Many people set up home insurance policies without looking into the various provisions that are offered, and this can be a mistake as each policy can be significantly different providing varying levels of cover and deductibles, and as your home is a valuable asset you should make absolutely sure you are getting the right cover for your needs, so that when it comes time to make a claim you are not left disappointed and out of pocket.

Understanding your home insurance policy provisions in detail is the key to getting the right insurance in place to protect yourself and your home both legally and financially, and a good standard policy should include cover for the structure of your home (and any other buildings on your property such as garages, barns and out buildings), the contents of your home, personal liability insurance and also cover for additional living expenses, should you have to move out of your home whilst any repairs are being carried out.

Structure

The structure of your property and any additional buildings will most likely be the biggest assets listed on your policy, and you will need to make sure they are covered against all of the potential perils which could affect them including flooding, severe weather, fire, criminal damage, theft and more.

Some policies will only cover you for listed perils, so you must ensure that this is a complete list and covers you for as much as possible (you will need to check your area for any specific perils such as seasonal flooding or wild fire), and it can be a good idea to spend a bit more money and ensure you have an ‘open perils’ policy, which will provide you with more comprehensive cover. You will also need to check exactly how you are covered against perils, as some insurance companies will cover you for the cost of what they term ‘functional repairs’ only, which basically means they will repair or rebuild a damage structure using standard construction materials and techniques. So for example if you have any specialist materials built into your home such as handcrafted imported tiles on your kitchen floor, these would not be replaced with equivalent standard tiles if damaged and your kitchen floor would instead be rebuilt using cheaper, standard kitchen tiles. If you do have any specialist features in your home it may be worth getting these covered separately, or negotiating with your insurer to provide additional cover for them.

Contents

The contents of your home, everything from any artwork on the walls through to media entertainment systems and kitchen appliances can cost a lot of money to replace or repair, so it is important that you also insure these items to an appropriate amount, should they be stolen, lost or damaged.  You should be looking to insure the contents of your home for at least 50% of the value of your property, and it can be very beneficial to you when making a claim if you have a full inventory of your belongings, including a photo of the item (preferably in situ) and any receipts or invoices detailing each purchase, as this will help you back up your claim.

Most policies place restrictions on how much you can claim for each item, so if you own any very valuable items such as expensive jewelry, antiques or artworks then it would be a good idea to take out additional personal property endorsement cover for these or negotiate a higher amount for each item within your home insurance policy provider.  A good home insurance policy will also cover you for personal items that you take away from home with you, so for example if you took an antique out to be valued and it was damage you would be able to claim on your insurance for this in some circumstances.

Personal liability

This is another important aspect of any home insurance policy and will provide you with cover for any legal expenses or damages resulting from an incident involving you, a member of your family or a visitor to your property. Some policies will also cover you for certain accidents or injury situations that occur when you are away from home as well, and if you have any pets you will need to check that your policy covers you legally for any accident or damage caused by them. Liability coverage can vary but you should be looking for at least $300,000 in liability coverage, as legal expenses and damage costs can soon add up and you may want to consider topping this up to $1 million if the option is available just to ensure you have the best protection in place.

Additional expenses

If your home does need to be repaired or rebuilt then you and your family may have to move out whilst the work is taking place, and this can be very expensive, especially if the work is going to take a long time. You should ensure that your homeowners policy can provide you with financial support should you need to move out of your home, and this part of your policy should work out to be at least around 20% of the total value of your home.