Coverages you didn’t know you have it with home insurance

We all have a concept of the ideal home in our minds, but building it requires hard work and effort. Once we buy our dream home, we hire a fancy interior designer, buy new furniture, expensive and impressive lighting. What people forget to buy, which is an essential and imperative item, is the home insurance. The thing that keeps your home and its members safe is the insurance, but some do not consider its worth. UniQuote will guide you to find suitable coverage.

What is home insurance?

Home insurance covers any damage done to your home, which includes the furniture in the house and other property. Also known as homeowners’ insurance, insurers also get liability insurance for other property accidents. If you are a tenant and your landlord has insured the house, all the damages to you and the said property will be covered. It is effective.

When you are in the market to choose home insurance, you’ll be lost seeing the multifarious choices you have. It could get overwhelming. Here’s where UniQuote comes in. They help you select a coverage that suits you, pulled from various insurance firms. All you have to do is state your requirements; the budget and UniQuote will present the plan that they think will be beneficial for you.

What comes under home insurance?

When you insure your home, damage, or destruction to it because of fire, theft, storm, etc. is covered. This is the main reason why people buy insurance. The second coverage is a liability. It means that the insurance will cover the cost if a person is injured in your home. But apart from these two reasons, there are other instances why people insure their homes.

When you insure your home, it protects you from some lawsuits and the natural disasters; it does not just protect your home, it protects you, and moreover, it isn’t exorbitant. You can’t take risks when it comes to your loved ones and the place you live in.

Coverages you didn’t know you have it with home insurance:

• Explosions (Aerosol, Gas grill, etc.)
• Smoke & fire.
• Liabilities – If someone gets injured on your property.
• If your bike/car is stolen up to 3,000 miles.
• Hail.
• Windstorms.
• Lightning.
• Volcanic eruptions.
• Theft.
• If riots cause damage to your home.
• Vandalism.
• If your children (under 13) cause damage to third-party property.
• Fake bills.
• If food spoils your fridge (up to $500).
• Damage by tree fall.
• If a dog bites your guest, his/her medical expenses are covered in home insurance.
• If you change the locks and lose the keys.
• A car crashes in your house.
• An aircraft crashes in your home.

Things to ensure before buying home insurance

It doesn’t matter if you are new to all the insurance terms or are already insured, you must ensure that you read all the terms and conditions, offers, deals, schemes, etc. before changing or buying new home insurance. If you choose UniQuote, it will act as a mediator between you and suitable insurance policies. They’ll select an agent who will assist you in the perfect home insurance. The agent will make sure that you’ll save on whatsoever coverage you opt for, which is highly requested by new buyers.

You need to know that not all the policies in the market are equal; they differ in some or the other way. You must pay close attention before settling for home insurance. It’s imperative! This needs to be said since there is a myriad of policies that might offer you some perks, but you lost them because you evaluate the policies beforehand.

There’s something known as Progressive that will save you a lot of money and troubles, no doubt. If you choose to include it in your home insurance, it will be like hitting two birds with one stone. Say, a tree falls on your garage and damages it along with your car, the home insurance will take care of it while your auto insurance will pay for the vehicle but you’ll be spending on two deductibles. Opting for Progressive will help you avoid all the extra efforts.

When you blindly buy insurance in haste, you won’t get to know about the perks, like the one mentioned above. It is absolutely necessary that you clear all the doubts you have regarding the insurance you are about to buy. The agent will help you with all your queries. The rates also matter since you’ll be paying for it. More on that in the next segment.

Approximate home insurance rates

You’ll be paying an average of $1200 for suitable home insurance, but the final cost may depend on the state and home. The insurance could cost you ₹1,800 per square foot while for a premium construction might take the value up to ₹3,000 per square foot. In that case, a homeowner of 1,000 square meters will have to pay anywhere between ₹18-30 lakhs. The cost for such an amount could be anywhere between ₹800- ₹2,400 on an annual basis. 

Many people believe that insurance of any kind is a colossal waste of money. That isn’t the case. You can surely invest in other things, such as mutual funds, stock market, etc. but life can flip anytime, and being on the safer side is a plus point; 2020 has proved this point.

Know your policy debarment

Knowing what your home insurance will offer is always good to keep a tab on, but what’s more imperative to know are the scenarios that it excludes. The policy that you’ll opt for will always mention all the exclusions. You wouldn’t want to file a claim for things your policy won’t cover, so this section is tricky but the one you must closely watch. There is one particular situation that policies don’t cover – roofs.

Improper roof maintenance: If a storm wrecks your roof, don’t just assume that the entirety of it will be replaced. If the adjuster thinks you’ll need only a few replacements here and there, you won’t be in a place to argue. Even if you think of replacing the whole roof, your home insurance won’t be covering the final cost.

You must maintain your roof. It should be repaired time-to-time. So, if you haven’t fixed it for, say, a decade – the insurance won’t consider the new repairs. They are nitpicking. They’ll be quick to the point that you opted for this insurance a while ago, whereas the roof has been in a damaged condition long before that.

Insurance policies are infamous when it comes to covering roof damages. They’ll inspect it thoroughly once you’ve placed a request to replace it. Keep in mind that solar, slate, and recycled roofs are generally rejected or not entirely covered by home insurance providers. When you are planning to install a new roof, ensure that you avoid the said materials altogether.

Check for the below signs to identify roof damage:

• Moss growth.
• Granules are missing.
• Shingles are abraded.
• Check the condition of the rubber gaskets.
• Curled up shingles.
• Cupped tabs.
• Invisible damage after a storm – call a roofing expert to inspect it.

Always ensure that you get your roof inspected before filing for a claim. If the roof expert gives a green signal, you are good to go. If not, you’ll only be wasting your time. Insurance policies might pay half the amount, which is better than nothing so, you should accept it. The moral of the story – affirm with your agent the insurance policies that are more likely to cover such silly damages and the ones that won’t create much hassle for you.

With UniQuote, won’t have to face such hurdles alone. Leave it all on us, and we’ll take care of your home as if it’s ours.