One of the largest investments that you’ve made in your life is probably your home. For that reason, it is crucial that you ensure it is insured. More than that, though, you need to ensure that your home has adequate coverage, especially in case your home were to suffer serious roof damage during a winter storm. Studies show that two-thirds of homes in the United States are underinsured. Is your home in Sandpoint, ID, among those two-thirds? Let’s hope not, but just in case, here are a few tips to help make sure your home is not underinsured:
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Floods and earthquakes are not typically covered under a standard homeowners insurance policy. Therefore, you may want to consider adding disaster coverage to your policy. This is especially since the Sandpoint’s average rainfall throughout the winter is significantly above the U.S. average.
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Make sure that you opt for “replacement cost” instead of “actual cash value”. Otherwise, you may find that you don’t receive a settlement check that is high enough to cover the replacement of the items within your home.
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See if your declarations page contains information about “loss of use” coverage. If you don’t have it, you may want to consider it. This type of coverage will help you pay for somewhere to live while your home is being rebuilt after significant damage from a storm.
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Avoid choosing the policy with the lowest premium. This isn’t always the best policy for you. While you don’t want to have to try to scrounge up the money each month to pay your premium, you do want to make sure that your home has the proper coverage.
The last thing you want to have to deal with is finding out that you don’t have enough coverage on your home after a major storm. You can avoid this by contacting your independent agent in Sandpoint, Idaho, as soon as possible for a review of your policy or to receive a new quote.
