Does Your Home Insurance Cover Rebuilding?

Homeowners questioning the type and amount of insurance they need often come to one key area of concern: how much home insurance is necessary? Coverage depends on many factors, most importantly on the home’s value. If the worst type of incident occurred and your home was a total loss, you’ll want to make sure your policy offers enough coverage to protect you against the structural loss and the loss of the contents, such as your belongings. However, it pays to look a bit closer at rebuilding costs.

What Will it Cost to Rebuild Your Home? 
The cost to rebuild the home is often higher than the estimated value of the home. For example, if you were to build your home from the ground up, you likely would spend more on the process than the current home’s market value. This is because the cost of construction tends to be higher. Unexpected fees and charges in the process make construction even more expensive. Not to mention, the cost of materials may have increased since your home was built.

Take a close look at the language in your home insurance policy. It should specifically say that the policy covers rebuilding the home, not just replacing the cost of contents and covering the value of the home. But, how much does it cost to rebuild?

This will vary from one home to the next. You can work alongside your insurer or you can use an online calculator to help you to determine how much this cost actually is. In nearly all cases, it will be between 10 and 20 percent higher than the market value of your home (but this figure varies significantly from one area to the next.)

Does Your Policy Cover It? 
Many home insurance policies help cover rebuilding the home. Do not assume your policy does, though. Instead, take a few minutes to look over the language to ensure this is a component of your policy. You should also ensure this feature is in any quote that you request as well. Most importantly, you need to know your home’s value is protected no matter what type of risk occurs.

Do you have enough coverage? Call Shankland Insurance at 641-228-7436 for more information on Charles City home insurance.