Homeowner's Insurance
Homeowner’s insurance protects one of your biggest investments—your house—as well as everything inside it. Your policy offers protection against unexpected events such as fire, wind, lightning, water damage, tornadoes, burglary, falling tree branches, and more.
After dealing with a devastating event that results in damage to your home or property, you can enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing your policy will pay to repair or completely rebuild your house after a loss.
What is covered by Homeowner’s Insurance?
Homeowner’s covers the materials inside such as floors and kitchen countertops, major appliances, and personal belongings. All your household items such as furniture, clothing, tools, power equipment, electronics, musical instruments, sports equipment, collectibles (even dishes) are insured.
Concerned about your family heirloom jewelry or priceless works of art? For extra protection, you may also add a separate coverage for high-value items.
Your insurance also includes personal liability, which covers injury or property damage to others caused by you or a member of your household. This coverage also includes medical payments for minor injuries to individuals who don’t live with you but sustain injuries while on your property. You can also add coverages for libel, slander, or other lawsuits.
Do you have a garage, shed, or other building on your property that needs coverage in addition to your primary residence? We can set up a policy that provides protection for any structure you want covered.
Homeowner’s insurance also covers temporary living expenses. If you can’t stay at home due to repairs on your house, your insurance policy will cover your stay at a hotel and meals during your stay.
Homeowner's Insurance FAQs
While some aspects of homeowner’s insurance coverage are standard, there are many ways to customize home insurance policies to maximize the credits you receive and to make sure you are getting the right coverage for your home. We can tailor your policy for home business occupancies, special collections, important art or jewelry, and more.
Yes! Most states offer discounts for applying safety measures in the home. You can start by simply adding fire prevention systems such as fire alarms, smoke detectors, an automatic sprinkler system, and fire extinguishers. Another great way to lower premiums with safety discounts is by installing a theft prevention system such as a burglar alarm, security cameras, and deadbolt locks.
One other option would be to consider choosing a higher deductible for your policy. A higher deductible will lower your premium correspondingly—the higher the deductible, the lower the premium. Keep in mind that you want to set your deductible at a rate that you could afford should you actually suffer a loss.
Call your insurance company, link to https://www.mountcastleinsurance.com/insurance-claims immediately upon experiencing a loss.
The following are also important steps:
- If a loss involves a dangerous situation, such as fire or flooding, make sure all family members and pets are safe and accounted for.
- If you have been robbed, file a report with the police department and keep a copy of the report for your adjuster. You will need a detailed list of the items damaged or stolen.
- If your homeowner loss involves property damage, you should take practical steps to prevent further damage. For example, if windows are broken, board them up with plywood and/or heavy-duty plastic. Homeowner insurance policies actually include the extra cost of preventing further damage.
- If and when you can safely do so, take an inventory of damaged and destroyed personal property room-by-room—writing down detailed descriptions, approximate ages, and the original cost of each item. Take photos of all damage.
If you are ever in doubt about whether a small accident will result in a claim, it is safer to go ahead and file a claim with your insurance company. This applies to minor dog bites and slip-and-fall accidents; failure to promptly report a claim could result in denial of coverage.