What in My Home is Covered by Home Insurance?

Posted in Home Insurance

April 28th, 2010

Home is not only where the heart is, but also where we store our most valuable and precious items. Our walls and mantles are covered with family portraits, children’s art and sentimental knick-knacks. Additionally valuable items that are expensive to replace abound. Stereos, TVs, computer equipment, jewelry and designer clothing are all under your roof and making sure your home contents insurance policy is up to par is a necessity to ensure that you get the money to replace these items if tragedy ensues.

What is Covered?

When it comes to home insurance policies, there are standard provisions home contents. Typical home insurance policies will provide financial assistance for dwelling, liability and loss of use. Additionally, there is some degree of coverage for items that are either stolen or damaged beyond repair.

However, everyone has a different range and value to the possessions they own, so making sure your home contents insurance is in-line with your standard of living is essential.

Types of Home Insurance for Contents

Home contents insurance is broken down to three levels of protection based on the amount of assets a person has.

Consumers can choose from low, average or high value coverage. To prevent fraud, proof of purchase will be required to prove the items that you are trying to secure an insure claim for are of a particular category (for instance, you need to prove that you have that $10,000 flat screen HDTV to get your claim money.) The items covered by the home contents insurance include unfixed household goods like appliances, shutters, countertops, carpet, furniture, electrical appliances and even some jewelry. However the amounts are capped based on the level of insurance protection purchased.

That is why extra riders may be required for extra value items such as jewelry, arts, antiques, oriental rugs, computers and electronics. These items are some of the most expensive in the market and there is a good chance that the original purchase price and value of these items will far exceed the standard insurance limit. Although it may cost a bit extra for riders of any type, imagine only receiving a total of $1,000 for all your jewelry, including your pricey and treasured engagement ring.

While it is on your mind, take the time to research your current home insurance policy. By reading all the fine print you will determine your exact level of protection provided by your level of home content insurance. If you find your current caps are a bit too limited, don’t worry, as there are plenty of options for cheap contents home insurance available.