Knowing what type of insurance to purchase for your home can be confusing. This blog post will serve as a brief general overview of the most common types of insurance for a home:
Title insurance – Title insurance is usually purchased at your closing when you buy your home. It is different from traditional insurance. Traditional insurance protects against future events, whereas title insurance protects against claims against your home’s title related to past events. Examples of title issues covered by title insurance include past filing errors, unknown heirs, fraud, unrecorded easements, and forgeries.
Homeowners insurance – Homeowner’s insurance is your general insurance coverage. It is sometimes the only insurance you need to purchase after title insurance as it often covers all you need depending on the location of your property. There are different types of homeowner’s insurance policies you can purchase that offers more or less coverage. Homeowner’s insurance can cover:
Dwelling – Protects from loss related to the structure of your home, such as your roof and walls.
Other structures – Protects from loss related to detached structures of your home, such as your fence and shed.
Personal property – Protects from loss related to your personal belongings in your home, such as furniture, electronics, and clothing.
Personal liability – Protects from loss related to someone being injured on your property or someone’s property being damaged on your property.
Medical payments to others – If someone is injured on your property and they require medical attention, then this part of your homeowner’s insurance may cover the medical payments, depending on the injury sustained and the circumstances.
Loss of use – If your property is damaged to the point you are unable to occupy it, then this part of your homeowner’s insurance may help cover your costs of living outside of your home.
Windstorm insurance – Windstorm insurance is often included in your homeowner’s insurance in Florida, but if it is not, then you may need to purchase it separately. As the name suggests, windstorm insurance covers damage from high winds. This form of insurance is especially important in Florida with our hurricanes and other strong wind storms.
Flood insurance – Flood insurance is usually not covered in a standard homeowner’s insurance policy. Thus, if your house is in a flood zone, then it is recommended to purchase flood insurance and your lender will likely require it.
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