Burglary and Your Homeowners Insurance

After leaving your home, do you worry that you forgot to lock the door or if you left a light on to make your home appear occupied? Gone are the days when your parents trusted the world with an unlocked front door, as evidenced by the fact that burglaries affected 1out of every 39 homes last year. It's an unfortunate event that ravishes a family's sense of security and frequently frustrates victims as they fight to replace the possessions that were stolen or damaged. Most burglary victims will testify that making a claim on your homeowners insurance policy after a burglary is a process that is very similar to shopping for a new quote. You need to determine what you once had and accurately assign it a value. Unfortunately, when most people shop for homeowners insurance, they erroneously guess a value for all their possessions and focus solely on controlling the cost of what seems like just another bill. Can you accurately list from memory everything in your house? How many necklaces and rings do you have; DVDs in your movie library; and exactly what type of digital camera is it? Most people struggle to answer such questions, let alone in a situation of post-traumatic burglary anguish.

Creating an inventory of your personal property is a habit that should coincide with your annual review of your homeowners policy. Before you even compare new homeowners rates, simply go room to room and document every item. Try to get serial numbers when possible and gather as much detail as you can: when, where, and for what price you purchased each item. Previous victims will tell you that pictures and videos of the larger ticket items and any supporting receipts are invaluable in the process of making a theft claim on your policy.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, standard homeowners insurance policies generally value personal property at 50% to 70% of the coverage on the structure of the home. Of course, as we mentioned above, a home inventory will make determining the value much easier and absolute. The more valuable possessions like jewelry, collectables, and antiques are protected by a standard policy, but there are usually limits to what a company will pay for these. To insure these items to their full replacement value, consider adding a personal property rider to your policy. Although this will add to the cost of your premium, the extra coverage will be much broader for these items. For example, a diamond engagement ring would be covered in the event of a burglary or even if you lost it during a vacation. Riders can be added during the quoting process, or at any time thereafter, but they generally require an appraisal to underwrite.
As you review your homeowners insurance policy this year, spend some time on your personal possessions with the same attention to detail that you might if your home was burglarized. You are certain to uncover areas where you are under covered and will most likely discover opportunities for potential savings.
Contact me for a review of your current coverages and homeowners policy needs.
robmtchl@bellsouth.net