America's Home Place
America's Home Place - The personal property portion of the insurance package protects things in your home like clothes and furniture. It should also provide protection for your personal property while you are away from home, the things you take with you on vacation. The amount of insurance on your personal property is equal to a percentage of the amount of insurance on your home (usually 55%). However, it is important that you know that special limits may apply to certain types of personal property. For example, money bank note and rare coins, securities, stamp collections, jewelry and furs, firearms, silverware/goldware, rugs, tapestries and wall hangings. Higher limits on most of these items are available through upgrades on the policy or by taking out a separate policy for the items. America’s home place
America's Home Place - Check to see that your policy is written for replacement costs and you may want to consider inflation coverage. Replacement cost coverage on your personal property means that the insurance will pay to repair or replace your personal property that is covered. For example, if you bought an item several years ago for $100 and to replace it today would cost you $200, the insurance would pay $200. Inflation coverage automatically increases the amount of your insurance coverage on your home and personal property as inflation changes the cost of replacing your property. The changes are based on the movement of an inflation index and are reflected in the premium on each renewal. America’s home place
America's Home Place But how do you know if you have too little or too much insurance? Start with a home inventory to help you assess your insurance needs. First you need to know how much it would cost to rebuild your house today on your existing lot. Ask your builder what the market rate is per square foot to rebuild your house. Multiply that times the square footage of your house and that’s how much insurance coverage you should have. The amount of your personal property coverage is a percentage of that amount (normally 55% and can be upgraded to 75%). America’s home place
For your belongings inventory, list every item in your home, attic and garage, when you bought it, its original cost and its estimated value. It also helps to have photographs or a videotape of your possessions. Have a couple of sets of the photos or videos made. Keep one copy in a fireproof safe at home or a safety deposit box. Marking your items with a personal identification number such as your social security number will make reclaiming any stolen items easier. America’s home place