When looking for home owner insurance you will most likely end up with a lot of questions. Who should you buy insurance from? Do you need an agent? How much coverage do you need?
It is not easy to answer any of those questions. You may be afraid that the company selling you insurance will try to get you to buy more insurance than you need. But don’t worry. There is actually a pretty easy way to figure out how much home owners insurance you actually need.
How Much Do You Need
When going through the home purchasing process, your home gets appraised. This is a value that banks will assign to your home. This is a great place to start. If something were to happen to your home, your insurance would cover the entire worth of your home, or this appraised value. Your home owners insurance would also cover the items within your house such as your TV, bed, clothes and other items. So there is a need for additional coverage besides what your home is worth.
For example, let’s say your home is worth $300,000. You then need to get an estimate of how much money the items in your house are worth. Once you have figured that out, add that number to the value of your home. For this example let’s say you own $15,000 worth of items. You’ll than want to try to purchase up to $315,000 worth of home owners insurance.
Not all home owners insurance providers will be willing to cover you for the entire $315,000. Some may be tough negotiators, that is why we encourage our site visitors to shop around. If you have the opportunity to look at multiple insurance providers, than you will end up finding a coverage level that fits with your needs.
Who Are Some Of The Best Providers?
When you begin the process of looking for home owners insurance you always have the option to go to the largest providers. Companies like Geico, Progressive and Statefarm all offer this type of insurance. But we also suggest you look at local agents as they often work with multiple insurance providers and may have certain deals they can work out on your behalf. There are advantages of working with an agent as they don’t just get your deals they will also fight for your claims. Working directly with an insurance company can be tough and an agent can provide you with guidance and advice to make sure you get the money you deserve.