What is High Value Home Insurance & Why Do I Need It?

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High value home insurance provides some of the most comprehensive insurance packages on the market and can be a great choice if you qualify for it. Specifically tailored to provide insurance for buildings of higher than average value, this type of coverage won’t be right for everyone. How do you know if you should be considering high value insurance? The first step is determining your home value! After that, you can evaluate your coverage options with an experienced broker. Read on to learn how to determine the value of your home and how that value applies to high value insurance policies.

Determining the Value of Your Home

Most people like to start with a bit of self research when it comes to valuing their home. While it’s great to gain some background knowledge, don’t discount the importance of hiring a professional.

1. Use online valuation tools

A simple Google of “how much is my house worth” will reveal dozens of home value estimators. These online tools are often offered by lenders or real estate sites and use public records and recent listing prices to estimate the value of your home. While these tools are a great starting point, their accuracy isn’t the highest, so it’s best to talk to an expert to gain more insight.

2. Chat with a broker or real estate agent

A broker or real estate agent can offer you what’s called a broker price opinion (BPO) or a competitive market analysis (CMA). A BPO combines an agent’s evaluation of the home and market and is typically used for listing purposes. A CMA is similar to a BPO, but it also includes recent sales of similar properties in your area. Neither of these options are as thorough as a full appraisal, but their cost is usually little to none.

3. Hire an appraiser

Having a home appraisal done is going to give you the clearest picture of your home’s value. An appraiser will evaluate the market, property and comparable properties to create their final report.

Is High Value Home Insurance Right For Me?

Having the right house insurance in place will enable you to maintain your lifestyle in the event of a claim. If you meet any of the following criteria, consider chatting about high value options with your broker.

  • Your home is worth $750,000 or more.
  • Your home is considered to be a heritage home or has antique features that are not common in today’s construction.
  • Your home has a unique design or architectural elements that would be costly to replace or repair.
  • Your roof is made of non standard materials like clay or metal.
  • You have lots of high value items in your home (ex. rugs, art, jewelry). Standard home insurance won’t automatically cover these items, so you’ll want to have some additional coverage in place.
  • You have special features like a swimming pool, guest house or pond.
  • You’ve invested in making your home ‘green’ (using environmentally friendly design, construction, or heating).

While adding a high-value insurance policy to your home may cost you more than a standard home policy, you can rest easy knowing that all the work you put into your home is protected. High value policies offer extensive, personalized coverage that will have everything back to normal after a claim.

How High Value Home Insurance Can Make Your Life Easier

Below are a few examples of the types of coverages that can be added on to a high-value home insurance policy.

  • Coverage for items like fine art, antiques or wine collections.
  • Higher policy limits for jewelry, landscaping, and personal contents.
  • Unlimited living expenses. This will allow you live in a place that matches your lifestyle (for as long as it takes) while your home is being repaired.
  • Complimentary home inspection to verify the value and properly document your home.
  • Complete room repair, even in a partial loss. This means that if half of your kitchen is damaged in a fire, you’ll have coverage to have the entire kitchen repaired to ensure a cohesive, matching design.

Chat With A Broker Today

The more time, detail, and money you put into your home the more you have to lose. The team at Capital Insurance can help put together a policy that offers flexibility, convenience, and unparalleled protection. Give our office a call today to schedule an appointment.

 

Photo by Rowan Heuvel on Unsplash