The Basics of Homeowners Insurance Policies

Does anybody really like dealing with insurance policies? They’re often confusing to understand and it’s another expense you have to worry about. But if you ever need it, you’ll be very glad to have it! Your home is one of the most significant investments you’ll ever make and it’s very important to protect it with a good homeowners insurance policy.

Shopping around for a new homeowners insurance policy? Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. Let us help you make sense of some of the most important things you need to know.

What’s Your Policy?

Homeowners insurance policies come in varying degrees of coverage. HO-1 plans offer very basic coverage against damage caused by things like fire, lightning, theft, vandalism, explosions, vehicles, aircraft, and windstorms. However, the the coverage HO-1 plans offer is so minimal that there are some circumstances where homeowners are required to have HO-2 coverage instead. HO-2 plans offer the same amount of coverage as HO-1 plans, but have additional coverage if your home gets damaged by things like a falling object, the weight of snow or ice, flooding caused by an appliance or your plumbing system, or in the event of a sudden collapse.

HO-3 homeowners insurance policies offer the highest level of coverage. With a HO-3 plan, you’re covered for damage caused by all types of accidents and disasters unless it is specifically excluded in your plan.

If you live in a condo or a co-op, a HO-6 plan offers similar coverage to a HO-2 plan, but is tailored for your housing situation. HO-4 insurance plans are for people who rent apartments or houses and are commonly referred to as renters insurance. HO-8 homeowner insurance policies are very similar to HO-1 plans, but are most commonly used in in older homes that aren’t able to get covered by a HO-3 plan. These plans only cover the cash value of the home, not the replacement cost.

In addition to the specific types of damages covered by your insurance plan, different policies will offer different levels of compensation for damages. If your plan offers actual cash value coverage, this means the insurance company will pay you for the depreciated value of your home and/or belongings. A policy that offers replacement cost coverage will provide you with compensation for the amount it would cost to replace something, but within a certain limit. Guaranteed or extended replacement cost coverage covers the replacement value of the damage, even if the costs go beyond your policy limit.

What’s Covered?

Homeowners insurance policies cover more than just the structure of your home. Other structures on your property, such as garages, sheds, and barns, are also included. You’re also covered if the landscaping or fences on your property are damaged by a disaster that’s included in your policy.

Your personal belongings are also protected by your homeowners insurance. If your belongings are lost, damaged, or stolen, even if they weren’t on your property at the time of the incident, your homeowners insurance should cover it. So if you bring your laptop with you on vacation and it gets lost or stolen, your insurance policy should cover the damages.

Some types of damage to your home will make it impossible for you to live there while it’s being repaired. If this happens to you, homeowners insurance policies will typically cover the costs of staying in a hotel while your home is being repaired.

Lawsuits aren’t something many people plan ahead for, but if you ever end up facing one, your homeowners insurance policy may help you out. This is known as liability coverage. It commonly provides coverage for medical bills and other expenses caused if someone is injured on your property. It also protects you if you, or another member of your family, damages something or injures another person off your property. For example, if your dog bites a neighbor, your insurance will typically cover the person’s medical bills, even if the bite happened off your property.

What Isn’t Covered?

No matter what level of insurance policy you have, some types of damages are specifically excluded from virtually all types of homeowners insurance policies. Many homeowners realize too late that their insurance doesn’t cover damage caused by flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes, or sump pump failure. If you want coverage for these sorts of damages, you’ll probably have to purchase separate insurance. Damage caused by wars, landslides, sinkholes, and mudslides are also very commonly excluded from homeowners insurance policies.

Do you have any exceptionally valuable belongings like high-end jewelry, fine art, or rare antiques? If so, you may need to get separate coverage for those things if they go beyond the personal property limits of your policy. You may also need to purchase special coverage if you run a business based out of your home.  

Although finding the right homeowners insurance policy can be overwhelming, taking the time to deal with it can be one of the most important things you do as a homeowner. When disaster strikes, you certainly don’t want to be without it!

Improving Your Window Security

When it comes to improving home security, one of the first places most homeowners start is their doors. They certainly don’t want to literally leave the door open for burglars, but it’s important not to overlook the second most common point of entry: windows.

After you’ve taken the time to have new vinyl replacement windows installed in your home, here are a few ways you can protect your investment and keep your home and family safe:

Window Locks

Whether it’s your front door or a window, locks are always a great way to boost your home’s security. If your windows came with locking mechanisms, make sure you’re in the habit of using them. But if your windows don’t already have locks, you can easily buy some at any hardware store for just a few dollars.

Sensors and Alarms

Many of us have alarms on our cars and our doors that go off if someone tries to break into them, but many homeowners overlook putting security sensors and alarms on their windows. If you have a home security system, make sure it monitors your windows. If you don’t have a security system, you can buy individual window sensors that will sound an alarm if the window is broken or opened. These sensors generally aren’t very expensive and are simple to install.

