As someone who owns a home, the last thing you want to happen is to watch everything you’ve worked for crumble into nothing due to an unfortunate event. It could be an accident such as a big fire, a burglary, or a natural disaster.
You can protect real property and its contents by getting it insured with a property insurance policy.
What’s property insurance?
Property owners can opt for a type of property insurance policy that covers the protection needs of their real estate and what’s inside it. The typical policy consists of liability coverage or property protection coverage under the name of the homeowner.
Property insurance policies pay reimbursement through cash to the owner or renter structure—whether residential or commercial—and the property inside. Policies under this umbrella protect property from damage and theft to the property. It also protects the owner or renter if they get injured within the limits of the property insured.
What does it cover?
The term “property insurance” covers different types of policies. It can be any of the following:
- Earthquake insurance
- Flood insurance
- Homeowners’ insurance
- Renters’ insurance
Protection of personal property within the real property’s parameters is covered by a homeowners’ insurance or a renters’ insurance policy. But both policies come with their own limitations—they don’t cover personal property that is high in value and expensive. Items that are considered high in price are covered by an additional feature of the mentioned policies called “rider.”
If the policyholder has the rider feature in their policy, the insurance company will reimburse the holder for the real value of the perceived damage or the total cost of replacing the damaged personal property of high value.
The case for policies without the rider feature also means that the policy will reimburse the holder for the actual price of the damages and the total cost of replacing the real property insured.
How does it work?
It covers damage caused by, but are not limited to the following:
- Fire
- Wind
- Smoke
- Snow and ice
- Hail
Real property can receive damage from other factors outside these factors, and they can receive reimbursed value based on their coverage. It also covers damage from theft and vandalism, meaning owners will be protected from damage caused by other people.
We’ve mentioned earlier that it also covers the person holding the policy in the sense that they will be fully compensated if they receive an injury while inside the insured property.
You can’t rely on a typical property insurance policy to cover damages caused by events such as tsunamis, drain and sewer issues, floods, and other water incidents. Still, you won’t have a hard time finding companies that have policies covering those.
You can’t also find many property insurance policies covering damages from extreme circumstances such as acts of war and terrorism, and nuclear events.
What are the three types of coverage?
In property insurance policies, holders are covered in three ways:
1. Replacement cost
Holders are reimbursed the total amount of replacing the insured property through replacement cost coverage. The total value is calculated, and they are provided the same or equal value of their insured property. Value to be reimbursed is based on the cost of replacing the damaged property instead of the actual cash value.
2. Actual cash value
In an actual cash value coverage, the policy pays the holder the cost of replacing the damaged property. The difference from replacement cost is that the amount to be reimbursed is calculated with depreciation values subtracted.
For example, when a property that is five years old gets damaged, the policyholder will get the equivalent cash value of the same property that is priced after five years of use.
3. Extended costs of replacement
The calculation of this coverage is based on the cost of constructing the damaged property. The coverage has a limit that can’t be exceeded by more than 25 percent. Insurance companies base the limit on the maximum benefit they can provide based on the situation or occurrence that caused the damage.
Should you get a property insurance policy?
As a homeowner, protecting your property should be one of the few first things in your mind. You never know what will happen to you or your property, and having protection, such as property insurance, will help you if the unfortunate and unexpected happens to your property.
Reaching out to insurance companies that provide this type of insurance will help you look for the best type of coverage for your needs.
