Did you get something big and expensive this Christmas? That new item is probably not specifically covered by your Homeowners insurance policy. Start off the new year by visiting with your insurance agent, and making sure that all the goodies that Santa brought you are covered.
A good time to sit down with your insurance agent to review your homeowners policy is right now. Christmas is over, and you will want to make sure that the new, expensive, items that Santa brought you and your family will be covered by your policy. This is especially true if you got new appliances.
Part of what a homeowners policy covers is your “stuff”. All the possessions that you and your family own should be covered. There is the potential that the things you own will get stolen during a break-in, or could be damaged if a fire happens. Keeping your homeowners policy up to date about your “stuff” is a good way to ensure that your insurer will provide you with financial compensation to replace the things that are stolen or damaged.
Farmers Insurance has explains this concept really well. They say:
You may think your couch, coffee table, sweaters, shoes, coats, TV, VCR, and CD player aren’t worth a lot, but those items all add up when you have to replace them.
Nationwide Insurance has some advice about the difference between “replacement cost” and “current cash value” in your homeowners policy. Which does your coverage include? One is going to give you the amount of money it costs to replace your stolen TV with a comparable model. The other is only going to give you the amount that your five year old TV is worth today.
State Farm Insurance has a blog post called “Creating A Home Inventory”. It talks you through exactly how to do that. There is a State Farm HomeIndex that residents of the United States can use. Their blog also points out things that you need to hang on to, such as receipts, credit card statements, and other transaction documents.
Allstate Insurance has a blog called “Personal Property Coverage”. It has advice about how to choose personal property coverage, and it reviews the difference between “actual cash value” and “replacement cost”. There is an Allstate Home Inventory Tool that you can use to help create an inventory of your “stuff”. Or, if you prefer, you can do the same things with the Home Inventory iPhone app.
Image by Kevin Hale on Flickr