HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE

Homeowners Insurance covers damage to your home (real property) and your personal belongings (personal property) for the hazards or perils specified by your policy. Homeowners Insurance also covers your liability for any injuries and property damage that you or your family members (including household pets) cause to other people.

Claim settlements for real and personal property can be adjusted on an actual cash value basis (includes depreciation), a replacement cost basis up to the policy limit (no deduction for depreciation), a guaranteed replacement cost basis (whatever it costs to rebuild the home as it was prior to the loss, even if the policy limit is exceeded), or an extended replacement cost basis (a percentage over and above the policy limit).

Renters Insurance
Renters Insurance covers only the value of your personal belongings, not the physical building. Renters Insurance also covers your liability for any injuries and property damage that you or your family members (including household pets) cause to other people.

Perils typically covered include fire, lightening, windstorm, smoke, hail, aircraft collision, vandalism, explosion, riot, theft, water damage from bursting or frozen pipes (but not flood). Claim settlements can be adjusted on an actual cash value basis (includes depreciation) or on a replacement cost basis (no deduction for depreciation) up to the policy limit.

Condominium Insurance
Homeowners Form 6 is a package of insurance specifically designed for condominium owners. It provides protection for personal property, additions and alterations (improvements and betterments) such as appliances and fixtures physically attached to the inside of the unit.

No coverage is provided for the outer walls of the unit, which is normally covered by an association policy. Condominium Insurance also covers your liability for any injuries and property damage that you or your family members (including household pets) cause to other people.

Coverage is also afforded for loss of use (additional living expense) in the event you cannot occupy your condominium unit as a result of a covered loss. Loss assessment coverage is included in the event the condominium association levies an assessment to cover expenses for direct losses to the common property. Perils typically include fire, lightening, windstorm, smoke, hail, aircraft collision, vandalism, explosion, riot, theft, water damage from bursting or frozen pipes (but not flood).

Claim settlements can be adjusted on an actual cash value basis (includes depreciation) or on a replacement cost basis (no deduction for depreciation) up to the policy limit.

Cooperative Insurance
A cooperative is a legal entity owned by its members with no passive shareholders. Each member is responsible for protecting his personal property, additions and alterations (improvements and betterments) such as appliances and fixtures which are physically attached to the inside of the unit.

Cooperative Insurance does not provide coverage for the inner and outer walls of the physical building, which is normally covered by an association policy. It does cover your liability for any injuries and property damage that you or your family members (including household pets) cause to other people. Coverage is also afforded for loss of use (additional living expense) in the event you cannot occupy your cooperative unit as a result of a covered loss.

Perils typically include fire, lightening, windstorm, smoke, hail, aircraft collision, vandalism, explosion, riot, theft, water damage from bursting or frozen pipes (but not flood). Claim settlements can be adjusted on an actual cash value basis (includes depreciation) or on a replacement cost basis (no deduction for depreciation) up to the policy limit.

Valuable Articles Insurance
Homeowners, renters, condominium, and cooperative insurance policies have limitations regarding your valuable possessions such as jewelry, furs, fine arts, antiques, silverware, wine collections, manuscripts, stamps, cameras, computers, musical instruments, guns, watches and rare books.

By determining a value for each item and listing (scheduling) the item separately on your policy, you pre-determine what your claim settlement will be for that item prior to the loss. In addition, coverage is written on an all risk basis rather than named perils which may pertain to your general personal property protection.

Boats/Yachts Insurance
Boat insurance provides protection against physical damage to the boat, its machinery and equipment. It can be written with all risk or named perils. The second part of the policy is protection and indemnity (liability coverage against third party actions). Both limits should be sufficient to cover your exposures.

Flood Insurance
Flood Insurance protects you from the financial devastation caused by floods. It protects against loss to buildings or contents, not the land surrounding them. Heavy or prolonged rains, coastal storm surge, snow melt, blocked storm drainage systems and levee dam failure are some of the occurrences which may cause flooding.

The typical homeowners policy excludes the peril of flood, so this must be purchased separately. Flood insurance is available both within and outside floodplains. Although the National Flood Insurance Program carriers cap their exposed limits, higher limits may be available if purchased through private carriers.

Builders Risk Insurance
Builders Risk insurance is designed to cover a single family home that is being constructed from the ground up or a home that is being renovated. Typical homeowners policies exclude coverage for a home that is “in the course of construction.”

The policy is usually written with the completed value of the home as its policy limit. Perils offered are on a named or all risk basis. The definition of property, in addition to your home, would include property of others for which you are legally responsible, paving, curbing, fences, and outdoor fixtures, trees, shrubs, lawns, plants installed by you or on your behalf, foundations of buildings and foundations of structures.