While most lenders require home insurance in the United States, homeowners with the deed to their property are not required to carry homeowner insurance. Even though skipping home insurance might seem like a great way to cut monthly expenses, there’s a great risk in opting to go without insurance coverage. If you aren’t sure why you need insurance on your home, read on for reasons to keep or get homeowner insurance today.
Protecting Your Property Away from Home
Many people make the mistake of assuming it’s important to have a homeowners policy simply to cover property damage when their home is their primary residence. The reality is that it’s important to have an insurance policy and personal property coverage on your home, even if it’s a second home or you aren’t on the property often.
Maybe you’re off on a work assignment away from home and staying in fantastic corporate housing in Venterra Realty apartments. While Venterra CEO John Foresi obviously has insurance coverage on the Venterra apartment communities, that insurance coverage won’t extend to the coverage on your home. That is, even if living temporarily in apartment communities and renting out your home to someone else, you’ll still need homeowners insurance to cover the home you own and the personal belongings in it. Even if a renter in your home has coverage, that coverage will only include their personal belongings. For this reason, it’s important to know your coverage options whether you’re living at or away from home.
Protecting Your Belongings
Many people don’t realize that in addition to protecting your home, the homeowner’s insurance coverage will also protect your personal belongings. In many cases, it offers liability protection, too. Perhaps you own large animals. If a cow, horse, or bull broke through your fencing and hurt someone, additional homeowners coverage would cover you. This would apply even in the event that a motorist hit your animal and suffered an injury.
Homeowners insurance also covers you in the event of a claim of someone being hurt on your property in many cases. So, too, it can cover you for water damage to your home and belongings or other issues if disaster strikes. From fires to flooding, it’s important to know what type of coverage you have and the actual cash value should something go wrong, even if you outright own your home.
Comparing Coverages
As a homeowner, it’s always a good idea to access your coverage from time to time. A simple Google search for ‘home insurance compare‘ can be a great place to start. When talking to insurance agents, ask about extra coverage, current coverage levels, whether you’re covered for vandalism or earthquakes, and what the replacement value is on your policy. Licensed agents will always offer free insurance quotes, so it can’t hurt to shop around.
Financial Security
While the monthly payments for homeowners insurance can seem too high for people who’ve never filed a claim, going without coverage for even one day can put you at risk for serious loss and even legal costs. If you own a home, look into the types of homeowners insurance that make the most sense for you. The additional expense will be worth it to know you’re protected no matter what happens. Your financial security depends on it.
At the end of the day, your home is likely your biggest asset and best safe haven. For this reason alone, it’s important to protect your property. From the financial security, homeowner insurance provides the event that something goes wrong to the peace of mind in knowing you’re covered, home insurance is worth the expense. If you still aren’t sure, contacted a licensed homeowner insurance company agent to talk about options, pricing, and coverages.
