How to get the Most Out of Your Home Insurance

Property Insurance Tips

Home insurance is a robust product with many features and options. That's why it's best to have a licensed insurance broker review your coverages and make recommendations to ensure you're protected. It also helps to have a bit of an understanding of some of the common areas to pay attention to when reviewing your home insurance policy. Here are a few tips that may help with your choices.

• If something changes with your home, let your insurance broker know. Changes such as renovations or adding new out buildings may be considered a "material change" and may affect your coverage. If you have made or plan to make changes to your home, give you insurance broker a call and we can ensure you maintain your coverage.

• Ask about Guaranteed Replacement Cost. This is an endorsement that can be added to qualifying policies that will ensure that your home can be put back to where it was before your loss, regardless of increased expenses that exceed your policy limits.
• Your contents (belongings in your house) are protected under a different limit than the building. If the value of the contents in your house have increased significantly speak with your broker right away about increasing your "contents coverage".

• There are special limits on items such as jewelry. Keep a record of what you own and what it's worth. With an inventory, you will know if you have enough insurance to buy replacements in the event of a loss.

• Keep an inventory of the items in your house. Take pictures, or take a video of your property. This will help you to recall the items that were in their your home, prior to the claim. Make sure this information is kept in another location or safety deposit box.

• Your home policy also has a liability section that protects you if damage or injury occurs as a result of your negligence. This section of your policy has a limit as well and with settlements steadily increasing it may be a good idea to speak with you broker about how you can increase this limit.