As a home buyer, you are going to have to face the wide variety of options that home insurance offers in order to protect your investment.
If you are taking out a mortgage to buy the home, you will likely be required to buy home insurance as a part of the loan agreement. We want to help you navigate this decision by offering you some of the basic information that you will need to know, such as what home insurance does and does not cover, as well as how to keep the insurance costs down.
It is something you will probably want to invest in because as Murphy's Law goes, if you do not have insurance, something will likely go wrong! Repairs to a home can cost you tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket, if the proper coverage is not chosen.
The only instance in which you will not require home insurance is if you are buying the home with cold hard cash. But even in this case, it is wise to protect your investment to the best of your ability with the right home insurance coverage for you.
Most mortgage lenders will require the borrower to purchase home insurance, as the lender certainly wants to protect the investment, and insurance is the easiest way of doing that. Be sure to clarify with your mortgage lender that you do indeed need to purchase a home insurance policy and they my be able to guide you to a reputable insurance company.
Also, be sure to calculate the extra cost of home insurance into your budget!
Most home insurance policies will cover both the home itself and the contents inside the home. This usually includes structures on your property like a garage or a shed, but be sure to double-check if this is true for each policy you consider.
Should the damage cause the home to be uninhabitable, usually the policy will cover the costs of relocation for a time. This is another detail you will want to confirm with your home insurance agent.
This type of insurance will help pay for injuries that happen on your property, such as someone slipping or falling on your property or in the home itself. It should cover the costs of medical care and funeral expenses, should the injury prove to fatal. This will also usually cover the legal fees if someone decides to sue.
With so many possibilities of how your home can get damaged, such as storms, wind or fire, your insurance should cover the cost of rebuilding the home. But ONLY if the source of the damage is stated to be covered in your policy. You will certainly want to purchase insurance that will cover the entire cost of rebuilding your home, if at all possible.
If the structure of the home is damaged, there will most likely be damage also seen inside of the home. Contents coverage will range from about 50-70% of the coverage that is provided for the structure.
If there are any unusually valuable items in your home, you may want to consider getting additional insurance coverage to cover the cost of replacement of these items.
Natural Events Covered By Home Insurance
The most common events that happen in your area, are likely to be the perils you will be covered for.
These usually include:
There are a few perils you will want to double-check are covered on your policy such as
These events are often not covered in a typical home insurance policy, and as such, do speak with your insurance agent to make sure that all possible events that could occur in your area are indeed covered on the policy.
Of course, the cost of insurance varies depending on the size and cost of the home being insured, as well as the contents inside of your home.
These are the things that the insurer will take into account when deciding what is the right policy for you:
While there are many factors that you cannot control, when it comes to home insurance costs there are certainly some things that you can to do save money, such as:
Look for discounts, such as multiple policies with the same company
Get a larger deductible (but make sure to keep some extra money in an emergency fund to account for this!)
The most important thing to remember when buying home insurance is to look over your policy very carefully, preferably with the guidance of someone knowledgeable in the field, to be sure there are no gaps in coverage that can cost you big-time in the case of a destructive event.
With your home insurance in place, you are now able to take the next steps to Start Living In Ukee!
Please feel free to contact us if you would like to relocate here to Ucluelet!
