Homeowners
Your homeowner's insurance policy covers your home, the property contained within, other structures, liability issues, and possibly much more. It's a complicated product and you need a professional to guide you through the purchase process. Let us show you the right product for you.
Renter's Insurance
A renter's policy is a homeowner's policy for people who don't own their home. This covers your belongings, liability, and can have many other inclusions as well. Be sure to talk to your broker about getting a renter's policy.
Condo Unit Owners
A condo unit owner's insurance policy is almost identical to a standard homeowner's insurance policy. Condo owners don't own the structure however, they only own what lies inside the condo. Every condo agreement is slightly different, so be sure to read carefully and share with your agent what you are responsible for covering.
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Most standard policies in Pennsylvania are governed by state regulation, and therefore are about the same. There are several endorsements that can either enhance or detract from a policy however. These are just a handful to be sure to speak with your broker about.
Personal Property Replacement Cost
Personal property refers to your belongings. This is everything from your couch and television to your toothbrush and plunger. Under normal circumstances, homeowner's insurance policies pay out Actual Cash Value for property damaged in a claim. That is- they will give you the value of your property minus depreciation. The Personal Property Replacement Cost endorsement removes the depreciation and pays out the full replacement cost of your property. This can amount to thousands of dollars in a claim.
Special Perils on Personal Property
An unendorsed homeowner's insurance policy provides 'named perils' coverage for your persoal property. What that means is that the policy spells out exactly the 17 things that could happen that the policy would protect against. By adding the Special Perils endorsement, you broaden the policy language to include more benefits, under more circumstances. It is important to note that no policy covers everthing. Ask your broker about your policy's limitations.
Water Backup of Sewers and Drains
Flood is always excluded from Homeowner's insurance policies. Water backing up out of the sewers and drains in the basement is considered flood and therefore excluded as well. You can however buy the Water Backup endorsement to protect yourself if this does happen. This would potentially pay for the cost to repair damaged flooring, drywall, appliances, and property, as well as the general clean up. This endorsement is paramount if you have a finished basement, but we recommend it for everyone since it is such a common claim.
Ordinance or Law Coverage
Building codes are constantly evolving. A house that was built 25 years ago would not pass inspection if it were being built today. Different amounts and types of insulation are required. The foundation walls and footers may be required to be thicker. Fire blocking and other fire prevention measures have evolved greatly in recent years. All this adds up to higher costs when looking to rebuild after a catastrophic loss. Would your homeowner's policy account for these differences? It would if Ordinance or Law Coverage was applied.
Personal Injury Liability Coverage
This endorsement has a deceptive name. Personal Injury in this case refers to such intangibles as libel, slander, invasion of privacy, etc.. With social media and the letigious nature of our society, everyone needs to have this coverage. This is separate from the standard personal liability that comes standard on homeowner's policies.
Scheduled Items
Did you know that there may be special limits that applu to some of your belongings like cash, jewelry and firearms. For instance, jewelery that is not specifically scheduled on your policy may only be covered for theft up to $1500. Cash may be covered for as little as $200. Talk to your agent about the downfalls of stuffing your mattress.
