Whilst it may not be mandatory it is always the best idea to make sure that your home is fully covered by insurance. Insurance expert Fred Brisker has been vocal about this during his career and he often cites worrying data about the number of homeowners who either do not have insurance on their property, or who have insurance which simply isn’t fit for purpose. When you do decide to get insurance it is important that you have a clear understanding of what you should be looking for, in order to ensure you have both maximum protection, and that you are not overpaying.
Premium V Deductible
The balance between the insurance that you pay and your potential deductible is a decision which you are going to have to make based on the risk you may present. For example you can find insurance which has very low monthly costs, but if something goes wrong your deductible will be far greater. On the other hand you can choose a larger monthly cost, with a lower deducible. Bear this in mind as many jump for the low monthly cost, not realizing that they may have a large amount to pay when even the smallest thing goes wrong.
What is Covered
Once upon a time homeowners contents insurance was exactly that, it would cover everything inside the property and the structure of the building too. In recent years however many areas of insurance have been getting chopped up and sold on separately, so you need to make sure that your insurance is actually covering all of your needs. Fred has always recommended that instead of using the web to get your insurance, that you simply use it to gauge prices, and then you speak with a broker so that you can ask them to explain exactly what you are getting covered for.
Valuable Items
When you do get insurance it is very important that you have an insurer which will cover you for any valuable items which you may have. These are usually added to the policy separately, either because they are of great expense or if they are irreplaceable, a family heirloom for example. If you do not have these items separately specified then you may find that you are not covered for them at all. The last thing you need is to have these things taken from the property only to realize that you are not covered for them.
Replacements
When it comes to buying things to replace contents which have been stolen or damaged, each insurance provider offers a different way of doing this. She will give you the value of what it will cost to replace those items brand new, whereas others will offer you the value of what that piece was worth before it was stolen or damaged. Naturally the best case scenario is that you get the value based on current prices, so be sure to check this in the small print too.