Homeowner insurance

Homeowner insurance quote

Homeowner insurance is designed to protect your home and possessions in case of a loss. Most standard policies will provide coverage for damage to your home and items in your home caused by fire, smoke, theft, ice, snow and liability protection.

Home insurance coverage

Why do you need insurance? First of all, lenders require it. You have to provide proof of insurance at closing. Second, in case of a loss, you will be able to replace or repair stolen or damaged items. And if your home is inhabitable then you can rebuild it and cover your additional living expenses while your home is being repaired. Standard policies include coverage for structure of home, coverage for personal belongings, liability protection, additional living expenses and medical payments.

Liability protection is very important. It covers you against lawsuits for injuries or property damage that you or your family members cause to other people. It also pays for the cost of defending you in court and any court awards. No fault medical coverage is also included in your policy. If a friend or neighbor is injured on your property, they can submit medical bills directly to your insurance company. So their bills will get paid without filing a liability claim against you. This does not cover you or your family members.

Discounts

There are discounts available to homeowner when purchasing insurance. Some of the common homeowner insurance discounts are:

• Purchase both home and auto insurance.(multiple policy discount)
• Smoke alarms, fire alarms and extinguishers, deadbolts and burglar alarms.
• New home discount.
• Mature homeowner discount.
• Claim free discount.

Home Inventory

Take an inventory of all the possessions in your home. This will help you decide how much insurance you need to purchase. In case of a loss you want to be prepared and this will help to simply the claim process. Photograph or videotape all of your possessions, include drawers and closets You would be surprised at how much you would forget if your house burned down today and someone asked you for a list of all your possessions. You could be leaving thousands of dollars on the table if you have a claim and aren't able to account for all items after the loss. Keep the tapes or pictures along with any receipts in a fireproof safe.

Homeowner insurance Loss Prevention

Help prevent loss by locking doors and windows when you are not home. Don't expose expensive items in clear view of the windows or doors. Timers on lights and radios give the "lived in look" when you are out of town. And you should have your newspaper and mail stopped and going on vacation, piled up mail and papers are an invitation to burglars.

We hope that this article helps you to understand homeowner insurance. Here are some other resources that you might find useful:

• Property insurance resources
• Home inventory - Printable (From The Hartford Insurance Company)

Homeowner insurance quote