Homeowners Insurance

What is Homeowners Insurance?

Homeowners coverage provides financial protection against loss due to disasters, theft, and accidents. Most standard policies include four essential types of coverage:
1) Coverage for the structure of your home
2) Coverage for your personal belongings
3) Liability protection
4) Coverage for additional living expenses

Why do you need Homeowners Insurance?

In most cases homeowners insurance is required by the lender if you still have a mortgage. If you don’t have a mortgage, it’s a good idea to protect your investment with homeowners insurance. Consider the fact that you’ve spent years investing in your home and building equity and should a loss occur, you will want to have the protection of insurance for that investment.

What could go wrong?

You’re away on vacation and a pipe bursts in your home. As a result, you have major water damage and also have mold growing on your walls. Homeowners insurance would cover the cost to completely replace what’s damaged, and also pay for the mold remediation to ensure your home is back to normal in no time. You would also have coverage to stay in a hotel while these repairs are being done.

Auto Insurance

What is Auto Insurance?

Auto insurance works as a safeguard for your financial well-being and your vehicle in case of accidents, theft, or other incidents beyond your control. Auto insurance pays for vehicle repairs as a result of an accident. Medical expenses and damages or injuries you cause to another driver would also be covered.

Why do you need Auto Insurance?

Auto insurance is required by law in most states. If you are at fault in a car accident, the auto liability coverage required on your car insurance policy helps pay for covered losses. Such losses would be the other party’s medical bills and damage to their vehicle or other property that results from the accident. It also helps pay your legal fees if you’re taken to court over the accident.

What could go wrong?

You’re driving down the freeway, look away for just a second and slam into the back of another vehicle. Not only will auto insurance cover the damage to your vehicle and the one you hit, it will also cover any medical expenses to the other party.

Landlord Insurance

What is Landlord Insurance?

Landlord insurance is a policy for someone who owns a home and rents out the home. This type of insurance typically includes three different types of coverage: property, loss of rent, and liability protection. All coverages are intended to help protect you, the landlord, from financial losses.

Why do you need Landlord Insurance?

Most homeowners policies only cover owner-occupied homes. If you’re renting out to someone else, the coverage no longer applies. Renters are generally not held liable when a large appliance malfunctions, a person suffers an injury on the property (through no fault of the tenant), or if a forest fire damages or destroys your home. Without this coverage you could be left uninsured and financially responsible.

What could go wrong?

Let’s say your tenant falls down stairs at your rental property and a court determines that you failed to maintain the stairs and/or railing. You could be held responsible for your tenant’s medical, legal, and other costs. A landlord policy would protect you from paying those costs out of pocket.

Renters Insurance

What is Renters Insurance?

Renters insurance protects your personal property in a rented apartment, condo, or home from unexpected circumstances such as theft, a fire, or sewer backup damage – and will pay you for lost or damaged possessions. It can also help protect you from liability if someone is injured on your property.

Why do you need Renters Insurance?

If you’re renting an apartment or home, you’ll need an insurance policy to cover your belongings. Your landlord’s property insurance policy covers losses to the building itself – whether it’s an apartment, a house, or a duplex. Your personal property and living expense, however, are covered only through a renter’s insurance policy.

What could go wrong?

You’re away at work for the day and come back to find your home broken into and a number of personal belongings have been stolen. A renters insurance policy would protect you from financial loss and reimburse you to replace those items.

Umbrella Insurance

What is Personal Umbrella Insurance?

Umbrella insurance is a type of personal liability insurance that covers claims in excess of regular homeowners, auto, or boat insurance coverage. Umbrella insurance covers not just the policyholder, but also other members of their family or household. An umbrella policy covers injury to others or damage to their possessions. It doesn’t protect the policyholder’s property.

Why do you need Personal Umbrella Insurance?

