A man's home is his castle, it is the place you and your family live in, it is your family's inheritance.
Protecting it is not only important but essential for your peace of mind and security.
Here you will find valuable information that will help you decide on what home insurance you want to buy and the coverage you will need.
As with any type of insurance policy, take the time to go over everything and ask all the questions you want before signing it.
Home insurance refers to the coverage and protection of a private residence.
It is not important if you live in a high rise apartment or in a farm somewhere, in an island or in the city.
It is up to you to decide what you want to cover with your policy and the amount you have to pay will depend on the location and condition your home is in.
If your home is located in an area where there is a lot of crime and break-ins, you might have to pay more than usual for theft and vandalism protection.
If you are electric system is not in tip top shape, the insurance company will charge you more for fire protection or will ask you to fix it before insuring you.
Of course there are things that benefit you and lower the premiums depending on the area in which you live.
For example if you live on the beach and your house has hurricane shutters, will help lower your premium.
A house with an approved alarm system or an automatic fire extinguishing system will also get a better rate than one without them.
When it was built, the materials used to build it and the kind of terrain it is built on are also factors the insurance company will take into account to sell you a home insurance policy.
When you buy your first home it is normal that the bank lending you the money to make the purchase requires that you buy a home insurance policy that will cover at least the amount that they lent you to buy it.
The bank is looking out for its own interests, not yours so when you do buy your first home through a mortgage make sure that you get enough coverage to protect yourself too.
Many banks will give you a home insurance policy to sign when they are ready to give you the loan, go over it and find out what is in it for you in case something happens and your house is destroyed or damaged.
If you are not protected, get them to change the policy before signing it.
There are different kinds of coverage which go from an HO0 category which covers damage from fire, smoke, lightning, explosion and others which are very general, up to an HO5 category which covers most anything that can happen to your home.
An HO5 home insurance policy will cover everything with the exception of items specifically mentioned in it, some of the items most insurance companies will not cover are floods, earthquakes and termite damage.
Beware just because you buy this category of home insurance, it does not mean you are covered, the policy you buy must detail specifically what is and is not covered.
A home insurance policy may include more things than the actual house, it may include personal property inside the home and property, liabilities you may have because of accidents or damages to third party property within your property and reasonable repair costs.
It is also possible to include insurance that will cover your living expenses in case your home is destroyed and you have to move elsewhere while it is fixed or rebuilt.
This may be handy especially if you live in an area where natural disasters may occur or occur frequently.
The bills will mount up very fast if you have to pay for repairs and at the same time pay rent somewhere else.
Even liability insurance inside the property is a great idea because you do not know when someone will slip and fall in your wet doorway and you will have to pay for medical care.
Home insurance will cover this too.
Again read and understand the paperwork before signing and paying your premium, take the time to find a reputable insurance company that will provide you with all the benefits you want and need.
Protecting your home is imperative to protect your family, construction and repair costs are very high today, much higher than when you built your house and anything can happen at any time.
A home insurance policy is a contract by which the insurer guarantees to put you bring you back to the state you were in before you suffered the losses.
That means your home will be rebuilt or fixed to the same condition, or better than it had before the loss.
Take the time to get this done and out of the way, prevention is always the way to go.