Home insurance is basically any and all insurance that covers your home. It applies to any type of dwelling including house, mobile home or condominium. It is available to you as a homeowner or a renter. Your contents and personal property are generally not included in this type of policy, but can be separately covered under personal property coverage or a ‘Rider’ that adds it to your primary policy. Any major insurance company offers Home Insurance policies and so do many of the smaller, lesser-known underwriters.
The price of a home insurance policy depends upon many things that you and the insurance company agent will explore together. Some facts are important, because many companies offer price discounts based upon improvements that have been made to the residence. Some of these include whether or not the home is fire resistant or is fabricated with fireproof materials such as masonry or brick; the age of the home and whether it has had any recent renovations by a licensed contractor; how long you’ve lived there and if you’ve been claim free during that period and if it is a mobile home, whether or not it has tie-downs or is otherwise anchored to the ground. For renters, it will also matter whether or not the home is equipped with fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, a central burglar alarm system and dead bolt locks on all outside doors. The presence or lack of these items can affect the policy price between 10 and 25%.
Regardless of whether you rent or own, you have a wide range of insurance options to select from. First, consider covering your contents and movable personal property. They can represent a sizeable and often un-replaceable loss. Second, consider Family Liability Coverage which will cover the cost for any damages you’re legally responsible for. Third, consider Guest Medical Protection, which will pay for any medical expenses to guests or visitors injured on your property. You can also obtain coverage for your living expenses in the event the home becomes unlivable. Finally, you can personalize your policy by adding coverage for replacement costs of personal property and special coverage for valuable items like coin collections, jewelry, etc.
Some special coverage is only important to certain people. For example, damage or loss due to flood, earthquake or other disasters are usually separate from any primary policies.