Homeowner’s Insurance

Homeowner's insurance, also known as home insurance, allows you to cover your home and provides compensation in case of a covered loss. For example, if your home is destroyed by a covered peril, your home insurance will help you repair or rebuild your home.

If your home is burglarized, the homeowner’s insurance will help you replace the personal belongings you lost. Additionally, homeowners insurance provides liability coverage. This protects you from liability if you’re considered to be responsible for other people’s injury or property damage on your property.

Of course, homeowners insurance policies have limits. If you wish to determine the right amount of coverage you need, one of our agents can help with that! Call 772-530-5305 or start by clicking the ‘Get Started’ button below to get a complimentary insurance review.

An Assignment of Benefits is a contract between you and a third party – usually a contractor, roofer or water mitigation company – giving them the right to deal directly with your insurance company and receive payment for your claim. However, this means you relinquish your right to manage the claim yourself and ensure it is resolved to your satisfaction.

Getting homeowners insurance is the equivalent of getting a safety net for your home. When you don’t have home insurance, it can be extremely difficult to deal with the costs of repair or rebuilding. After all, the money would have to come out of your pocket.

When you have home insurance and experience a loss by a covered peril, your insurer can help you cover the costs of getting your home back in shape. It also covers your personal belongings. So, if they’re ever stolen or damaged by a covered peril, they can be replaced.

The benefits your homeowner's insurance provides will depend on many different factors, such as:

• Your policy limits as it relates to personal belongings and structural property.

• The deductible amount you pay before your coverage is active.

• Whether you chose coverage for actual cash value or the replacement value.

Replacement cost coverage will pay the dollar amount required to replace the property you’ve lost. It won’t include any deductions for depreciation, but it does have a limit.

Actual cash value coverage pays the amount required to replace what you’ve lost. However, it includes deductions for depreciation. Unless your homeowner's insurance explicitly says that the property is covered for replacement value, the coverage would be for actual cash value.

Homeowner's insurance is important for many different reasons. For one, it will help you finance any necessary repairs and cover rebuilding costs after a covered peril. This means you won’t need to spend your own money, which can be a substantial financial blow.

If your home is completely destroyed and you have a mortgage, you would have to continue paying it if you don’t have proper homeowners insurance. Additionally, liability coverage is a very important aspect of home insurance.

If something happens to a visitor or their property while they’re in your home, liability coverage will handle medical bills and legal expenses if they decide to sue. Lawsuits are not inexpensive and if you’re found responsible, you could be ordered to pay a large sum of money. This can be offset by liability coverage.

A deductible is the amount of money you’re responsible for paying when a covered loss occurs. In most cases, the insured is responsible for any amount up to their deductible level. Anything beyond that would be covered by your homeowner's insurance up to your coverage limit for a covered claim.

For instance, let’s say that you have a $2,000 deductible and a covered loss of $5,000. In that case, the insurer would be responsible for the $3,000 and you’d have to cover the $2,000 deductible.

There are two kinds of deductibles. Flat deductibles are a fixed dollar amount. Percent deductibles, which are based on the dwelling coverage. For example, a 2% deductible on a $250,000 home would be $5,000.

When you buy a home, this may be one of the first questions that come to mind. The short answer is, it depends on several factors, but these are some of the factors that may contribute to help determine how much you'll end up paying for homeowners insurance:

1. The deductible chosen

2. The value of the home and contents

3. Your past insurance claims

4. Other factors, like the age and location of the home

The amount of coverage you need depends on a number of components. This includes the location of the home, square footage, and upgrades. Also, the purchase price may not play a factor in the insurance equation. The blueprint for obtaining sufficient insurance takes many other things into consideration.

For instance, location often affects the type of risks your home might be subjected to. If you own a home on the water in South Florida, you may want different coverage limits than those set by the owner of the exact same home in New York. The reason is dwelling coverage limits are determined by the replacement cost, which can vary by location due to different building codes, construction costs, labor, and material costs for each area.

Another factor in determining how much coverage you need are customizations. If your home has a custom tile roof, then it may cost more to repair than a house with a standard shingle roof in the event of damage from a covered peril. This holds true of your home’s interior, like crown moldings, custom French doors, a gourmet kitchen, or an upgraded bathroom need to be factored in when determining the correct amount of insurance for your home.

When deciding on coverage limits, you'll likely want to consider things like an outdoor shed, pool and other structures on your property that could probably sustain damage from a covered peril, so you can make sure your coverage limits meet your needs.

Typically, your homeowner's insurance will cover your dwelling, other structures on your property, and your personal belongings. If you need higher protection, you can purchase increased coverage.

Most homeowners insurance policies offer coverage for damage sustained by fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, and hail. However, not all natural disasters are covered perils.

For example, flood damage is not usually covered under home insurance. However, if this is a major concern in your area, you can purchase a separate flood insurance policy to protect your home. The same goes for earthquake damage.

Usually, homeowners insurance doesn’t cover damage resulting from water, earth movements, nuclear hazards, neglect, corrosion, deterioration, rust, or decay, wear and tear, contamination, animals or pests, fungi, government actions, power failure, and war.

Your insurance premium, meaning the amount you pay for your homeowner's insurance policy, will be determined by the deductible you choose. As mentioned before, a deductible is a contribution you make to cover the expenses of a loss. The higher your deductible, the lower will your premium be.

The disadvantage of choosing a higher deductible is that you would have to pay more out of pocket in the event of a loss. Choosing a lower deductible will raise your premium, but in the event, you need to file a claim, you won’t have to pay much out of pocket.