There is a famous British proverb that goes like this: my home is my castle. So, are you ready to protect your castle from disasters like tornado or fire? Home insurance will be on guard of safety of your home as well as your other possessions. Being a homeowner, you do need to get ready in case anything really bad happens.

What is a home insurance?

Home insurance is sometimes also referred to as hazard insurance or homeowner’s insurance. In the industry of real estate, it is abbreviated as HOI. To be exact, this type of property insurance is much like a blend of several personal insurances covering various damages to a personal property and/or contents of an occupied dwelling. That means home insurance is a multiple-line insurance including property and liability coverage.

In United States, people who purchase properties using mortgage loans are always required by the mortgage lenders to buy a home insurance. That is because home insurance can effectively protect the lender from huge financial losses if the house were unfortunately destroyed. But in some cases, when the value of a house significantly exceeds the amount of money the mortgagor borrows, the mortgagee might not ask the borrower to take a home insurance.

What does a standard home insurance policy cover?

People all know that a home insurance policy can offer many types of coverage. But few know what exactly it covers. Before you actually purchase a home insurance, remember to figure this out. Take a look at the following list and you will have a general idea of home insurance coverage.

1. Dwelling Coverage: This kind of coverage can give you the fund you need to repair or rebuild your house if it were damaged in a covered peril. That means you can get a large amount of money in the event that your house is destroyed by hurricane, lightening, hail or fire. However, damages caused by other disasters, like earthquake or flood, are not covered.

2. Other Structures Coverage: In addition to covering the house itself, standard hazard insurance can also protect other detached buildings on your property, such as garages, basements and sheds. Generally speaking, the coverage of other structures is only 10% of the total dwelling coverage. But you can get more under some special circumstances.

3. Personal Property: This coverage insures your personal possessions and household contents against the risk of being destroyed by the perils covered in the insurance policy. Your personal belongings protected by standard home insurance may include, but are not limited to furnishings, jewelries, clothing, household appliances, artwork and sports equipment etc.

4. Loss of Use: If you happen to can not live in your home since it has been badly damaged by a covered claim, then this type of coverage will help you to cover the bills for various living expenses incurred during the repair or rebuilding of your property.

5. Personal Liability Protection: This home insurance coverage aims to cover you as well as your family members and your pets for any bodily injury or property damage caused by covered perils. Plus, personal liability protection can protect you against lawsuits in some particular situations.

6. Medical Payments: Often referred to as MedPay, Medical payments coverage is also a section of a standard home insurance policy. This type of coverage typically covers medical expenses incurred in the event that someone is injured on your property but does not want to sue you.

Home Insurance in the USA

In the US, home insurance is one of the must-have insurance policies, which leaves you the peace of mind when unpredictable losses occur to your home property and belongings. Choosing a suitable home insurance could be a daunting job for people like us who would not like to work with insurance brokers, as there is a wide variety of coverage options and quotes.

In order to help you know it better, we offer a detailed guide to home insurance basics, which you need to pay attention to while purchasing an insurance policy for your USA homes.

• Most Standard Home Insurance will cover dwelling, personal property, liability, medical expenses, and loss of use, but the quotes for these coverages would vary from company to company, such as Texas home insurance. Thus, many people will get through a hard time before making the final decision on the insurer and policy.

• For states and areas that are often attacked by natural disasters like earthquake, floods, or hurricanes, your standard home insurance policy will not cover these perils. You have to purchase Additional Coverages for these somewhat devastating losses.

Let’s say Florida, the state which is often hit by hurricanes from June to November. Therefore, Florida home insurance purchasers typically add hurricane and floods coverage onto standard policies to protect their houses.

• In order to make your premiums a bit affordable, many home insurance providers offer Discounts. For example, Arizona home insurance companies usually lower insurance rates for homeowners who add safety devices and security alarms onto houses. You can start looking at options for home security at besthomesecurity.com, but keep in mind that some insurance companies will offer better security discounts than others. Thus, before determining your insurer, remember to consult insurance agents about savings. Sometimes, if you have good credit, you are probably qualified for special rates.

• Throughout the US, all states have their own Specific Departments and Laws for home insurance to maintain and boost the stability and fairness in insurance market. For California home insurance industry, it is under the supervision of California Department of Insurance. So, be sure to get familiar with your state or local insurance laws or regulations before signing the policy with your insurer.