How Home Insurance Can Improve Your Way of Life
When was the last morning you woke up, knowing you had a great night’s sleep? It gives you energy, and gets you ready for the day-at-hand. None of us knows what the day will bring, but at Partners Direct Insurance, our team wants to be sure you can take “home insurance” off your late-night worry list.
It’s true all around the country, but especially in Southern California: your home is one of the largest financial investments you will ever make. But your home is vulnerable: we’ve seen that first-hand in the last few months with the voracious wildfires. We know earthquakes are always a possibility, but what about a freak storm, or a break-in? Are you covered if the unforeseen occurs?
You know that if you drive a car, by law you have to have auto insurance. But the same is not true of your home. If you are not insured, or underinsured, things that happen on your property will have to be paid straight out of your pocket. Now that will cause some sleepless nights!
There’s No Place Like Home
If you are buying a home and signing for a mortgage, often you are required to have home insurance. It just makes sense: the lender wants to be protected from the unexpected. So say you already have homeowners insurance. Are you adequately protected? Some new homebuyers get the minimal policy and are surprised when they talk with their agent and their new emergency isn’t totally covered. It’s important to get replacement coverage, so that items you need to buy now are priced at what they will cost now to replace, not when you originally purchased them.
Let’s Get Personal
So take out a calculator, and figure out how much it would cost you to replace:
- All electronics, including desktops, laptops, phones, and TV’s
- Appliances
- Clothing
- Furniture
If you don’t have homeowners insurance, this hits you squarely in the pocketbook. The great thing about this type of home insurance is that it even covers you if your stuff is stolen when you are not at home: in your car, in storage, on vacation, in the locker at your gym.
Why Did I Buy That Trampoline, Anyway?
A good homeowners policy also covers you for liability. Say your kids begged you for a trampoline, and a friend broke an arm while using it. His family comes to you for medical bills. With liability coverage on your homeowners policy, you can take care of slips, falls and breaks.
The really amazing thing about homeowners coverage is that liability can also extend past your home, including accidents away from your house. It really is peace of mind.
Looking For a Place to Stay
Let’s talk more about the devastating wildfires that swept through Southern California. If your home was affected, and you had to evacuate, not to return for several weeks, what if you had no homeowners insurance? Unless you have some kind relatives nearby, that hotel bill would be astronomic. If you have a policy in place, temporary living costs are covered while construction workers repair your home. The policy can cover not only living space, but laundry, storage, even cable or satellite charges so you can stay connected and working while dealing with a disaster.
So What’s It Going to Cost Me?
It depends on several factors.
- How old is your home: older homes take more money to repair
- How big is your home: the bigger the square footage, the more expensive to fix
- Location of your home: are you close to a fire station? Or in a higher crime neighborhood?
- Do you have a pool?
- Do you have a burglar alarm system, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, sprinkler systems?
- Do you smoke? Smokers bring higher premiums because of the increased risk of fire
- Have you submitted multiple claims in years past?
At Partners Direct Insurance, we take your well-being seriously, and want to be sure to give you the right insurance coverage for your individual needs, so you can sleep better…every night. Contact us for a quote today!
