How do you pick your homeowners coverage?

   

We live in a very competitive world where things are constantly changing.  I am sure that you receive things by mail, email or phone of how this company will save you money or that company will save you money.  When comparing policies "price is king" right, WRONG!!!  The coverage looks to be the same so there is no difference right, WRONG!!!  This blog will tell you about the things to look for to evaluate what something is worth so that you will have more tools to draw upon when making a decision.

    In life we have choices that we are faced with everyday.  The most common are quantity over quality and price over value.  Take a minute and think about some everyday choices that you make.  First lets start with food.  Are you a person that prefers name brand products or generic?  Does it make a difference, sometimes it actually does.  I'll admit I am a person who buys all generic food but when it comes to other products like
golf products I buy the best.  For instance, to me, ketchup is ketchup but there is a huge difference between Golden Bear clubs from K-Mart and custom fit Titleist AP2 714.  These are the things that must come to mind when you chose your homeowners coverage.

    When choosing the proper homeowners coverage here are a few of the things you should think about:  Is the company I am going with reliable enough to pay their claims or find escape clauses;  Is the company I am going with going to have the money to pay for my claim if there is a major catastrophe; and if there is a major catastrophe in another state will effect my rate and coverage.  I can tell you that a company such as Farmers will take care of all of those questions and more.

    Since I am a Farmers consultant I will use the Farmers Next Generation Homeowners Coverage to make some comparisons.  In all policies they have the dollar amounts for each coverage listed.  That is an easy comparison to make because we all know how to count and which number is bigger but that isn't the only important thing to know.  There are two more things that you need to know about that number.  The first is, how many months does the numbers give coverage for.  A good example is that the Farmers policy gives you 18 months to rebuild while most companies only allow you 12 months.  I once watched a neighbor try to put a pool in and the weather dragged it out 8 months.  The estimated time was only 6 weeks.  Is that a risk you 'd like to take then it doesn't matter but that is a large one if you ask me.

    The next thing you need to know about that number is what exactly does it cover.  Every policy ever written has special limit clauses in them.  Those are things such as jewelry, guns, furs, rare metals and coins, silverware and securities.  Obviously we all know these are the hot ticket items that don't depreciate.  Farmers has the largest coverage of these items in the industry with additional ways to cover them if they exceed the limits.  It is important to have an insurance consultant that knows how to apply the appropriate coverage.

    The largest part of a policy, in my opinion, is the personal liability.  This is the coverage that will cover you financially if something was to happen to you.  The world we live in today requires you to have protection.  First thing that comes to mind is dog bites.  No one ever expects a dog to bit but they are animals just like us.  We all have our snapping point and do things that we regret.  Do you have enough coverage?  Another example is you are going out of town for the weekend and while your gone your neighbor is collecting your mail and checking on the home.  While you are away the weather gets bad and covers your drive way in ice.  The neighbor slips falls and breaks her arm.  Do you have enough coverage for that?  The possibilities are endless as well as the extent of the financial responsibility.  Finally, does that liability only apply to your property?  With Farmers you liability follows you.  If you are liable for an accident away from home do you have coverage?

    I could go on for hours about this subject buy you all would stop reading.  The biggest thing to realize is what coverage do you have protecting your largest investment.  Not just a financial investment but personal investment.  This is the place where you raise and shelter your family.  I would like you all to think about your homeowners by thinking of this analogy.  Is your homeowners like a Mercedes with luxury, comfort and value or a the Ford Festiva covered in rust, not sure if it will start and very small.  If you ever have any questions your are more than welcome to contact a Farmers Insurance Consultant like myself.