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Personal Insurance

Does my home insurance cover that? Sort of.

By April 24, 2017February 7th, 2022No Comments

You purchase insurance to cover the things that mean the most to you such as your home. Your agent gave you the quote, you saw the premium and signed on the dotted line. That means your home is covered, right? Well, sort of.

Sort of? How can that be possible? Don’t panic. You are covered, but there are some personal items that are capped. That means that while there is coverage, it is a limited amount. While your declaration page will show an aggregate amount for personal property you should know that some of your personal items have a fixed amount that you can claim.

Some of those items are things like jewelry, money, guns and silverware. These are typically items that are much more mobile and suspect to a sudden disappearance.

What Is Covered by Homeowners Insurance?

Here is an example from an actual declaration page:

Personal Property $237,500
Theft of Jewelry, Watches or Furs $5,000
Theft of Silverware $5,000
Theft of Guns $5,000
Securities $5,000
Money $1,000

As you can see, this policy provides the insured with $237,500 in personal property, which would entail things such as jewelry, silverware and guns. However, you can see where certain items have a limit.

Homeowners Insurance Coverage Limitations?

So what if you have more than the limits listed above? There are ways to expand those limits by scheduling the items. And in some cases, you can avoid a deductible so take a moment and take stock of what you have in your house. Is there something valuable you are worried about? Then ask your agent. Chance are it would fall under the personal property limits but it’s always better to ask.

Jewelry always seems to be an item that gets overlooked. In the example above you have $5,000 and that’s it. That is the limit for one item or for all your jewelry.  So, you may think that your wedding ring or watch aren’t worth $5,000 so no big deal. But what is the value of all your jewelry? If you add up all your pieces, is it over $5,000? Then you have a problem. If you a $500 ring is stolen and you have a $1,000 deductible your claim is moot. While jewelry is an example, this goes for other items such as guns or money.If you would like to learn more or discuss how to insure these items properly please feel free to contact me or call our office at (513) 280-8428.

Photo courtesy: Ashley Mowry, Flickr

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