Owning your first home is a major life achievement. In many ways, it’s the point at which a person finally feels fully independent. It’s also likely the single biggest investment you’ve ever made, and that carries with it a lot of responsibility.
One of the most fundamental aspects of this responsibility is the need to sort out your home insurance, but with so many different policies available and a lot of technical legal jargon involved, it can seem like a very daunting process.
In this article, you’ll learn the basics you need to know to get started, so that you can go into the whole process feeling a little calmer.
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What is Home Insurance, anyway?
Essentially, home insurance is a special type of insurance policy that provides financial protection for your home – as well as everything in it – should an unexpected disaster occur. This could involve fires, accidents, burglaries, and more. Policies also offer liability coverage, which protects you if someone gets injured in your home.
You’ll need to sort your home insurance out before you get your mortgage in most cases, as this is a prerequisite for the majority of lenders.
While some forms of insurance could be considered debatable as to whether it’s worth it, home insurance isn’t one of them: it’s an investment that anyone buying a home should make.
The Main Types of Home Insurance Available
Home insurance providers combine several types of coverage into one package. These include the following:
Dwelling Coverage
Dwelling coverage forms the core component of a home insurance policy. It’s the part that gives protection for the structural elements of your home, shielding you against the financial burden of fire, windstorms, and types of vandalism and burglaries.
Liability Protection
As briefly touched on above, liability protection offers you cover if someone is injured on your property, and also if you’re responsible for damages to another person’s property.
Personal Property Coverage
This type of cover protects your financial investment in personal belongings, such as expensive electronics, furniture, clothing, and more if they get damaged or stolen in the events described in the dwelling coverage section above.
Additional Living Expenses (ALE)
If one of the events described above occurs, ALE cover pays for any temporary living costs you may incur.
Remember, though: home insurance doesn’t cover everything. For example, some natural disasters like earthquakes and types of flooding are often not covered or require separate policies, so make sure you thoroughly understand the cover available before you purchase a policy.
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Choosing the Right Insurer
One of the best ways to lower the complexity of this decision is to approach a broker to find you the best home insurance policy. Using their extensive knowledge of the system, home insurance brokers are there to do the leg work and find a plan that best suits you and your personal situation.
If you’re going it alone, there are a few more steps to consider. First and foremost, you should verify that the insurer you’re looking at has a good reputation – check online ratings and reviews before you go any further. As you check to learn of other people’s experiences, make note of what customers say about customer service: you want to make sure that if you have to file a claim, it will be handled quickly and efficiently.
If you can, you should also try to find an insurer that offers customizable policies: having an insurer that’s willing to work with you to provide the most flexible solution can go a long way.
What to Expect During the Claims Process
While you might expect the claims process to be stressful, reputable insurers are well-equipped to make things go as smoothly as possible.
You’ll first need to document any damage by taking photos and videos, and then contact your insurer as soon as possible. They’ll provide you with an assortment of documents to fill out and likely arrange for an inspector to visit your home to verify the legitimacy of the claim. After these processes have taken place, you’ll receive payment. You’ll be walked through the process each step of the way, so don’t worry!
Wrapping Up
The prospect of insurance and all it entails can be complex, but providing you take your time to do your research and plan ahead, the process usually goes through without a hitch. Once everything is in place, hopefully, you won’t need to think about it again, and can enjoy your new home with the peace of mind proper coverage brings.