but rural homes tend to be more spaced out and aren't usually close to emergency services.

Domestic Animals

Pets affect insurance rates because when an animal attacks another person, your insurer will come to your rescue and pay for the damages. Therefore, a home with an animal is likely to be covered at a higher rate than a home without one. Rural homes tend to have more animals than urban homes; it isn't unusual for a rural home to have a couple of dogs and a horse.

Note that the above are mere generalizations; your specific circumstances may differ. For example, the distance from the fire station won't affect you if you move to a rural home right next to a fire station. However, you should open your eyes to the possibility of higher coverage rates when moving from an urban to a rural home. You can also use the factors above when looking for a home so that you don't end up with unnecessarily high rates. For more information, check out websites like http://www.normanheilinsurance.com.