Most homeowners take out their insurance policy assuming that meeting the basic requirements outlined by their mortgage company is enough to cover themselves. But there are five common ways that people get it wrong. And those mistakes can end up costing you a lot if you leave yourself vulnerable. Are you fully insured to protect your home, the people in it, and your valuables?

Mistake Number One

The most common mistake that people make is not carrying a big enough policy to cover their dwelling. Often, people put their insurance into escrow, so it is automatically deducted from their account. When that is the case, it is highly possible that your coverage, if not looked over by an insurance agent directly, isn’t enough to keep up with the cost of inflation. If that happens, you won’t have enough money to rebuild your home if something should happen, or the resources to ensure you are fully covered in an emergency. Ideally, your policy should be reviewed every year to two years to make sure that you are keeping up with the times.

Mistake Number Two

Another mistake that many homeowners make is setting their deductible too low. It might seem reasonable to think that setting a deductible low will ensure that you are covered in the event you need to be. But when you consider that you are paying a heavy premium every month, that adds up, the additional money to set your deductible higher, is well worth it. Most likely, you won’t claim anything lower than $2,500, so why pay for something too low to ever use.

Mistake Number Three

Setting hurricane or wind deductible too high might be a mistake. In our region, high winds are not uncommon, nor are hurricanes. Wind deductibles set too high can be devastating if we actually have a storm that does significant damage. Consider this, if you set your deducible at 10% and you own a $500,000 home, you would be responsible to pay for the first $50,000 worth of damages to your home. Most likely, your insurance won’t have to pay anything, so it is a waste to even have the rider if you can’t reasonably use it.

Mistake Number Four

A very unadvertised fact is that jewelry is not fully covered in your homeowner’s insurance unless you have a specific rider for high-end pieces. Not only do you have to keep proof of what your jewelry is worth hidden somewhere safe; it will only be coverable if you take out a specific rider to your policy for any expensive pieces. Most policies will typically cover about $2,000 for all of your lost jewelry, with a $500 per item limit. So if you have an engagement ring that is in the $1,000’s you will be out of luck to be reimbursed unless you insure it on its own.

Mistake Number Five

Not having umbrella coverage. Most homeowners can get an additional $1M of liability coverage for as little as an additional $175 annually.

Homeowner’s insurance might seem pretty straightforward, but unfortunately, it isn’t. There are many industry terms, conditions, and exclusions that you wouldn’t know about unless you had an agent on your side ensuring that you have all you need to keep you from being vulnerable.

At Samaha, our mission is to make sure that you aren’t paying too much for your homeowner’s insurance, while also ensuring you have enough to really “cover” you if something happens. We never let your policy set and not revisit it; we take the time to go through it so you are always getting the most for your money. Contact us today to see how we can save you money while keeping you safe too.