home insurance policy

Getting home insurance can seem extremely difficult. It can be hard to know how much insurance to get, what coverages you need, and what’s a good rate. To help you on your home insurance mission, we’ve got 8 common home insurance mistakes for you to avoid as you set your coverage. We’ve also included a home insurance tip for each one.

Avoid these home insurance mistakes.

1. Not getting enough home insurance.

Home Insurance Tip #1: Ideally, you should have enough home insurance to do the following three things:

1. Rebuild your house from the ground up if it’s damaged.
2. Replace all of your belongings.
3. Cover your liability.

You need to make sure that you have enough home insurance to rebuild your home completely if it’s destroyed by a fire or another loss, including the costs of building materials and the labor of the contractors. This is your home’s replacement cost.

It’s also important to take a home inventory so that you know how much coverage you need for your personal belongings – and that way you’ll know exactly what to claim if you have a loss to your home.

Basically, the point is to make sure you’re not underinsured. You need enough coverage to protect you from financial loss if your home is damaged or destroyed.

2. Setting a deductible that’s too low or too high.

Home Insurance Tip #2: Set a deductible that fits your finances.

Your deductible is the amount you agree to pay if you have a claim. You’ve got your portion of a claim and the insurance company takes care of the rest. So, if you have a claim that’s $5,000 and your deductible is $1,000, you’ll pay $1,000 and the insurance company will pay $4,000.

Your deductible is important because it relates to your home insurance rates. If you set a deductible that’s higher, you could see lower premium because you’re less likely to file a claim. But you don’t want to set your deductible so high that it would be burdensome to pay if you ever have a claim. It’s a bit of a balancing act. You have to evaluate your finances and decide how much you can comfortably afford to pay in the event of a claim. If you find you could raise your deductible, you might see lower rates.

3. Not asking about home insurance discounts.

Home Insurance Tip #3: Be sure to ask about discounts.

Many home insurance companies offer discounts for home insurance. Be sure to ask your agent what discounts they offer and see if you qualify for them. Some common home insurance discounts are…

• Having a monitored burglar alarm or security system.
• New roof.
• Bundling your home and auto insurance.
• Being claims-free for a certain number of years.
• Home improvements (new wiring, plumbing, AC system, roof.)

4. Not adding coverage to account for exclusions.

Home Insurance Tip #4: Make sure to cover any gaps in your home insurance policy.

Unfortunately, home insurance doesn’t cover everything. Certain losses aren’t covered (and these losses are called exclusions.) Some common – but surprising – home insurance exclusions are…

• Flooding
• Sewer backup
• Sinkholes
• Jewelry (Most policies only offer limited coverage for valuables.)

You have to make sure to cover any gaps in your home insurance. If you want flooding to be covered, you can get flood insurance from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through an agent. If you want sewer backup to be covered, you have to add that coverage to your policy. If you want all of your valuables to be covered, you have to add extra coverage for your jewelry and other treasures.

Be sure to discuss these things with your agent and ask questions about what is or isn’t covered.

5. Choosing coverage based on price alone.

Home Insurance Tip #5: Keep in mind that the lowest price might not be the best home insurance policy.

Yes, it might be tempting to choose the cheapest coverage available, but cheapest doesn’t mean best. It’s a good idea to really explore your options and compare coverages. You also have to make sure you’re looking at an apples-to-apples comparison of home insurance coverage when you consider pricing. Then consider the insurance company itself. Do they have a good reputation? Will they truly be there for you if you have a loss? You might find that the best option costs a little more than the cheapest option, but the extra expense could be well worth it.

6. Not telling your agent about home renovations.

Home Insurance Tip #6: Keep in touch with your agent and let them know about planned home insurance renovations.

If you do renovations to your home, you could be adding significantly to its value. That means that you might need to add home insurance to make sure that you still have enough coverage for your home.

7. Not reading through the home insurance policy thoroughly.

Home Insurance Tip #7: Take the time to read through your policy.

The only way to really understand what your home insurance policy does and does not cover is to read through it carefully. It’s important to read through the policy, tedious as it might seem, so that you’re aware of how your home insurance will handle various situations. If you have any questions about all the “insurance-speak” in your policy, don’t hesitate to give your agent a call to clarify. It’s better to be equipped with knowledge when it comes to handling your home insurance.

8. Not shopping for home insurance.

Home Insurance Tip #8: Get multiple quotes for Atlanta home insurance.

