Home Insurance
As your largest investment, it's important to make sure your home has the proper insurance coverage. We'll protect your home and everything in it for the lowest possible price.
What is Home Insurance?
Home insurance is an insurance policy that combines various personal insurance protections, which can include losses occurring to one’s home, its contents, loss of use (additional living expenses), or loss of other personal possessions of the homeowner, as well as liability insurance for accidents that may happen at the home or at the hands of the homeowner within the policy territory.
Typical Home Insurance Coverages
- Dwelling coverage pays if your house is damaged or destroyed by something your policy covers.
- Personal property coveragepays if your furniture, clothing, and other things you own are stolen, damaged, or destroyed.
- Other structures coveragepays to repair structures on your property that aren’t attached to your house. This includes detached garages, storage sheds, and fences.
- Loss of use coveragepays your additional living expenses if you have to move while your house is being repaired. Additional living expenses include rent, food, and other costs you wouldn’t have if you were still in your home.
- Personal liability coveragepays medical bills, lost wages, and other costs for people that you’re legally responsible for injuring. It also pays if you’re responsible for damaging someone else’s property. It also pays your court costs if you’re sued because of an accident.
- Medical payments coveragepays the medical bills of people hurt on your property. It also pays for some injuries that happen away from your home – if your dog bites someone at the park, for instance.
Your homeowners policy might not protect you against some risks. You can buy a separate policy or add on to your policy if you need more protection.
Flood insurance
Homeowners policies don’t cover damage caused by floods. To protect yourself from losses caused by flooding, buy a flood insurance policy from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). If your property is in a flood hazard area, your lender will require you to have flood insurance. For more information and to learn whether you’re in a flood hazard area,
Extra coverage (endorsements)
Most companies offer endorsements, or policy add-ons, that let you increase or add coverage. Common endorsements include coverage for:
- jewelry, fine arts, or electronics (your policy provides some coverage, but it might not be enough to cover expensive items);
- backup of sewers or drains;
- damage to foundations or slabs;
- extra construction or repair costs to meet local building codes;
- extra construction costs if your policy doesn’t pay enough to rebuild your home;
- mold removal; and
- damage from earthquakes.