Buying Arizona Home Owner Insurance can be downright confusing. You buy your home and are told by your mortgage company that you need to secure home owner insurance. More than likely, you buy it from the same person who insures your vehicles. Did you make a good buying decision? Did you get the right coverage? Are you insured with a highly rated carrier?
Don’t buy home owner insurance on price alone
Your home is probably your biggest purchase. Why then would you base your buying decision on price alone?
If you were an astronaut, you would rather the shuttle be built by a company who builds for quality, rather than price alone. The same goes for your Arizona home owner policy.
If your home were destroyed by a fire or storm tomorrow, how certain are you that your home is insured correctly? Ask us about insuring your home for the proper amount.
Doing it right
Do not misunderstand me. We want to find you the Best Arizona Home Owner Insurance policy for the best price we can. But not at the expense of quality.
We shop your home owner policy with up to 10 different carriers to find the best rate we can. But we are more concerned initially with making sure your home is covered properly in case you have a claim.
Insuring my home properly
We use insurance-approved software that helps us determine what it takes to rebuild a home today. The last thing you want or need is to have a fire and total loss, only to discover your home was underinsured.
Remember those Arizona wildfires a few years back? Some home owners who lost their home found themselves underinsured. Building costs have gone way up. It takes more to build a home today than in the past. Do not be caught owning a home that is not insured for current rebuild costs.
Starting now, you need to review your home owner policy no less than every two years, and annually if possible.
Home Improvements
Are you like my neighbor who added square footage onto their house? Some people choose to add square footage to their existing home instead of selling and moving into a bigger home. True Story: an Arizona home owner added onto their home. They failed to notify their agent or insurance company that the home they were insuring was not substantially larger, until they home was destroyed in a fire. The insurance company only covered the home up to the limits of the original size of the home. It was up to the home owner to notify the company so their policy could be revised and readjusted. They failed to do that.
Home owner tips
1) Video tape your home’s contents and keep the tape at a friends house or give to your insurance agent. That way, if you have a loss you will have a much easier time remembering all that you owned.
2) Don’t buy the bottom limits on Liability and Medical. This is a sue-happy nation. If someone is injured on your property they can file a lawsuit against you. Liability Protection and Medical coverage help protect you and your assets from a lawsuit.
3) Get an Umbrella quote. If you own a home and have other assets, you should consider buying an Arizona Umbrella Insurance policy. If you are involved in an auto claim or home owner claim where another party is injured, the Umbrella protects you over and above the auto or home owner policy. These policies are relatively inexpensive too.
4) Scheduled Personal Property: Do you own valuables? Talk to your agent about whether you need to itemized these special items on your policy. Do not assume these valuable possessions are covered for their “collectible” value. Unless they are scheduled on your policy, you may not get what you think during a claim.
5) Water Back Up Coverage: If your toilet backs up, for example, and causes damage to your flooring, walls, and property you may be surprised to learn your home owner policy will not cover you. That is different from a pipe bursting and causing water damage. That is covered. I have seen a water damage claim up to twenty grand, so it is an issue not to be taken lightly. Buy an endorsement called “Water Back Up”. It might cost an extra $60 per year or so but is worth it. Think of this as if you are buying your own personal Flood policy. Flood damage is not covered unless you own a flood policy. Neither is water back up unless you buy the additional coverage.