Purchasing a new home is a financial event you plan for years in advance. You have finally bought your own home and you cannot wait to move in. More than likely, you made the smart decision to buy homeowners insurance early in order to lower your home loan payments. Many coastal New Jersey homeowners have a lot of trouble securing the right amount of insurance for their homes so if you were able to do so, consider yourself lucky.
But with limited coverage, a large down payment, and costly monthly payments, how much insurance were you really able to get? Did you get coverage for the home only? Before you settle on the most basic homeowners insurance, take into account the value of your belongings inside your home. Home contents insurance can be added to your existing plan to cover your furniture, clothing, and other personal belongings within the home.
Many people neglect to take into consideration their valuables. When you think of homeowners insurance, you automatically think that your entire home, inside and out, is covered. That is not true. Basic home insurance covers the structure of your house only. Your personal belongings are not included. They are your responsibility to replace or recover if they are damaged. Home contents insurance can provide secure coverage much like regular homeowners insurance. Your belongings recovered in the case of theft, flood, fire, and other disasters and events. Because some of your possessions may be more valuable than others, contents insurance gives you the opportunity to assign higher or lower value to each item. Whatever value you assign is the maximum amount you get back if that item is damaged. So you should assign higher values on your computer, electronics, works of art, etc..., than on your clothing.
Another piece of advice when getting home contents insurance is that you must insure your belongings based on your environment. You should get insurance in case of a particularly prevalent natural disasters or events that plague your area. In the case of New Jersey, floods are the most prevalent natural disaster. By law, New Jersey insurance companies must warn their customers about the need for flood insurance. If you get insurance for your home, wouldn’t you do the same for your possessions? You also have the ability to get liability coverage so that if someone get hurts on one of your personal possessions, you will be covered in case they make any claims against you.
Home contents insurance can get a little costly. There are steps you can take in order to lower your overall costs. To help with making claims, you should make a room-to-room list of all of your valuables. Take pictures as well to record accurate examples of the conditions of these possessions. These records should be stored in a safe place like a safety deposit box so that they will always be handy and available. Consider investing in a home security system and security lighting. They will provide added security for your home and possessions. These items will also help lower the costs of contents and homeowners insurance. You should also put secure locks on your doors, windows, garden sheds, and garage. This will ensure your belongings are quite secure and you will not have to worry about making as many claims in the event of an emergency.
By Tamara C. Jude