Your New Charlotte Home: Homeowner’s Insurance
You know you need homeowner’s insurance but what kind and how much do you need to purchase? To help you calculate, here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about homeowner’s insurance.
How much homeowner’s insurance do you need?
Lenders require you to carry enough coverage to protect their investment, which means the amount of your loan. But the amount of your loan most likely isn’t enough to rebuild your home, if it was damaged. To be able to replace your home and its contents in case of a disaster, you probably want a policy that insures the replacement value of your Charlotte home.
It’s a good idea to sit down periodically with your insurance agent to review your homeowner’s policy. You want to determine if your coverage matches current construction costs and the replacement value of your Charlotte home’s content.
What about coverage for natural disasters?
Many homeowners assume coverage for all natural disasters is included in their insurance policy. Not true. In fact, flood and earthquake insurance is not included in a basic homeowner’s insurance policy. Both require separate policies in order to get reimbursed for damage. Now we’re not known for having earthquakes here but, you will want to investigate flood insurance if you’re near a flood zone.
Unless you specifically purchase flood coverage, damage to your Charlotte home caused by a flood is not covered. You don’t have to live next to a large body of water to sustain water damage from flooding. A small creek next to your home can cause just as much damage during a flash flood.
Do you need to shop around for insurance?
Fortunately, the Insurance Services Office (ISO) sets the standards for homeowner’s policies so coverage doesn’t change much from company to company, however, rates can vary greatly. That means it is worth your time and effort to shop around for the best prices before you buy your homeowner’s policy.
If you’d like a referral to a professional homeowner’s insurance agent, give me a call today or email me; I’m happy to give you a referral.
Charlotte North Carolina Real Estate – Charlotte NC Relocation
Information
Debe Maxwell, CRS, Realtor®/Broker
The Maxwell House Group Real Estate
1920 E. 7th Street
Charlotte, NC 28204
Mobile: (704) 491-3310
Fax: (704) 353-7014
Email: debe@debemaxwell.com
More information on Charlotte than you’ll ever need!