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HOW MUCH INSURANCE DO I NEED ON MY HOME?

The answer to that depends on what you have in your home.  

More than half of homeowners are underinsured, estimate my friends in the insurance business, and it’s not just because they don’t realize that that cost of replacing and repairing continually increases. They also don’t notify their insurance agents when they make expensive upgrades in the house.

For example, if your kitchen had a vinyl floor when you bought your home and signed up for homeowner’s insurance, your policy will most likely pay for new vinyl after a kitchen fire. If you had replaced that vinyl with more-expensive hardwood five years after you moved in, and failed to upgrade your insurance policy along with the flooring,your policy still will pay for a vinyl floor, even though your wood was destroyed.

Every time you upgrade,from laminate counter-tops to granite, from carpet to wood floors, from white appliances to stainless steel, for instance, you need to re-up with the insurance company to make sure your things are covered for the amount it will cost to replace them after a disaster.

Likewise, if you sink a lot of money into remodeling by enlarging or adding rooms, adding designer touches or even installing a new roof or plumbing pipes, it’s time to check in with your agent. Major renovations can change the replacement cost per square foot, and your upgrades won’t be covered if your agent doesn’t know.

When you call for a recalculation of the replacement-cost value of your home, ask your agent to figure it as close to 100 percent of the cost as possible. You might even want to hedge your bets by expanding your policy with a “rider” that covers 125 percent or even 150 percent of the replacement-cost value, just in case those costs go up before you have a chance to upgrade the policy again. 

Talk with your insurance agent at least once a year. You’ll have greater peace of mind if you know that your homeowner’s insurance will pay the true replacement cost of your home and the things in it.

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