What You Must Know About Your Property Insurance Policy

What You Must Know About Your Property Insurance Policy

When looking at or thinking about your homeowner’s insurance, it can look like a pretty complicated mess.  It is helpful to realize that this insurance is actually made up of three basic parts.  One has to do with the structure itself. Another has to do with liability in case someone gets hurt or injured on your property.  The final part is property insurance that is intended to cover the contents of your home in case of loss or damage.

Personal property includes things like clothing, furniture, and appliances.  That doesn’t mean that everything in your house is automatically covered.  There are some items that may require some special attention to determine what the policies dollar limits are.  These are items such as jewelry, coins, silverware, stamps, furs and accessories.  To make sure these items are covered it may be necessary to add policy riders.  It may be wise to have your items professionally appraised in order to get an accurate dollar figure for insurance purposes.  

A good idea in regard to personal property is to compile a room by room inventory and list the approximate value of each item. This list should be kept at a location away from your home (the office or a safe-deposit box).  It might also be helpful to photograph or video tape the rooms and their contents.  This provides a visual, as well as written, record of the items covers.

If you already have existing homeowner’s insurance and