Personal umbrella insurance is a fail-safe for your savings and other assets. If you’re sued for damages that exceed the liability limits of your car, home or boat insurance the umbrella policy will take over. Otherwise you could be forced to sell your home or even have your wages garnished if you are unable to cover the damages established in the lawsuit.

What could go wrong?

A babysitter left a 5-month-old infant unattended in a walker. The infant toppled the walker, struck her head on the floor and suffered brain damage. The parents of the infant sued the teenage babysitter and her parents. The court awarded the infant’s parents $1,000,000. If the babysitter’s parents had an umbrella policy, they would’ve had coverage to pay the damages.

Earthquake Insurance

What is Earthquake Insurance?

Earthquake insurance covers damages caused by an earthquake. More specifically, it covers damages to your house and personal belongings. The policy will also pay additional living expenses which are the costs to live somewhere else while a policyholder’s area is evacuated or their home is repaired. 

Why do you need Earthquake Insurance?

Earthquake insurance is typically not included with a homeowners insurance policy. If a catastrophic earthquake were to occur, like the 1994 Northridge quake, you may be left with significant damage and be financially responsible for the repairs. Earthquake insurance will help prevent substantial financial loss in the event of a major quake.

What could go wrong?

The 1994 Northridge earthquake was the costliest natural disaster to have occurred in the United States at the time, and is the third largest economic loss caused by a natural disaster in the nation’s history. Those who had earthquake insurance were able to rebuild their homes. Those who didn’t suffered significant financial loss.

Flood Insurance

What is Flood Insurance?

Flood insurance is a separate policy designed to help protect your home and belongings if they are damaged in a flood. Standard property insurance policies, such as homeowners insurance, typically do not cover flood damage. Flood insurance covers the physical structure of your home and its foundation, plumbing, and electrical systems. It also covers central air and
heating systems, other structures of your home, personal property such as clothing, and others in the event of water damage.

Why do you need flood Insurance?

In some cases, you may be required to have flood insurance. If you own a home on land that is at high risk of flooding, your mortgage lender may require you to purchase flood insurance. Regardless if you are required to purchase it or not, flood insurance fills the gap in coverage on your homeowners policy, protecting your assets in the event of even the smallest flood.

What could go wrong?

A significant rain storm hits the area causing water to seep up and enter your home. A homeowners policy would not cover this and a flood policy would be required to pay for any damages.

Motorcycle Insurance

What is Motorcycle Insurance?

Motorcycle insurance provides financial protection in the event of a motorcycle accident, loss, theft or damage. Motorcycle insurance includes liability coverage in case you are responsible for another person’s injuries or property damage. 

Why do you need Motorcycle Insurance?

Motorcycle insurance is required by law in most states. If you are at fault in a motorcycle accident, the motorcycle liability coverage required on your insurance policy helps pay for covered losses, such as the other party’s medical bills and damage to their vehicle or other property that results from the accident. It also helps pay your legal fees, if you’re taken to court over the accident.

What could go wrong?

You take your brand-new motorcycle out for a ride and stop at a restaurant to have dinner. You come back out to find your new bike is gone. Assuming you had comprehensive coverage on your motorcycle insurance policy, your claim would be covered and it would be time to go bike shopping again.

Boat / RV / ATV Insurance

Why do you need Boat / RV / ATV Insurance?

Boat insurance provides liability and property damage for a boat on land or sea (and other watercraft) in the event of an accident, and may also replace if stolen. RV & ATV insurance acts like auto insurance providing comprehensive and collision protection for property damage and liability.

Why do you need Boat / RV / ATV Insurance?

RV insurance is required by law in every state, however, boat and ATV insurance are optional in most states. Although optional, not being insured properly leaves you open to lawsuits, uncovered damage to property, and at risk of financial jeopardy.

What could go wrong?

It’s time to go camping and you take your Boat, RV, or ATV out for the weekend. While steering, you accidentally bump into someone causing injury. Your boat, RV, or ATV insurance policy would kick in, and pay for those damages, protecting you financially.