The Right Policy. The Right Price. The Right Value.

The amount you pay for your homeowners insurance depends on several factors. Think of your personal home and personal assets you want to protect. Home insurance typically pays to repair or rebuild your home if it is destroyed or damaged. Homes can be damaged by an insured event like a hurricane or kitchen fire.

Will your insurance company stand behind agreed upon repairs after a claim? Some companies are willing to put this guarantee in writing.

Does your policy include replacement cost coverage for contents (clothing, furniture, appliances, and other personal property inside your home)? If not, you can add it by endorsement. The cost is small, and the protection is valuable. Replacement Cost Coverage pays for losses to your possessions at the cost of brand new items. Without this option, a covered loss to your items would be depreciated by their age and condition. This reduces the size of your claim settlement.

If you have an art collection, antique furniture, jewelry, or other valuables, talk to your agent. Extra coverages, such as fine arts or scheduled property endorsements may be needed to adequately protect your items. The cost is modest for the extra protection, and often the deductible is waived.

Consider whether you should have more coverage for personal property (contents) than your policy provides. Personal property coverage is usually 70% of the coverage limit for the structure. Your limit may be lower than 70%. Supplemental protection is available for a small additional premium.

Our recommendation is to inventory your home for home insurance. Prepare an inventory of personal property items, update it periodically. Keep it in a safe place outside your home, such as a safe deposit box at your bank. It will save you hours of time trying to list everything damaged or destroyed if you need to make a claim. It will also help ensure you don’t forget some items. Preparing a personal property inventory such as videotaping each room with descriptive information on the sound track is helpful.

Personal Liability

Besides making sure you have enough protection to cover possible damage to your own home and contents, you should also look at your exposure to liability risks. These result from damage to the property of another, or injury to a person, not a member of your household. You can be responsible.

In recent years it’s become common for homeowners to be sued for injuries or damages to others. This can happen even when there is no evidence of negligence by the homeowner. The reality today is if you have any appreciable assets, you are exposed to the risk of being sued. Even if you ultimately prevail in court, your legal fees and the months or years of worry and uncertainty can be a terrible burden on you and your family.

The Personal Liability coverage provided by your Homeowners Policy usually provides a limit of $100,000 or $300,000. We recommend increasing this protection with a personal umbrella policy. Not only will it increase your personal liability, but also your auto liability. Limits are available from $1 million to $10 million and beyond. The cost of this coverage is usually very reasonable.

Keep in mind that South Carolina can require certain minimum levels of coverage. The right coverage for you is unique – contact us to find out how to get the best price and value on home insurance for you.