Home, Condo, and Renters Insurance

No matter where you call home, it is imperative that you have the right insurance. As you may know, there is much more to home insurance than just covering the physical home itself. Your belongings and your personal liability are protected through a home policy. Even if you don’t own a home, there is still an insurance policy for your living situation.

There are three different types of home insurance:

• Home (typically HO3 or HO5)
• Renters (HO4)
• Condo (HO6)

Let’s take a closer look at each one.

Home Insurance

A typical home insurance policy has six main coverages:

• Coverage A is “Dwelling” coverage. This insures the physical home itself. Any claim situation that causes damage to the physical structure of the home is covered under Coverage A.
• Coverage B is “Other Structures”, which covers any detached structures on your property. This could include a detached garage, a shed, etc.
• Coverage C is “Personal Property”. Personal property includes all of your belongings and covers them whether they are in or outside of the home.
• Coverage D is “Loss of Use”. If you are in a situation where a covered claim forces you out of your home for a period of time (fire for example), loss of use would cover expenses for you to stay elsewhere until your home is habitable.
• Coverage E is “Personal Liability” which is a very important coverage. This provides coverage when you cause damage or injury and are held liable.
• Coverage F is “Medical Payments”. This coverage provides a smaller payment for injuries to others which oftentimes covers the third party’s health insurance deductible or co-pays.

Home insurance policies can also have a number of endorsements or added coverages included on the policy.

Condo Insurance

Insuring a condo differs slightly from insuring a home. Typically, the condo association you purchase the condo from has its own insurance policy on all of the condos. Be sure when purchasing a condo, you know what you are liable for in regards to the physical structure of the condo. Often times condo owners are liable for the interior of the unit, possibly including doors and windows, and the condo association insures the exterior of the unit.

In order to prevent any overlap in coverage, a condo policy will most likely have a much smaller Coverage A amount than a home policy, and Coverage B will not be included. The remaining coverages will look very similar to a home policy.

Renters Insurance

Renters insurance is often overlooked. Not all landlords require renters insurance, however, the pros far outweigh the cons. A renters policy provides coverages C-F listed above. Averaging $10-$15/month, a renters policy is the definition of “bang for your buck.”

Each house, condo, and apartment are unique, so the insurance provided should be as well. The local agents at CRG take the time to understand each client’s living situation and provide them a custom insurance policy. So, let the experts at CRG handle the insurance, while you focus on turning the new apartment, condo, or house into a home.