Your home is one of the biggest investments you will ever make. Replacing it would be difficult, if not devastating. This is why many homeowners insure their homes against damage from fire, flooding, theft and other perils. However, navigating the variety of insurance packages offered on your own can be stressful and time consuming.
To help protect and inform our readers and homeowners, we sat down with Morison Insurance, to provide the essentials of home insurance and safe home ownership that you may require. Morison represents dozens of insurance companies and helps clients like you shop for the best insurance at the best value. In this first installment we hope to tackle the basics of why home insurance is important.
Why You Need Home Insurance
Home insurance will help you rebuild your home, repair or replace its contents, and cover temporary accommodations in the event of damage. It will also provide personal liability for you, your spouse or partner, and your children if you accidentally cause damage to someone else’s property or cause injury to someone while they are visiting your property. Without insurance, you can be held responsible for this property damage or bodily injury to others, even as a renter. It is important to note that liability coverage does not cover injury suffered by you or members of your household. Further, because of the financial security provided by home insurance, most banks make it a requirement for a mortgage.
Selecting The Right Insurance For You
Typically, home insurance policies are either Broad Form or Comprehensive Coverage. The specifics of what is covered varies among insurance companies. Here are the basics of Broad Form and Comprehensive Coverage.
A Broad Form insurance policy covers losses that are ‘listed’ in your home insurance policy. A Comprehensive Form is not restricted to a list of causes, but instead covers all risks except for those that are excluded.
A Comprehensive Form policy costs a little more, however, the more extensive protection and greater peace of mind will leave you with worry-free home insurance coverage.
Insure Your Property for Replacement Costs
Replacement Cost is the amount the insurance company expects to spend to rebuild your home and replace your contents. This cost can be greater than the market or tax-assessed value of your home because it includes securing permits, creating drawings, removing debris and getting your home back together. It is important that your property be insured to replacement cost to ensure your loss is completely covered.
Get Under the Umbrella
A Personal Umbrella Policy is a cost-effective solution to add an extra layer of liability coverage above what your home and vehicle policies provide.
Do You Work From Home?
More and more people are working from home. It’s important that your insurance company be notified if you operate a business from your home. If not, you may find yourself without coverage. Many different types of businesses can be insured under a home-based business policy. This is normally not expensive. Depending on the type of business you run, a commercial policy may be required.
Now that you have an idea of why home insurance is important and how to select a plan that will protect you and your family, stay tuned for our next installment on how to save money on insurance.
Morison Insurance Brokers Ltd. offers tips and information for general informational purposes only, and it is not to be relied upon or used for any particular purpose. The information contained or referenced in these articles is not intended to constitute and should not be considered professional advice. The information does not serve as a substitute for the recipient obtaining such advice. For help with your insurance, contact Kelly at Morison Insurance at 1-888-214-1929 or kelly@morisoninsurance.ca.