You come home from a night of fun to discover that your house has been burglarized and many of your valuables are gone. But not to worry, your homeowners insurance includes personal property insurance. Personal property insurance reimburses insureds for some or all of what is needed to replace your personal belongings. This type of insurance coverage is usually included in your homeowners’ insurance or renters insurance and is specifically meant to protect items in your home. That includes anything form electronics and furniture to jewelry and clothing. Additionally, if someone is staying at your home or has stored some items in your garage, personal property coverage could reimburse theme as well should something happen to their property.
How Much is Covered Personal Property Insurance?
The personal property coverage of your insurance policy is usually referred to as “Coverage C”. The coverage amount is usually based on the value of your dwelling, whether it is a condo, an apartment, town home, big mansion, or something in between. The maximum amount of coverage can vary not only by the value of your home, but by which policy you choose and the company you buy it from. Most frequently, though, the minimum amount of property coverage is 50 percent of the dwelling’s value. If your home is humble, but you have a lot of “stuff”, you could purchase additional coverage as needed.
Personal Property Coverage for Unexpected Situations
For the most part, once you have Coverage C, it covers a lot more than you might expect. For example, it travels with you, wherever you go, whether it’s just a short weekend trip, or out of the country on vacation. If you have business equipment at your home, it may be covered as well, but the amount of coverage would be very limited if there is any at all. If you work from home, you should really have a commercial insurance policy in place. Additionally, personal property coverage extends to other people as well. If you have the property of others in you “care, custody, or control”, their property is covered as if it was your own.
What is the Value Of My Stuff?
Your insurance agent can assist you estimating the value of your belongings and offer suggestion as to the amount of personal property insurance coverage you should carry. It would be exceptionally helpful for you to make a complete inventory of all the objects in your home. While you’re at it, take photos of the more expensive items, like computers, televisions and surround sound systems. Keep your receipts as well, as they could come in handy when adding up the value of your personal belongings.
Does Property Coverage Have Limits?
All insurance has its limitations, including property coverage. Of course there is the maximum cap of the policy, but there may also be thresholds for how much coverage you have for specific types of items such as firearms, fine art, jewelry, gold, silver, cash and other objects. How the property was damaged or destroyed could also impact how much you could be reimbursed from the policy. For example, you might possibly be compensated less if your firearms were stolen from your home than if they were destroyed in a fire. When it comes to property insurance limitations, your agent will likely suggest that you buy extra coverage or “schedule” this property.
What Does Scheduling Personal Property Mean?
If it turns out that you own a lot of property that has value beyond the limits of your insurance policy, scheduling your personal property is a way of singling these items out for extra coverage. This optional protection package can be bought as a supplement to your initial homeowners or renters’ insurance policy to insure high-value items that might not otherwise be fully covered. Though this will mean your insurance bill will be slightly higher, you can rest easy knowing that you’ve protected yourself and your valuables to the greatest extent that you can.
Talk to Homewood Insurance Agency about Personal Property Insurance
Rest assured knowing that Monty can help you choose a homeowners or renters policy with the proper amount of personal property coverage. If you already have insurance but want to know more about your policy and whether you’re properly covered, he can help you with that as well.
