So yesterday we discussed how to properly assess the value of your home for insurance coverage purposes. Remember, it’s for the replacement value of your home, and not it’s market value. Too many people fall into this quick money saving scheme that could easily lead to a much steeper bill if your home suffers a catastrophic loss, and its insurance coverage wasn’t based off of its replacement value. That savings you’ve been building up could disappear overnight because of this. Don’t let it happen to you!
The second part of this two part Connecticut homeowners insurance blog deals with the risk of your home. You never really understood the real estate saying “location, location, location” until you purchased a home, but now in dealing with insurance, you’ll be saying those three words again. The location of your home has an incredibly significant affect on your home’s insurance coverage. Think about it this way- someone living along the coast line is obviously more likely to receive storm, wind, and water damage more than a house that is located more inland. Also what if your home is in a high-earthquake zone? Yup, you guessed it, you’re going to have a more costly insurance plan than someone that lives far away from any earthquake fault line.
So what’s in a policy? Well, the standard Connecticut homeowners insurance policy covers the structure of your home, personal belongings, liability protection, and the cost of living in a temporary home if need be. Furthermore, back to the replacement value scenario, you need to choose between replacement value or actual cash value with regards to your belongings. Replacement value with cover the full cost of replacing your belongings, whereas actual cash value will only cover the cost of your belongings at the value they would be worth today.