It’s fun to purchase and receive new things you’ve wanted. Chances are you added plenty of new items to your home over the holiday season, which means it may be time to re-evaluate your personal property insurance. This is the coverage that compensates you for the loss of your personal belongings due to a covered event. In this post, we’ll teach you how to calculate your coverage needs with a home inventory, as well as what to expect if you need to file a claim.
Understanding Personal Property Coverage
Your belongings probably cost a lot more than you think, and personal property insurance helps pay for them if they are damaged or lost due to a fire, theft, or other covered event. This generally extends to the items throughout your home, in your garage, and even those stored away from your premises.
When you file a claim, the insurer will assess the total value of your loss and subtract your deductible. With standard coverage, you may receive a check for the actual cash value of your items accounting for depreciation, which could leave you with a financial gap to fill when you begin shopping for new furnishings, clothes, and other items. Alternatively, you could add a replacement value endorsement to your policy to ensure you will be compensated for your total cost to replace your items with brand new ones of similar quality, materials, and value. Adding a recommend replacement cost endorsement to your policy can minimize your out-of-pocket costs after a loss.
How Much Coverage Do You Need?
Personal property coverage can be found in renters, condo-owners, and homeowners insurance policies. In the case of renters and condo-owners coverage, you can select your own limits depending on your needs. If you have a standard homeowners insurance policy, your insurer probably sets default coverage limits equal to about 50 percent of the amount you insured your home’s structure for.
However, a thorough inventory of your home might reveal this is not enough – especially when you consider the additional coverage restrictions on certain types of items, such as precious metals, cash, and firearms. For example, if you have a $1,500 limit on fine jewelry, you may not be fully covered for your wedding rings and the new diamond tennis bracelet you bought your wife for Christmas. Instead, you would need to talk with an agent here at Insurance Innovations, Inc/ about adding scheduled coverage to your policy for the items that exceed your coverage limits.
Inventory Your Home
If you have not taken inventory of your home, you can do so online or using traditional pen and paper. Start in one room and make your way through the house, recording every item – even the salt shakers. Write down the serial numbers of expensive items, and snap a few photos while you’re at it. It may also help to keep up with purchase receipts if you have them.
Upgrade Your Coverage
To find out more about how you can improve the protection value of your personal property insurance, contact Insurance Innovations, Inc. today.
