Other than a college education, a house is probably going to be the biggest investment you make in your life. It’s where you’re going to live, where you’ll raise your family, and it will be the place where you make your memories. It’s a good idea to protect that investment, and that is why you should have homeowners insurance.
If you need more reasons to get a policy, though, here are 5 more.
Reason #1: It’s Probably Required By Your Mortgage
Unless you’re a lottery winner, or have a fortune stashed away somewhere, you probably had to get a mortgage on your house. One of the requirements buried in the fine print is typically that you have to have minimum hazard coverage on your home. This coverage insures that your home is protected against most serious damage, like fire, hail, storms, etc., and it helps your lender rest easy that if something happens to your home it will be seen to, instead of causing a huge interruption in your loan repayment.
Reason #2: Protection Against Special Problems
Not all homes are created equal; some of them are located in seriously dangerous places. Homeowners insurance is a way for you to make sure if something happens as a result of unique circumstances your home faces (you’re near an area prone to flooding, you built on the edge of Tornado Alley, or Godzilla sometimes rampages nearby) that you have a safety net ready to catch you, and help you get back on your feet.
Reason #3: Personal Liability Protection
Most of us never think about it, but if an accident happens on our property, and someone gets hurt, we might be liable for that injury. Whether it’s likely, or even something you should be able to predict, a liability lawsuit can drag you down financially like an anchor in a sea of debt. Homeowners insurance provides you with a shield in the event something like this does happen, and it can be a lifesaver when you need it.
Reason #4: It Protects Your Stuff, As Well As Your House
As the famous George Carlin once said, a house is a pile of stuff with a top on it. Sit back for a moment, and think about all your stuff. Now ask what you’d do if your home was destroyed by a fire, or the whole first floor and basement were flooded. How much value, both monetary and personal, would you lose? What would it take for you to recover from those losses? Homeowners insurance is supposed to fix not just your home, but also to restore your possessions so it’s like the incident never even happened.
Reason #5: Medical Bill Coverage
While it might not sound like the sort of thing you find in a homeowners insurance policy, there are provisos for medical coverage regarding accidents that happen on your property. Say, for example, that you’re having a family get-together, but your aging uncle slips on the driveway and dislocates his hip. A good homeowners insurance policy will cover things like X-rays, ambulance transportation, and a hospital stay, even if the incident doesn’t fall under the general “liability” section mentioned previously.
These are just a few of the reasons it pays to have a homeowners insurance policy. You’re investing time, energy, and a lot of money into your home, so why wouldn’t you want to protect it (and those you love) from as many risks as possible? If you still have questions about homeowners insurance, and you need answers from the experts, then all you have to do is contact us today!