Most Common Homeowners Insurance Mistake that You Should Remember

Natural calamities like storms and bush fires can destroy anyone’s home. You may not be able to stop it, but you can, at least, prepare yourself for it. Having a homeowner’s insurance protects homeowners from any unanticipated expenses caused by certain calamities. This is very important since this acts as a safety net if in case anything goes wrong. However, although having an insurance is actually a good thing, some homeowners are still forgetting to read the policy. Here are some of the most common mistakes that homeowners usually commit.

Not Having the Adequate Home Insurance

Insurance experts in states like Alabama say that not having enough insurance to cover the expenses for fixing the house if it gets damaged is one of the worst mistakes that homeowners usually do. Most homeowners usually buy enough insurance to cover their mortgage cost. However, since their mortgage is only 80 to 90 percent of their house’s market value, it would still cost them a lot to have their home fixed. Sometimes, policyholders only get an insurance amount that’s equal to their home’s market value. Which is actually not a good idea since the cost of rebuilding, including both labor and supplies, is actually more than the current value of their house.

Assuming the Insurance Coverage

Some owners automatically assume that all calamities are covered by their insurance, which is not usually the case. Flood insurance is not covered by the standard homeowners’ contract. So people who have houses near a body of water like a lake or river should definitely consider buying one.

However, anyone can easily apply for a home insurance. The price for home insurance would depend on the real estate’s risk of flooding and also that amount that you want. It could range from $55 a year or even more, depending on the ground coverage.

To apply for an extra coverage, you may try to visit the National Flood Insurance Program’s website at FloodSmart.gov to know if you need the extra coverage or not. Once you have determined that your house is at risk of flooding, ask your insurer if it will let you acquire a flood insurance.

Thinking that You Already Have One

According to some insurance experts in Alabama, each policy has its own deductible. So if your house got hit by a windstorm and it’s insured for $300,000, you might be still get hit with a $15,000 deductible once you file your claim.

So before anything like this would happen, you have to inquire about changing your policy to the one that the exact same flat- rate deductible whatever the calamity may be. This would ensure that you will not get surprised of any high fee if in case something goes wrong.