Homeowners insurance is a type of insurance policy that covers your home, the contents, and the people who reside in it. You may need it because it’s required by your lender or for peace of mind! Even if it was not required by anyone or anything, wouldn’t you still want to cover one of, if not your largest asset?

How Home Insurance Premiums Are Determined

There are lots of factors that are taken in when quoting homeowners insurance. Insurance companies usually rate in these combined factors:

• Claim history – How many claims, how long ago were the claims, and how much did the insurance company payout for each claim.
• How high or low coverages are
• Cost to rebuild your home
• Distance to fire hydrants and fire departments
• Materials your home is built of
• Age and condition of the home
• Distance to brush fire zones
• Location of your home

Discounts Unity One Insurance Offers For Homeowners

Bundle Discount – Combine your auto, umbrella, personal articles floater, or boat to get up to a 20% discount

New Home Buyer – Buying a new home? Discount!

Central Station Fire and/or Burglar Alarm – Keeping your home protected as much as possible from theft and fire earns you discounts!

Deductibles – Higher deductibles can save you some money on your premiums. We always send quotes with a few different deductibles

Coverage’s On A Standard Home Policy

Section 1: Property Coverage

Coverage A – Dwelling Coverage – This is the coverage of the actual structure of the house. To determine this amount of coverage, we get a rebuild estimate. A rebuild estimate is the estimated cost to rebuild your house the way it is when you purchase the policy. We recommend always having very good coverage here. Most homeowners insurance policies include an extended replacement-cost endorsement. This endorsement covers over a certain percentage of your building coverage, giving you extra protection if prices for rebuilding your home go up.

Coverage B – Other Structures – Most policyholders have 10% of coverage A. This covers other structures detached from your home. Things like pools, detached garages, sheds, etc. We can move values up or down based on what you have and don’t have.

Coverage C – Personal Property – This covers the contents of your house, all your “stuff”. Usually, there will be an option to choose Actual Cash Value(ACV) or Replacement Cost Value(RCV) on your items. This is very important to understand. ACV is the actual cost to replace it, including depreciation, whereas RCV replaces it at its value but does not include depreciation. If you can, always choose replacement cost on your contents if it’s available. Most home policies have a standard limit for certain items like jewelry and collectibles. If you have items that have a value over $1500, check with us. Sometimes you will need a Personal Articles Floater to make sure all your personal items are properly insured. This goes for almost all standard homeowners policies no matter what company or broker. Read this for more information on insuring your jewelry, arts, etc.

Coverage D – Loss Of Use – This covers the additional expenses incurred up to the policy limits if you are unable to live in your home while it’s being rebuilt or repaired.

Section 2: Liability Coverage

Liability covers you financially when it comes to possibly getting sued or being responsible for a third party’s injury. Some examples:

• if a guest slips and falls at your home
• you or one of your family members that are insured damages someone else’s property
• legal fees
• legal damages

If you need coverage higher than $500,000, an umbrella policy is usually needed to cover you over the policy limits. Everyone’s situation is different and we are here to discuss a good plan for you and your family.

Covered And Not Covered

Your home is usually covered if damages are done from:

• Wind, hail, explosions, fire, smoke, and lightning
• Vandalism or theft
• Weight of ice, snow, or sleet
• Water damage due to pipe burst
• Falling objects, trees, etc.
• Aircraft or car damages your home

What is NOT covered:

• Flood is not covered under a home policy. You can purchase a separate flood policy from Unity One to protect you from rising water.
• Landslides, mudflows, and earthquakes. You can purchase an earthquake endorsement or a stand-alone earthquake policy with us as well.
• Any damages done by pets, insects, birds, animals, etc.
• Pollution damage
• Normal upkeep of a home, wear and tear

Homeowner’s insurance is so important. Do not make the mistake of shopping for price, instead of coverage. The cheapest option may leave you underinsured or not insured at all. The most expensive option may be empty calories and not needed. Let Unity One Insurance do the hard work for you and give you a homeowners policy made for you and your home. Call now 949-450-1822