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What to Look for in Homeowners Insurance?



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Homeowners insurance can be an overwhelming topic to digest, especially with how many coverages they provide, their limits, and more. To help you gain a better insight on what to look for when researching for a home insurance policy, we answered a couple questions that you might be asking about home insurance. Before looking up the best homeowners insurance companies in California to contact, read this blog to gain more knowledge on homeowners insurance.

 

What Should I Research for in Home Insurance?

When looking for a good homeowners insurance policy, make sure to find one that has the coverages you need and can afford. In addition, you want to double check the company’s ratings, scores, and location availability before contacting them. Another action you can do is interview insurance agents to determine if you want to work with them or not. Researching what home insurance is, the coverages included in them, and the companies that provide them will put you ahead of the game and make it easier to communicate with an insurance agent.

 

Collaborate with your insurance agent to ensure that you have sufficient amount of coverage for anything more than what is usually covered in a typical home insurance. A majority of homeowners insurance policies provide protection for your appliances, furniture, home, outbuildings, and more, but have certain limits for each category and item. For example, artwork, collectibles, and jewelry may need additional coverage if their value surpasses those limits. Communicate with your insurance agent to help categorize your expensive belongings, if needed. In addition, it is a good practice to take inventory once and a while and update your list accordingly. This will help you remember which possessions need insurance or not.

 

How Much Home Insurance Do I Need?

To determine how much homeowners insurance you need, a simple rule to follow is that you should have enough home insurance to repair or replace your home and every possession you have inside it (after it’s been damaged or destroyed). Repairs and replacements can include buildings/structures like your home, clothes, detached garage, fence, furniture, pool, and more. To figure out the cost to make those repairs/replacements, reach out to an insurance agent or realtor.

 

You can also try to calculate it yourself by multiplying the square footage of your building property by the building cost per square foot in your area. To put this into perspective, if your home is about 2,000 square feet and the local building costs are about $90 per square foot, the amount it takes to rebuild your home is roughly $180,000. Again, these are rough estimates, so it is highly advised to ask an appraiser, insurance agent, or real estate agent about your local building costs.

 

In terms of calculating your personal belongings, it is best to keep photos/videos or receipts of when you purchased expensive items. The better you document your possessions, the easier it will be to file a claim when you need to. Items like barbeque grill, collectibles, musical instruments, silverware, sporting equipment, etc. are considered noteworthy. When calculating how much coverage you need for personal belongings, you want to take note of how much it would cost to replace those items because replacement costs can change rapidly from the time your first bought them.

 

We hope that this information serves you well and that it helped you further understand and grasp what to look for in homeowners insurance policies. For more information on how to find the best homeowners insurance companies in California, reach out to a Get-a-Quote professional. Get-a-Quote is an excellent insurance shopping tool that provides you personal assistance throughout your insurance research journey.

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