Don’t Make a Burglar’s Job Easy

The last thing you want to do is provide an intruder with a nice place to hide while they try to break into your home. Shrubs and bushes planted close to windows not only offer an excellent place to hide, some types are sturdy enough to help burglars climb into your home. If you’re going to keep bushes planted close to your home, stick to ones that either have thorns or aren’t strong enough to be climbed and keep them well trimmed. You may also want to consider having motion-activated lights installed outside your home near your windows.

Even if an intruder manages to get your window open, you can still make it difficult for them to get any further than that. If you keep things on a shelf right by the window that can easily be knocked over and make a lot of noise, it’s unlikely a burglar will be willing to push their luck and keep on going through the window.

Secure Your Air Conditioning Units

Air conditioning units that sit in windows can keep your home cool during the summer, but an unsecured window air conditioning unit can make it easy for a burglar to get in. All an intruder would have to do is push the air conditioner in and they’ll have no problem getting into your home. If you have a window air conditioner unit, make sure it’s secured with brackets, corner braces, or a sliding window lock.

Helpful Hints for a Quieter Home

Your home is supposed to be your sanctuary; the place you go to when you want to rest and relax in peace and quiet. But for many people, it can be hard to get that peace and quiet at home. Between noise from passing traffic, noise from appliances, and noise created by other people in the house, homes can be remarkably noisy sometimes.

If you’re desperate to make your home a quieter place, here are a few things you can do to help keep the noise down.

Check Your Doors and Windows

When you want more peace and quiet in your home, the best places to start are your doors and windows. What type of doors do you have as your exterior doors? If you have hollow core exterior doors, replacing them with solid core doors could significantly cut down on noise coming in from the outside. If you have a solid core door, but still have problems with noise, make sure the weatherstripping isn’t worn down and that there aren’t any gaps in the caulking.

There are several different ways your windows might be letting in sound from the outside. If you have older single-pane windows, replacing them with new vinyl replacement windows with multiple panes could help make your home more peaceful. Worn-down weatherstripping and gaps in caulking around your windows can also let outside noise in. If you need to patch up some caulking around doors and windows, use an acoustical caulk for maximum noise reduction. If you have lightweight curtains on your windows, switching to curtains made of a heavier fabric is another way to block out some of the sound coming from outside.

Insulation and Drywall

If you have an older home that doesn’t have a lot of insulation, having some added is a great way to eliminate noise. Denim batts and blown-in cellulose are two types of insulation that are very effective at soundproofing. As an added benefit, adding more insulation will help cut down on your heating and cooling bills!

If you’re open to the idea of starting a larger project, you may want to consider adding new drywall in some areas of your home. Certain types of drywall are designed for soundproofing, so they’re more effective at cutting down on sound transmission than regular drywall. You don’t necessarily have to add new drywall throughout your home, either. Just adding it in areas that are particularly loud, such as on exterior walls or in rooms that you definitely want to keep quiet, can help make your home more comfortable.

Flooring

Planning to replace some flooring in your home? The type of flooring you choose can make a difference in your home’s acoustics. Your flooring won’t cut down on noise coming in from the outside, but it can help control indoor noise. Hardwood and engineered wood floors may be in style right now, but carpeting and cork flooring are more effective options for dampening noise.

Another common household annoyance is noise caused by squeaky floors. While you’re having your flooring replaced, be sure to have your floors tightened in any areas that squeak before the new flooring is installed. When you’re replacing flooring on a second story, consider having a noise-dampening underlay installed under the new flooring to prevent noise from people moving around upstairs from bothering the people downstairs.

General Household Noise

There are a lot of sounds that come with simply living your day-to-day life, like noise from running appliances and noise from your plumbing pipes. Nobody intends to cause a ruckus by using these things, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t annoying or distracting, either. The good news is that there are ways to cut down on the amount of noise these things create. If you have loud plumbing, insulating your pipes with duct wrap can help quiet them down. Many newer models of appliances run much more quietly than older models, so if you’re due for new appliances anyway, look for ones that include “quiet performance” on their list of features.

Not ready to replace your appliances? Placing rubber or cork pads underneath them may help cut down on some of the noise they create.

3 Ways Replacing Your Windows Can Improve Your Home

Of all the improvements you can make to your home, replacing your windows with new vinyl replacement windows is definitely one of the smartest projects to undertake. Windows are a hugely important of our homes and serve so many purposes beyond simply giving us a way to look outside. Vinyl replacement windows can impact your home in so many ways and they’re all for the better. Here are three ways replacing your windows can improve your home:

Improved Curb Appeal

Old windows can really drag down the exterior of a home. Even if you have new siding and a beautiful garden, worn-out windows can stand in the way of your home looking as good as it could. Simply replacing your windows could give your home a whole new look. If you’re thinking of selling your home soon and are looking for ways to boost your home’s curb appeal, replacing your windows could be a way to do just that. Not only will new windows make your home look nicer, vinyl replacement windows can also help add some extra value to your home!

