Purchasing a home is one of the largest and most important events in a persons life. It’s also usually their largest asset, which makes home insurance equally as important. Unfortunately, homes are damaged or destroyed everyday throughout the country. Whether you are a first time home buyer or just interested in a check-up, Bering Insurance Partners can help . As a Metro Atlanta Home Insurance Agent serving the entire state of Georgia, we represent multiple home insurance companies and offer a wide range of options
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Different Solutions for Different Situations
Home insurance (or property insurance) can be a general term for a wide range of insurance policies including single family detached homes, condos, townhomes, mobile/manufactured homes, or even insurance for someone that rents. They come with descriptions such as HO-3, HO-4, HO-6, DP-1 and DP-3, which indicate which type of “form” they are written on. Each one can be used for a different situation and can include different types of coverages.
Do You Need Home Insurance?
The short answer is yes. Especially if you want to protect your financial investment in the property including the property itself and your belongings. If you have a mortgage on the home, then in most cases your mortgage company is going to require that you carry home insurance. In fact, they may even require you to have certain coverages and amounts. Even if you are renting, your landlord may include a requirement in the lease that you carry renters insurance.
If you own your home outright, and there are no other parties requiring you to carry insurance, then you could potentially go without it, but that would be putting a lot at risk. In most cases the cost of home insurance is a small percentage of the potential amount of damages you could incur. It really makes financial sense to carry it.
What Coverages Can Be Included In a Home Insurance Policy?
Home Insurance policies can vary from one company to another, so this is going to be highly dependent on your specific situation and preferences. Even within the same insurance company policies can be very different as many carriers are offering “à la carte” options where you can pick and choose different coverages that you want included. In very general terms, here are some of the coverages that may be available in a home insurance policy;
- Property or Dwelling Coverage
- Other Structures Coverage
- Personal Property Coverage
- Premises/Personal Liability Coverage
- Medical Payments Coverage
- Loss of Use/Additional Living Expense Coverage
- Scheduled Personal Property of Valuable Items Coverage
Some carriers will also allow you to add on more specific coverages that may include; water backup, ordinance of law, additional replacement cost protection, and a number of other coverages.
Companies may even have different coverage options based on the state or city you live in (especially if you live on the coast). Since we are a home insurance agent serving Atlanta & Georgia, if you have questions about coverage offerings, please feel free to contact us, and we will be happy to discuss.
How Much Does Home Insurance Cost in Georgia?
There are a number of different factors that go into determining how much home insurance costs. This is true for Georgia as well as most other locations around the country. Some of the details an insurance company will look at to determine the cost of your homeowners insurance are; location, the value of your home, the deductible you choose (more on that below), your prior claims history, the age of the home, the materials your home is constructed with, and the type of coverages that you choose. The good news is that there are several discounts you may be able to qualify for, which we will go over next.
What Are Some of the Discounts Available for Home Insurance?
If you currently have home insurance, or are looking at purchasing a policy, you will want to make sure that you are maximizing all of your available discount. Most insurance carriers offer a wide range of discounts, and by taking advantage to all that apply, it can offer significant savings. Again, every carrier is different, so some of these may not apply in all situations.
- Bundling/Package Discount – this is usually one of the largest discount you can receive, and will most likely be applied if you purchase your home insurance with the same company as your auto insurance. There may also be additional discounts for adding other policy such as a personal articles floater, or a personal umbrella.
- Fire Alarms and Burglar/Security System Discount
- Smart Device Discount – Including water leak sensors
- Claims Free Discount
These are just a few of the discounts that may be available with your homeowners insurance. You will want to verify with your agent that you are getting all the discounts that you qualify for.
Don’t Forget About Your Deductible(s)
One of the most important parts of a homeowners insurance policy, that sometimes can be overlooked, are the deductibles. The reason we say deductibles instead the singular is because a single policy could have a number of different deductibles. One of the most common instances is when you have the standard all covered perils deductible along with a separate deductible for wind/hail which is usually higher. Even more specific, some carriers have what is called a named storm or hurricane deductible.
No matter if you have one deductible or more, you will want to review how much it is. That is a very important piece of information if you need to file a claim. Most people are familiar with deductibles that are a set dollar amount (i.e. $1,000, $2,500, $5,000, etc.), but they can also be based off of a percentage of your dwelling coverage amount. For example, if you have an all covered perils deductible of 1% of the dwelling amount (commonly referred to as Coverage A) and your dwelling coverage is $450,000, then your deductible would be $4,500 in that case. It’s personal preference on which type and the amount of your home insurance deductible, but it is better to make sure you know exactly what the amount is before you need to file a claim.
Let Us Help!
If you have any questions about home insurance, or you are interested in getting quotes from multiple different companies, please feel free to contact us. You can call us at 404-781-9415, or use the form to the right to have one of our representatives contact you. As an independent home insurance agent serving Atlanta & Georgia we represent a number of different insurance carriers.