Your home is where you make your life – it’s where you make lasting memories, and it’s where you and your family spend the most of your time. But beyond that, it’s also the most valuable financial investment you’ll ever make, a reward for your hard work over the years. We understand how important protecting your home and your loved ones is, and that’s why Inland Northwest Insurance is proud to offer the most competitive home insurance rates in Spokane, Walla Walla, Mead WA and all of Washington State.
Table of Contents
What is Home Insurance?
What Does Home Insurance Cover?
Why Do I Need Homeowners Insurance?
Renters Insurance
How to Get Home Insurance
What is Home Insurance?
Homeowners insurance is intended to provide you with financial protection against any potential harm to your home. At its basic level, a standard policy covers your home itself and your possessions, but you can add additional coverages depending on your own situation. In return for a regular payment from you (called a premium), your insurance agency agrees to pay for damages to your home, as agreed upon in your policy.
Every policy has a liability limit, which sets the upper limit of how much money your policy can pay out should an incident occur. The standard limit is typically around $100,000, but you can opt for a higher limit by speaking with an agent at Inland Northwest Insurance. This liability limit will have a percentage stipulation of the coverage that goes towards replacements or repairs.
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What Does Home Insurance Cover?
Most standard policies cover four types of coverage for: the structure of your home, your personal belongings/possessions, liability, any additional living expenses incurred if you are temporarily unable to live in your home. Keep in mind, most standard homeowners insurance policies do not cover what are called “Acts of War” (in the unlikely case of an invasion or terrorist attack) or “Acts of God”, such as a flood or earthquake.
Structure of Your Home
Home insurance for the structure of your home means that your policy will pay to repair or rebuild your home if it is damaged by any disasters specified in your policy. When selecting a homeowners insurance policy, the best advice to follow is to ensure you purchase enough coverage to rebuild your home. You can also include detached structures such as barns, tool sheds or garages as a certain percentage of this coverage, typically around 10% of the total structure.
Trees, plants and other shrubbery are also covered under most standard homeowners insurance policies. There will be a limit on how much you can be reinforced for (typically up to $500) and this does not include damage from wind or disease.
Personal Belongings
Coverage for your personal belongings/possessions will pay you for any damage to items such as furniture, clothes, or other personal items. This is typically 50-70% of the insurance on the structure of your home. To know whether this is enough, ask your Inland Northwest Insurance agent, and conduct a home inventory.
Personal belongings may often include items that are stored off-premise – which means in some cases, this type of coverage is worldwide. Off-premise coverage typically can go up to 10% of the total structure, so it is important to consider how many items you have stored off-premise and their total value. If you are concerned about these types of items, ask one of our experienced agents what kinds of coverage would be best for you.
Expensive items (such as jewelry, art or antiques) are covered, but your home insurance policy will dictate a dollar limit on how much you can be reimbursed for. You can purchase a special personal property endorsement to insure the item(s) for the officially appraised amount.
Liability Protection
Liability coverage protects you against any lawsuits that may be brought against you for bodily injury or property damage caused by you or your family. This may even include damage caused by your pets. This covers both the cost of defending you, as well as any court awards against you.
Additional Living Expenses
Additional living expenses coverage pays for any costs associated with living away from home in the case of a disaster.
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Why Do I Need Homeowners Insurance?
No one wants to imagine something happening to their home, but accidents and disasters do happen, and it is best to be protected in case they strike your home. Reports say that fire departments respond to residential fire calls every 84 seconds on average. Additionally, water leaks caused approximately $9.1 billion in damages to American homes between 2007 and 2009, with the average amount needed to repair a leak being above $20,000. With this amount of risk, it is financially prudent to ensure you have adequate home insurance.
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Renters Insurance
Even if you don’t own your home (or apartment), it is important to protect where you live and your property. Your landlord’s insurance most likely does not cover you or your things. Renters insurance will cover things like your computer, your TV, sports equipment and your clothing. It can even protect your possessions outside of your home, such as if you lose your laptop while at the gym. Renters insurance can also cover costs for you while repairs are made to your home or apartment.
Renters insurance is surprisingly affordable, and can become even more so when bundled with other packages. For more information, ask your Inland Northwest Insurance agent.
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How to Get Home Insurance in Spokane
Inland Northwest Insurance is one of the leading home insurance providers in Spokane, Spokane Valley, Mead WA, Walla Walla and the entire state of Washington. Give us a call at (509) 892-6373 or fill out the form below to get a free quote and see how we can save you money while protecting your family!
