How Much Home Insurance Do I Need?

from Summit Insurance Advisors

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The price associated with rebuilding your home is its replacement value. This can be very different from the estimated market value or actual purchase price. In most cases, it costs more to rebuild the home you own than to buy a new one.

How much Phoenix home insurance is enough?

Summit Insurance knows the Phoenix home insurance needs of our clients. We’ll work diligently to estimate the replacement cost for your home and to adjust your policy limits from time to time as needed.

It is essential that you provide us with accurate, updated information about your home, as well as the contents within. If the dwelling limit accurately reflects your home’s true replacement cost, some companies will pay more than the limit if a covered loss is greater than the limit on your policy.

Once a review of your home and possessions indicates you are properly insured, it’s a good idea to reexamine your coverages and limits from time to time. This will ensure that you are current with your protections. It is especially important whenever you make additions or alterations to the house, these improvements add value to it once completed. Summit Insurance can help you re-go over your Phoenix home insurance policy needs. Just call and speak with one of our agents.

Be Sure You Have Enough Phoenix Home Insurance

Here are some things you can do to prevent being under-insured:

1. Call Summit Insurance - If you have any thoughts or concerns about the limits in your policy, ask us to show you how the amounts were calculated. This will also be an opportunity to discover any overlooked information.
2. Read your policy - Certain things you own, such as jewelry; and certain dangers such as earthquake or flood, are better off being insured separately. It is important to understand what is covered and what is not, as well as knowing how to divvy things up. If there is anything in your policy you don’t understand, contact us and ask for an explanation.
3. Review - At each annual renewal of your policy, you receive a new Policy Declarations page showing limits of coverage and optional coverages. Review this information. If you do any significant remodeling or add a family room, extra bedroom or bathroom, etc., tell us about these changes so your coverage limits can be adjusted to cover the improvement.
4. Consider carefully whether your policy provides all the protection you need.
   • Does it provide coverage for extra costs resulting from building code changes?
   • Does it automatically increase coverage limits annually to keep pace with inflation?
   • Does it provide additional funds if the cost of rebuilding your home exceeds the policy limits?

Make sure you know:

• Will your insurance company stand behind agreed upon repairs after a claim? Some companies are willing to put this guarantee in writing.
• Does your policy include replacement cost coverage for contents (clothing, furniture, appliances, and other personal property inside your home)? If not, you can add it by endorsement. The cost is small, but the protection valuable. Replacement Cost Coverage pays for losses to your possessions at the cost of brand new items. Without this option, a covered loss to your personal possessions would be depreciated by their age and condition, reducing the size of your claim settlement.

If you own any precious items, such as an art collection, antique furniture, jewelry, or other valuable possessions, ask Summit Insurance about supplemental coverages. These coverage options, such as fine arts or scheduled property endorsements, are needed to adequately protect your investment in these items. The cost is modest for the extra protection, and often the deductible is waived.

Consider whether you should have more coverage for personal property (contents) than your policy provides. Personal property coverage is usually 70% of the coverage limit for the structure. Your limit may be lower than 70%. Supplemental protection is available for a small additional premium.

Inventory your home

It is essential to prepare an inventory of your home and personal belongings , update it periodically, and keep it in a safe place outside your home, (such as a safe deposit box at your bank). It will save you hours of time trying to list everything damaged or destroyed if you need to make a claim, and it will also be more accurate. By doing this, you can be assured that you won't forget any items. We can advise you on ways to simplify the job of preparing a personal property inventory such as videotaping each room with descriptive information on the sound track.

Personal Liability

Along with everything else listed in your home insurance policy, you should also evaluate your exposure to liability risks. These result from damage to the property of another, or injury to a person, not a member of your household, for which you can be responsible.

In recent years it’s become common for homeowners to be sued for injuries or damages to others on their property, even when there is nothing to implicate fault. The reality today is if you have any appreciable assets, you may be sued by those taking advantage of litigious culture. Even if you ultimately prevail in court, your legal fees and the months or years of worry and uncertainty can be a terrible burden on you and your loved ones.

The Personal Liability coverage provided by your Homeowners Policy usually provides a limit of $100,000 or $300,000. We recommend increasing this protection with a personal umbrella policy. Not only will it increase your personal liability, but also your auto liability. Limits are available from $1 million to $10 million and beyond. The cost of this coverage is usually very reasonable.

Keep in mind that Arizona requires certain minimum levels of coverage. The right coverage for you is unique – talk to Summit Insurance today to find out how to get the best price and value on home insurance for you.

Our offices are conveniently located at:

Phoenix office:

10214 N Tatum Blvd #A1500
Phoenix, Arizona 85028

Scottsdale office

5425 E Bell Road Suite 103
Scottsdale, Arizona 85254

Summit Insurance Brokers has been providing Arizona homeowner insurance for many years, and the expert agents in our Phoenix AZ insurance office take pride in servicing the homeowner insurance needs of Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa and Paradise Valley. Live outside of Arizona? We've expanded our homeowner insurance offerings to California and Maryland.