Do you know what’s really inside your home insurance policy? You probably should. Let’s find out.
Today we are going to talk about home insurance and the basics of it.
Home insurance comes with 6 main coverage’s:
- Dwelling
- Other Structures
- Personal Property
- Loss of Use
- Personal Liability
- Medical Payments
Dwelling
That’s what covers your house, the big thing that you’ll live in.
Other Structures
They consist of things like a detached garage, a shed, a gazebo, a swimming pool, or a mailbox.
Depending upon your insurance company you’ll get 10% or 20% of the dwelling limit automatically.
You can increase the amount, but you can’t decrease it or eliminate it.
Personal Property
Is your clothes, your furniture, your TV, your iPad, your kitchen stuff.
If you need more help figuring this out, imagine if all of a sudden you’re a giant, like 60’ tall, and you’re able to physically pick up your house.
Everything that falls out when you shake it, that’s your personal property.
You normally have the option for 50%, 70%, or 75% coverage of the dwelling limit automatically.
Just like other structures you can increase the amount, but you can’t decrease it or eliminate it.
Loss of Use
Is used when you can’t live in your house because of a covered claim and you have to live in a hotel or motel, or possibly even rent an apartment or home.
You’re going to get 20% or 25% of the dwelling limit automatically.
And you guessed it, just like other structures and personal property you can increase it, but you can’t decrease it or eliminate it.
Those are four coverage’s that involve your house. Now we’ll talk about the remaining two that involve people being at your house.
Personal Liability
Is when someone sues you for negligence.
They could have been injured or there could be damaged property. All home policies come with $100,000, but I’m not a big fan of that amount. I normally recommend a minimum of $500,000.
Medical Payments
This is the final coverage that make up your home insurance policy’s “big 6.”
This will pay for any medical expenses that someone who isn’t you, and someone who doesn’t live in your house.
It could be for things like a trip to the ER, Urgent Care, or even the dentist. All home policies will come with $1000 and you can usually increase this to $5000 or $10,000. You are probably going to want to consider $5000 or more.
So here’s the bottom line:
Now you should be a little smarter about the 6 primary ways your home insurance keeps you, your house and everyone that’s in it safe.
If you’re unsure about the 6 ingredients in your home owners policy then I want you click right here to schedule a call with me to discuss.