Special Limits in a Homeowners Policy

Everyone in this world has things that they collect or hold truly dear to themselves.  What if I was to tell you that your wedding set you wear everyday may not be covered?  What if I was to tell you that your collection of hunting rifles and shotguns may not be protected.  Finally, what if I was to tell you that the fine that you saved up for may not be replaced in full?  These are all questions that are going to be talked about in this blog.  We all know that these products along with furs, silver ware, and many other products along the same line are what people have spent the most on and burglars are wanting to steal.  Being a trained insurance consultant with Farmers Insurance will discuss the three ways to cover these items, how to cover them and why.

The first way is to extend the special limits listed in the policy.  Every homeowner policy has special limits that they will cover each category of items.  If you have a lot items from a certain category it would be easy just to expand this coverage to cover all the products.  There is a catch that you will taking if you the cheapest way out though.  For instance if the category is jewelry there will only be a certain aggregate limit that will take effect.  With Farmers before you expand this limit you will be covered to $1000 per item to a total of $5000.  After the limit is expanded you will be covered for $2500 per item to a total of $12,500.  That would only cover you in the case of theft and you would be subject to a deductible that is listed to the entire policy.  This would be best if you had a bunch of small items that you would only want to replace if they were stolen.

The next way is to place a special coverage on them within the homeowners that we call an unscheduled floater.  This coverage is best if you have several items of a category over $1000 per item.  With this coverage we would be able to replace the items in a loss of any peril (fire, theft, wind etc.) except mysterious disappearance.  The regular limits for Farmers is the same as jewelry, $1000 per item to a total of $5000 per aggregate.  With this coverage we would be able to extend the coverage to $2500 per item to a total of the lesser 60% of personal property or $75,000.  This would be a perfect for the person who has many hunting guns.  They would be able to cover the total amount with a deductible of whatever is less, the homeowners deductible or $500.  This coverage gives you a blanket over the category for a lower deductible allowing you to carry higher deductibles on the home itself.

The final way to protect the special categories is to place a coverage we call a scheduled floater.  This is the most customized coverage that Farmers has to offer.  This coverage would be best for you if you have any of the items over $2500 in the special categories.  The most common is a woman's wedding set.  For example the wedding set is worth $5000 we would place this coverage on rings with the client setting their own deductible.  In essence it is a policy within a policy.  This coverage would cover the rings in any loss that could happen including mysterious disappearance.  For instance if you have this coverage and the woman of the house goes out on the town and losses the ring it would be covered for the deductible that you determine.  The deductible could be even $0.00.  All you would need to do is get this coverage in place with a receipt or an appraisal.  Even better yet you could get this coverage for an agreed amount so that even if a cheaper replacement could be found you would be covered for the amount that was agreed upon.  This by far is the best coverage for special items.  The only restrictions are that the item cannot be worth less than $1500.

There are many ways to protect your belongings.  The first step is to just know what you are currently covered for followed by what do you need to have covered.  These are great questions for an insurance consultant such as myself.  Our first and foremost goal is to make sure that you are covered properly from all the things that can happen in this world.  As Professor Burke would say,"Get smarter
about your insurance."