A client of mine asked me this question yesterday, “Do I have any gaps in my insurance?”. I took a moment to review his coverage and then replied with a few ideas.
First, he was worried he did not have enough coverage for his home in case it burned down in a fire. I assured him he probably had enough coverage, even though his insured value was far less than what his home is worth. Insurance will cover the structure, but not the land, neighborhood or view. An item we could add is extended replacement of an extra 50% of his dwelling coverage. We typically include this coverage, however, when we first wrote his policy, we could not add the extended replacement coverage due to the age of his home. It is more than 100 years old. But now, we are allowed to add it to his policy. This would be an additional buffer, just in case we need more coverage, due to a surge in demand for construction materials or building contractors, in the event of large-scale fire.
Second, I suggested adding a jewelry rider, if he was concerned about any jewelry that is more valuable. Most policies will include $1500-$5000 in jewelry coverage for theft or fire. That’s great if you are not concerned or do not own any jewelry that is more valuable. However, if you just purchased your fiancé a really expensive engagement ring, you may want to add agreed value coverage, just in case it gets stolen or mysteriously disappears.
For this particular client, he already has an umbrella policy and earthquake insurance. The last item I could think of adding was service line coverage. Service line coverage would help provide up to $10,000 in case the sewer line broke in between your home and the main connection in the street. This is an item that insurance carriers are starting to make more readily available and it only costs about $30-$45/year. And if you happen to use it, your home insurance rate should not increase, because it is a policy within a policy.
As the days grow shorter and you have more time indoors, please take a moment to review your insurance coverage. We are more than happy to help you review it, any time.