When you get home insurance in Atlanta, its’ a good idea to shop around for multiple quotes. That way you’ll be able to compare coverage options and pricing. By shopping, you give yourself the change to save money on home insurance. You might find comparable coverage from a comparable company – but at a lower rate than the other guy’s offering. Though it might be tempting just to go with the first quote you get, a little patience can go a long way.

Speaking of shopping for home insurance, our agents can help you get multiple quotes for Atlanta homeowner’s insurance. We’ll shop your rates and go over your options for coverage, and we’ll make sure that we understand your unique situation so you get the coverage that’s right for you. Get started with your Atlanta home insurance by filling out our quote form or giving us a call today!

As a homeowner, you want to protect your investment, and home insurance was designed to do just that. Your coverage protects you against the risks you face every day.

There’s just one problem:

Your policy looks like it belongs on a shelf next to the dictionary. It’s long. It’s boring. It’s wordy.

Despite all of this, it’s extremely important that you understand your home insurance policy. And that means reading your policy carefully. Thing is, your policy is an important document that defines the agreement between the insurance company and you (the insured.) There are a ton of important details about your coverage, your obligations, and exclusions packed into that paperweight. And those details could mean the difference between something being covered…and something not being covered.

At any rate, to help you understand how your policy is broken down, we’ve laid it out section by section below.

1. First of all, we present your Declarations Page:

The declarations page (a.k.a. the dec page) is the first portion of your policy. Its job is to give you an overview of what the policy is and what it covers. The dec page tells you:

• Who’s being insured
• What the policy protects you from
• The property that’s insured
• The dates that the policy is effective

Pro tip: Your auto policy also has a dec page that functions in much the same way.

2. Continuing on, behold: your Insuring Agreement.

Now we get into the good stuff.

The insuring agreement explains what the insurance company will do if you have a loss and end up filing a home insurance claim. This section will also lay out what’s covered by your policy. When you paid for your insurance and finalized everything, the insurer agreed to specific things – for example, paying for covered losses or providing legal defense for liability lawsuits.

You can have one of two different types of insuring agreements: named-perils and all-risk.

Named-perils coverage will only protect you from losses that are specifically written out in the policy.

All-risk coverage will protect you from all losses except for those that are excluded by the policy. (Many life insurance policies are written out like this.)

3. Well, there had to be a catch somewhere – here comes the exclusions section.

This is a really important part of your policy. Exclusions are losses that just aren’t covered by your insurance. What that means is if you ever experience one of these losses, your insurance company will not take care of the expenses.

You can see why you need to really understand this section – you don’t want to have a loss only to find out that it’s excluded. (Flooding is a common insurance exclusion – but there are many home insurance exclusions you should know about.)

But don’t worry: we’ll explain how you can add coverages to your policy in a second.

4. So, moving onto the conditions section.

Okay. This is another section that you need to pay attention to. The conditions section lays out situations in which the insurance company may not have to pay out a claim when you file one. The conditions mostly have to do with things that you as the homeowner have to do. The insurance company may not have to pay out a claim if the conditions of the policy have not been met.

For example, you might be required to file proof of loss with the insurance company within a certain amount of time. If you fail to do that, the insurance company may not accept the claim. To make sure that you’re meeting all the requirements of your home insurance policy, take some time to read through the conditions section. Ask any questions you have about them so that you understand your responsibilities as the homeowner.

5. Definitions, definitions, definitions.

This section could be on its own, but it could also be hiding in another section. This section exists to help you understand all the fancy words in your policy – how helpful! Insurance vocabulary isn’t always the most intuitive or the clearest, which is why your policy may have this handy-dandy section.

6. And for the grand finale, we have the endorsements and riders section.

An endorsement is basically an addition to your policy. It can add coverage, take away coverage, or change coverage. This is how you can add various coverages that are otherwise excluded. For example, if sewer backup is excluded, you can add an endorsement to make sure it’s covered. You can also add coverage for jewelry or other valuables here.

Something to keep in mind:

Every year when the insurance company renews your insurance, the coverage or language might be slightly different. So, be sure to review this section carefully to make sure you have all of the coverages you need.

Okay, that was a lot of information! The above is just a general outline of the sections included in your policy. Yes, there are many, many words included in your policy, and it’s not the most riveting read. But it’s still an important thing to do.

If you have to save money on your home insurance, we would be happy to help you with that. Our agents can help you shop for your insurance so that you can make sure you’re getting the best coverage at the best possible rate. All you have to do to get home insurance quotes is fill out our online form or give us a call today.