How to determine how much home insurance to get

When you buy a home, it is wise to get homeowner’s insurance to cover costs in case of accidents or damage from natural disasters. You may wonder, with all of the different options, how you find out what is suitable for you and your home.

Structure of the home

The first thing you should think about is how much it would cost to rebuild the structure of your home. Several things can impact how much it would cost to rebuild a home.

• Construction costs in your local area
• The square footage of the structure
• Types of exterior construction materials
• Size of the house
• Number of bathrooms and bedrooms
• Types of roof materials
• Other structures, such as sheds, fences, garages, etc.
• Types of special structures like arches, fireplaces, special trim, etc
• Whether it was custom-built or not
• Added renovations that would affect the value of the home

Personal possessions

Most standard home insurance policies cover about 50 to 70 percent of the value of the structure for personal possessions. To determine if you have enough coverage for your valuable items, it is wise to do a walkthrough of your belongings. Next, it is a brilliant idea to add up the cash value or cost to replace your expensive and valuable items.

Additional living expenses

If a natural disaster occurs and makes your home unlivable for some time, your insurance could help pay for additional living costs. This could include a hotel room or another place to live while your house gets fixed up and becomes livable again. Many insurance companies vary in their limits for additional living expenses, so it is wise to shop around and see what your insurance company offers.

Liability

Some policies provide up to several thousand dollars in liability coverage. Liability coverage covers medical costs and damage to someone’s personal belongings if something happens on your property.

Contact Us

There are many steps to deciding how much coverage you need for your home. Contact us at Paragon Independent Insurance Agency in Plano, TX for more information.