Lower Energy Bills

One of the top reasons why people decide to replace their windows is because they want to make their home more energy efficient and reduce their energy bills. When you have older single-pane windows or double-pane windows that are no longer performing as well as they ought to, you’re losing a lot of money on higher energy bills. Replacing your windows does require an upfront investment, but they can help save you money in the long run by helping to reducing the amount of money you spend on your energy bills.

Your Home Becomes More Comfortable

Bad windows can make your home remarkably uncomfortable. Drafty windows will have you constantly adjusting the thermostat or reaching for sweaters and blankets to keep warm. You shouldn’t have to be so uncomfortable in your own home. By replacing your windows, you won’t have to deal with the nuisance of having one room being colder than others or having to constantly wear bulky sweaters around the house.

Replacing your windows doesn’t just make your home more comfortable temperature-wise, it can also help cut down on noise coming in from the outside or improve the ventilation in your home. For example, if you have single-hung windows in your house, replacing them with new double-hung windows will let you have more control over ventilation and help make your home naturally more comfortable without having to run your air conditioner.

Protecting Yourself from Home Improvement Scams

Although most home improvement projects can be done at any time of year, many homeowners tend to start undertaking these projects during the spring and summer. While there are lots of honest, hard-working contractors out there, it’s very important to watch out for the less honest ones. Unfortunately, there are a lot of con artists out there looking to take advantage of unsuspecting homeowners.

Home improvement scams can easily happen during any time of year, but they’re typically more common during the spring and summer months because these scammers are aware that this is when many homeowners are looking to make improvements. Don’t let yourself get taken advantage of. Here’s what to watch out for when dealing with contractors:

Beware People With Extra Supplies

One of the most common home improvement scams involves someone going door-to-door, offering to do work right away for a bargain price because they just happen to have some extra supplies leftover from another job. Never feel pressured to hire a contractor on the spot. Their price might be a bargain, but the work these scam artists do very frequently ends up being very substandard and you’ll have to pay to have the work redone correctly.

Financing Scams

Financing scams are another extremely common home improvement scam. These scammers will offer to do some work on your home for a reasonable price. The jobs they offer to do are typically larger projects like replacing a roof or remodeling a kitchen; the sorts of jobs homeowners typically need to spend time saving up for. If a homeowner says they can’t afford the job right now, the contractor will start pressuring them to get financing through a lender they just happen to know.

These financing deals are actually home equity loans that come with very high fees and interest rates. Once you sign up for this financing, the contractor has no vested interest in doing a good job on your home or even finishing the job since their main goal was to get you to sign up for this high interest loan.

Watch Out for High Pressure Tactics

Finding a good, reputable contractor takes time and a lot of research. If you deal with a contractor who keeps pressuring you to hire them right away, such as by offering a special price that’s good for that day only or says that immediate repairs are necessary to fix a serious safety issue, it’s best to walk away. If they’re saying there’s a serious safety issue in your home, get an impartial second opinion. The simple fact is that you need time to compare estimates, check references, and to make sure they’re licensed and insured.

Don’t Give Large Down Payments

Contractors very commonly ask for down payments before they start working on a job. But if you’re dealing with a contractor who insists on a very large down payment or wants to be paid in full before work begins, this is a big red flag. Unless your job involves materials that need to be special ordered, a general rule of thumb is that you should never pay more than a quarter to a third of the total cost of the job as a down payment, although less than that is even better. Most reputable contractors are willing to negotiate with homeowners on down payments and are fine with tying payments to the progress being made on the job.

Be skeptical if a contractor tries to tell you a large down payment is necessary to cover the cost of ordering building materials or the office overhead of planning your job. An established contractor with a strong reputation will have enough cash flow to cover those sorts of things themselves and won’t expect you to pay for them upfront.

Also, stay away from contractors who insist on being paid in cash. Paying by credit card or check will offer you better protection if they try to bail on the job or they don’t do a satisfactory job.

Generally speaking, the best thing you can do to protect yourself from home improvement scams is to do your research first. Ask your friends and neighbors if they can recommend a contractor to you. Be sure to get estimates from at least three different contractors. Check your contractor’s background and make sure they have a regular office phone number and address, not a P.O. box.

Last, but certainly not least, make sure your contracts are complete and outline exactly what work will be done and when. That way, if anything goes wrong, you’ll have a contract to prove exactly how they breached the agreement. Don’t sign anything that has blank sections that the contractor could fill out after you’ve signed it.