What You Should Know about Homeowner's Insurance

In the last few days several of our buyers have been shopping around for homeowner's insurance and asking me interesting questions about homeowner's insurance. I wanted to share this Q and A entitled "What You Should Know about Homeowner's Insurance"

By Mesha Pittman, Long & Foster Insurance Sales Agent

Q: Is there more than one type of homeowner's insurance policy?

A: There are different types of insurance policies that provide different levels of coverage offered by a variety of companies. Some policies only cover your assets at an "Actual Cash Value" which is depreciated over time. Other's provide "Replacement Cost", based on today's cost. While others may provide an "Extended Replacement Cost" which will give you additional coverage as the value of your assets appreciate over time. To assure you are protected, talk to a professional insurance agent to discuss your specific coverage needs.

Q: How much coverage do I need for my home?

A: The amount of coverage you need is based on the amount it would cost the insurance company to repair or rebuild your home should it suffer a covered loss. This amount may differ from the purchase price as it is based on materials and labor, not current market value.

Q: Does my homeowner's policy cover my personal property outside of the home?

A: Personal property owned or used by an insured is covered while it is anywhere in the world; however, certain classes of property are specifically excluded or have special limits of liability that are lower than the overall policy limits for certain types of losses such as theft.

Q: What procedures are used to process a homeowner's insurance claim?

A: Once a claim is filed, a claim adjustor or representative will inspect the loss, determine if there is coverage for the loss, estimate what it would cost to indemnify the claimant, then pay for the loss as it is covered by the policy.

For more information about Long and Foster Insurance, Click Here.