Finding A Good House Owners Insurance Plan

Although you may pay more for other types of insurance such as car insurance or medical care insurance, house owners insurance can cost a substantial amount of money.  Getting the best deal starts with shopping around with different carriers or having a reputable insurance broker do the shopping for you.

Benefits are at least as important as price.  A cheap house insurance plan that won't cover you will is a bad decision at any cost.

Your house insurance plan probably offers benefits that you have never thought of.  It can pay you if your house is burned down or if your things are damaged.  It can also pay a third party if you injure them due to a negligent act.  This is true even if that act takes place far from your home.  It can also reimburse you for living expenses when you are unable to live in your home due to a covered event.

The benefit that most people focus on is the part that will pay you if your house is in a fire or is damaged by some other covered peril.  This is probably the most paramount coverage.  It is critical to get the right amount of coverage for this aspect of your coverage.

Determining the right amount of coverage is not as easy as finding out the potential sales price of your home.  Your insurance company will not use the potential sales price when deciding what to pay you to rebuild or repair your home. 

There are two reasons why the potential sales price is not important.  This amount required to rebuild your home can be much higher or much lower than the cost to purchase a similar structure.  The insurance company is not required to replace the land your house sits on. 

The cost of the land and the location of your house are part of your current market value.  They are not involved in the calculations required to determine replacement value.

Another very important benefit of a standard homeowners insurance coverage is the coverage for your house's contents.  Things like your couch, your stereo and other much of your other portable things are covered by the contents benefit limit. 

Things that are substantially attached to your home are usually considered part of the house and add to the replacement cost for the house and are not considered contents.  A wall to wall carpet will probably be considered a part of the house.  A throw rug will probably be considered one of the house's contents.

You may have some latitude in determining how your house's contents  are covered.  You may be given the option of having your contents replaced using their depreciated value or the replacement cost. 

Typically you will not be asked to determine an exact dollar figure for this benefit limits.  You may be given the option to have your other posessions covered.  50% or 70% of the replacement value of the house.

Certain property like jewelry and cash will have limited coverage in the standard plan.  However, you should be able to request additional coverage for jewelry.

Most of the other benefits of your home policy are not changeable by the consumer.  They are part of the standard coverage.

Finding a good home owners insurance plan is a part of smart financial  planning.  Make sure to shop around for both coverage and price.