Do You Have Enough Insurance to Rebuild Your Home?

Things like earthquakes and hurricanes happening in the U.S. got me thinking of the need to do an annual update for your house insurance.

Does your home need an insurance check up?

Do you have enough insurance coverage for your home?  The real estate market changes all the time.  The value of a home and its replacement cost changes, too.  So get an evaluation of your home’s value on an annual basis and check your insurance coverage.  If you ever need to use your insurance make sure have enough coverage.

Think:

deductibles

replacement costs for specific items such as art, jewelry, and family heirlooms

replacement cost to rebuild your home

umbrella policies and  earthquake insurance.

Replacement cost to rebuild your home can be vastly different than its market value, something I’d not thought about.   Replacement cost may more than you actually paid for your home.  This is important!  If your home burns down and you need to replace it,  make sure you have enough coverage to actually replace it.  It may be more expensive to rebuild your home than it was for you to purchase it.

According to my insurance agent, Doug Hamilton of State Farm Insurance, there have been  situations in which home owners have only insured their homes for market value and were not completely covered when their homes burned down or were destroyed by a hurricane or tornado.  Know what it would cost to replace your home and make sure your insurance covers that amount.    It’s important to do this insurance update on an annual basis.  As always, if you have more questions, contact your insurance agent or call Doug.  He does a great job.