by Edwin Ivanauskas | Tags: Personal Finance, Insurance

Buying homeowners insurance

You have just purchased your dream home. Now you need to get homeowners insurance to protect your home and belongings. Here are some tips to help guide you along the way.

Choosing your homeowners insurance company

When you buy your home, you want to protect it. It has your life and dreams wrapped up in it. This means that your homeowners insurance has to fit those needs. Your insurance should cover:

Liability- Liability covers damage done to a person or persons on your property. An example would be if a woman walked on your driveway and slipped on ice. That person could sue you for medical, time off from work and anything associated with the accident. You may think that this would never happen but it does all the time. Liability can cover your court costs and attorney fees and any money owed to the victim who fell on the ice. Generally you want to get between one hundred and five hundred thousand in liability insurance.

Your home- Your main reason for homeowners insurance is to cover your home. If your home were to burn down or be taken out by a tornado you want to make sure that it is covered. It is never fun to pay a mortgage on a house that no longer exists.

Personal possessions- Your furniture, clothes, washer and dryer are among a few of your personal possessions that you want to be reimbursed for. Check with your homeowners insurance company to find out what type of record that you need to have for proof of that expensive stereo or television that you have. Pictures and video of personal possessions helps identify what you have, along with serial numbers off of televisions, etc. Make sure that you decide during the homeowners insurance process whether you are getting them to pay actual cost of your possessions or for the depreciated cost.

Jewelry- Most jewelry no matter if it is a three karat diamond or not is not insured for more than two thousand dollars unless you request a separate policy that you will pay extra for, to cover that item.

Construction costs- Verify that you will have some type of umbrella clause in your policy that will cover any added construction that will need to be done or an inflation clause in your homeowners insurance policy that will cover these issues should they arise.

Your homeowners insurance can cover multiple things that you are looking for. Check with your mortgage company to see what they offer before checking with other insurance companies. You may also look into getting your homeowners insurance through your car insurance salesman. You may get a discount by adding homeowners insurance to your already existing vehicles insurance policy.

There are many places that you can get good homeowners insurance. Some find it easier just to deal with the bank that they received their mortgage from. Read all exclusions in your homeowners insurance and pin point exactly what they will pay if something happens to your home or the contents in it.

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