Making sure you’re covered

What do you know about your home insurance policy? If you are like I was back in June , probably not much.

I know more now, because on June 13, a very strong wind, a derecho according to the weather experts, blew one of the biggest trees on my property uphill and onto my home. My insurance company came through for me, but there are a few things I plan to change in my homeowner’s policy, such as adding coverage I did not need before the storm but now believe is necessary.

In hopes of prompting others to learn more about their homeowner’s policy, I called insurance agen ts around the lake to find out the most important things homeowners should discuss with their insurance agents.

Do you have the right amount of coverage on your house?

“Most policies have replacement cost coverage, which means they give you the amount of cost showing on your policy,” explained Phil Hager, owner/agent at Phil Hager Insurance Agency in Moneta. “Let’s say you have $300,000 [coverage], and your home burns to the ground, they will give you $300,000. Many policies also provide you with an extra percentage of 20 to 25 percent over that amount, plus any overages in rebuilding the house.”

“Know what your home is worth,” ad vised Cindy Calvin, licensed sales producer and office manager at Stuart Thomas All-State Agency. “A lot of people think their home is not worth a lot because tax assessments have gone down, but that is not true. Replacement-cost coverage covers everything from permits to materials and labor.”

Do you know your deductible, which is the amount you must pay before your insurance company will pay any expenses?

“If you have a $500 deductible and you decided to raise your deductible to $1,000 to lower the premium, remember, if disaster strikes, you will have to have $1,000 set aside to pay,” said Hager.

“Don’t make claims for small amounts,” said Calvin. “For example, if your deductible is $500 you don’t want to make a claim for $600. The more claims you make, the more dings you have on your insurance record.”

These dings could cause the loss of discounts and make it harder to get low rates at a new company. Review your liability coverage, which covers a homeowner if someone gets hurt on their property. Most policies cover $300,000, but Hager said that is not enough in today’s world.

“You can buy what they call a personal liability umbrella policy on top of your homeowner’s policy, and it’s really not that expensive,” Hager said.

Tripp Godsey, an owner/agent at the Tripp Godsey Agency, said increasing the amount of liability insurance will help protect your assets should someone get hurt and sue you.

“You can increase your liability coverage from $300,000 to $500,000 for about nine bucks a year,” he said. “Most people would do that.”

Do you need flood insurance? Homeowner’s insurance does not cover flood damage.

“Flood insurance is a separate insurance provided by FEMA,” said Calvin. “With all the crazy rain we’ve had this year — we’ve gone through that a lot with people recently. Homeowner’s insurance will cover when your pipes break or your icemaker or dishwasher leak and cause damage.”

“Flood insurance covers water seeping up from the ground,” Godsey explained.

Does your policy cover structures not connected to your home, such as sheds, docks and boat houses?

“The most common coverages insurance policies have are replacement coverage, contents coverage and liability,” said Godsey. “What they might not have is coverage for separate structures. That is important for people on the lake who have docks and boat houses.”

The agents also recommended that homeowners have separate insurance policies for watercraft .

“I recommend adding a coverage called uninsured watercraft coverage that will cover you if someone hits you that doesn’t have insurance,” said Hager. “Also, if you hit a log while boating on the lake and your boat is insured through your homeowner’s policy, now you have a claim on your homeowner’s policy even though it wasn’t a claim for your home.”

Other coverages to check into include ordinance and law coverage for older homes that allow a certain amount of coverage if you need to replace a deck, for example, and it costs more to build it back because you need to meet current building codes; loss of use coverage will pay your rental expenses if you need to leave your home while it is being repaired or rebuilt; and check for discounts. “We’ve got one carrier that gives a discount if you have a degree in engineering; the higher your education, the bigger the discount,” relayed Hager.

“Compare policies,” recommended Godsey. “Saving 75 to a couple hundred dollars a year is good until you have a claim and you find out you don’t have the coverage you need.”

About these and all other questions talk with your agent. You should sit down and discuss your policy with your agent at least once every two or three years or whenever you do home improvements. Develop a relationship with a local agent; they know the area and can go to bat for you if needed.

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