You’ve worked hard to make your house a home filled with personal belongings that hold a special meaning for you and your family. It’s important that you have measures in place that adequately protect what you have earned so that when disaster strikes you can have peace of mind in the midst of chaos. As you shop for insurance to replace your current policy or search for new coverage on your first home, make sure that you follow the guidelines below so that you’ll have full protection when you need it the most.
- Get the right insurance for your personal needs. You should take into consideration the structure of your house itself, all of your personal belongings, the liability to guests that may visit in your home, and the expenses you’ll need to have should you be unable to live in your home due to disaster. It’s important to think about these four areas of concern as you are shopping for your insurance cover.
- Consider getting replacement value coverage for your home and belongings. Should you experience an accident or other damage to your property you’ll want to replace everything the way it was; getting replacement value assures you that you’ll be able to restore your quality of life to the way it was before the event.
- Make sure that you understand how to submit a claim so that when the need arises you’ll be confident in your approach to finding a solution quickly and efficiently. You should ask your agent to explain the entire process to you so that you will be knowledgeable in a very stressful situation. Be sure to ask about time limitations on replacing items, when payments will be made, and in what increments you can expect to receive them. Knowing this information ahead of time can help you to set aside extra funds that you may need if your insurance company doesn’t pay right away.
- Take a home inventory that includes video and picture documentation of your home and belongings and keep these in a safe place. Go through each room and describe what you are seeing, include the closets and storage spaces, and be sure to snap pictures of specialty items that are expensive and on which you can take additional cover.
- If you live somewhere which is prone to floods or earthquakes, enquire about additional cover for these disasters. Remember, your basic home insurance policy will not cover these events so making special provisions is a must if your home can be impacted by this type of disaster.
Planning ahead to secure proper cover for your home and personal belongings will certainly provide you with peace of mind in the middle of a chaotic situation. Make sure that you keep your agent updated on life-changing events so that your home insurance will be effective in covering the losses that you experience from accidents or natural disasters. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to protecting your home and personal items that carry special meanings.
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