When you should consider homeowners insurance
Homeowners insurance is for you if you own a home, vacation home, or are purchasing a home. If you own a condo, town house, or row home you need condo insurance—or renters insurance if you rent from someone else. Not sure? Get a homeowners insurance quote, and Insurance Company make sure that you get the right policy.
If you have a mortgage, your lender will likely require you to get insurance for your home. We’ll help take care of the details with your lender. Plus, in most situations, you’ll be able to combine your insurance payments with your mortgage bill (called escrow).
Factors That Determine Your Homeowners Insurance Premium:
- Home location and home construction materials
- Military affiliation
- Continued USAA loyalty — having multiple USAA products and continuous coverage
Best Home Insurance Companies
- Allstate — Best for New Homebuyers
- Amica — Best Customer Service
- State Farm — Most Personalized Online Quote
- Nationwide — Best Replacement Coverage
- The Hartford — Best For Green Homes
- Liberty Mutual — Best for Inflation Protection
- Progressive — Best for Boat Owners
- USAA — Best for Military Members and Families
Allstate Home Insurance Company
Allstate home insurance is more than quality coverage for your space. With access to innovative tools, money-saving discounts and a local agent, it’s easy to make sure you’re covering all your bases.
WHAT RISKS DOES YOUR POLICY COVER?
It depends where you live, but standard homeowners insurance policies will typically help pay to repair damage caused by certain risks, or perils, including:
- Theft
- Fire and smoke
- Windstorm or hail
- Falling objects
- Frozen plumbing
- Water damage from plumbing, water heater, heating or cooling system or appliance
Click here to Get Quotes for Home Insurance from Allstate
Amica Home Insurance Company
Click here to Get Quotes for Home Insurance from Amica
Here are Top 5 reasons to choose Amica for home insurance
- Save up to 15% if you insure your car and home.
- Work with a team that’s nationally recognized for customer service.
- Form a lasting relationship – just like 94% of customers have.
- Try Contractor Connection, exclusive service for policyholders to help you find licensed contractors for home repairs.
- Feel secure – financial strength is rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best.
State Farm Home Insurance Company
Click here to Get Quotes for Home Insurance from State Farm
Nation Wide Home Insurance Company
Click here to Get Quotes for Home Insurance from Nationwide. You can
Combine auto, home and life to save time and money. Manage your policies online :Get ID cards and policy documents, change your coverages, make payments or manage a claim.
The Hartford Home Insurance Company
Click here to Get Quotes for Home Insurance from the Hartford
Liberty Mutual Home Insurance Company
Click here to Get Quotes for Home Insurance from Liberty or you can | Call 1-800-290-6320
Progressive Home Insurance Company
Progressive are #1 in online home insurance quotes*
Homeowners insurance is designed to protect you from the things that can damage your home, belongings, or hurt you financially. It covers wind/hail damage, fires, lightning, theft, and more. Plus it covers injuries that occur on your property and lawsuits against you, such as someone suing you because they were hurt at your home.
When you get your free homeowners insurance quote, many of your coverages will be automatically included. Plus, you can add even more. Progressive have expert agents standing by to guide you through your choices.
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USAA Home Insurance Company
Click here to Get Quotes for Home Insurance from USSA Company
What factors can affect homeowners insurance premiums?
The following factors can affect your homeowners insurance premium:
- Home Features and Characteristics — Your home’s age, type of structure, wiring, roof, garage, etc., can affect your homeowners insurance premium. Older homes can often cost more to insure, and those costs can differ depending on whether your home is brick, frame, stone or has synthetic siding.
- Location — Where your home is located can change your homeowners insurance premium. For instance, your home insurance rate can be affected if your home is in close proximity to a fire station; is exposed to extreme weather, such as hurricanes, tornadoes or earthquakes; or is in a neighborhood more prone to theft.
- Protective Devices — Burglar alarm systems, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, sprinkler systems and deadbolt locks can lower your homeowners insurance premium.
- Personal Factors — What you do can affect your homeowners insurance premium, too. For instance, smokers may pay more for home insurance than nonsmokers. A good credit history also can lower what you pay for home insurance.
- Claims History — If you have a history of claims on a homeowners insurance policy, you may pay a higher premium.
Am I required to have homeowners insurance if I own a home?
Unlike driving a car, you can legally own a home without homeowners insurance. However, if you finance your home with a mortgage, your lender most likely will require you to have home insurance coverage to protect your home in case of damage cause by unforeseen circumstances, such as fires or natural disasters.
If you live in an area that is prone to flooding or earthquakes, your lender may also require you to purchase flood insurance or earthquake insurance.
After you pay off your mortgage, you aren’t required to have home insurance. However, you should keep your home insurance policy active to avoid risking what you’ve invested in your home.
If you purchase a condominium or co-op, your board may require you to buy condo insurance or home insurance. Be sure to check with your board to see what type of policy is required.
If you’re looking to insure a townhouse and your townhome association has a master policy (which typically covers the structure and common areas), you’ll get renters insurance. If your association does not have a master policy, you’ll get homeowners insurance.
Why should I complete a home inventory?
When you purchase a home and a homeowners insurance policy, you should create an up-to-date home inventory to expedite a claim settlement if you ever need to make one. With a complete home inventory, your insurance company can verify property easier, which makes settling your claim easier. Plus, you can easily verify losses for your income tax return with an updated home inventory.
How do I complete a home inventory?
Start your home inventory by making a list of your possessions, describing each item, and noting the make and model and where each item was purchased. Include sales receipts, purchase contracts and appraisals if you have them, too. Organize clothing into categories for easier reference.
A few home inventory organization tips:
- Remember to list big-ticket items like jewelry, artwork and collectibles.
- Take pictures of rooms and important individual items.
- Videotape your home by walking through it and describing the contents throughout the house.
- Save an inventory list on your personal computer and store it on a separate disk or drive.
- Put all your photos, lists and videotape documentation in a safe deposit box.
What’s the difference between canceling and nonrenewing a homeowners insurance policy?
Canceling a homeowners insurance policy and choosing not to renew it are two very different actions an insurance company can take.
Typically, insurance companies can only cancel an active policy if one or all of the following occurred:
- The policy has been in force less than 60 days
- You fail to pay the premium
- You commit fraud or made serious misrepresentations on your application
Nonrenewing a homeowners insurance policy is a decision you or your insurance company can make to discontinue coverage at the end of a policy term. Depending on your state, if your insurance company chooses to nonrenew your policy at the end of the policy term, it must notify you and provide an explanation within a specified time period. You can contact your company’s consumer affairs division if you disagree with the reason or want further explanation.
What parts make up a homeowners insurance policy?
Although homeowners insurance policies differ in their actual structure, most contain the same basic components:
- Declarations Page — Usually the first page of your homeowners insurance policy, it typically contains the following summary information:
- Name and address of the insured
- Dollar amount of coverage in the policy
- Description of the insured property
- Cost of the insurance
- Name of the insurance company insuring the risk
- Contact information
- Definitions — Explain the meaning of terms used in the policy.
- Coverage — Details the extent of protection for both property (house, structures, contents) and liability (bodily injury or property damage to others for which you are liable) in your homeowners insurance policy.
- Exclusions — Explanation of what is not covered by your homeowners insurance policy, under both property and liability coverage.
- Conditions — Outline the responsibilities of both the insured and insurance company under the policy. Your duties in the event of a loss and also the procedures the company will follow to settle any losses are detailed here.
- Endorsements — Riders, amendments or attachments that alter the standard coverage provided by your home insurance policy. If you choose endorsements for your policy, you may pay an additional premium for them.
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