Home Owners Insurance Basics
*Single Family Dwelling *Condo & Townhouse *Renters
WHAT DOES A HOMEOWNERS POLICY COVER?
A Manufactured Home policies can be a basic or a packaged policies. This means it can simply covers damage to your property or coverage can include and your liability or legal responsibility for any injuries and property damage you or a member of your family (or household pets) cause to others.
Damage to your home caused by most disasters is covered. BUT THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS: FLOOD, EARTHQUAKE, and POOR MAINTENANCE ARE NOT COVERED in a typical policy. (You don’t have to live in a flood zone to be affected by a flood. Without special flood insurance, you are not protected.)
Note: Most policies will not cover your manufactured or mobile home while in transit.
Policies will vary among insurance companies. Variations range from what causes are covered to different amounts for loss to jewelry and firearms to policies that include features like identity theft protection. Taking a personal inventory of your needs and considering all of your exposures to loss will help to determine what coverages you and your family need.
WHAT IS COVERED IN TYPICAL MANUFACTURED HOME POLICY?
Remember, all policies will vary depending on the insurance company providing the coverage. But the coverages below are typical of most standard policies. You must read your own policy to know what is covered and what is excluded.
STRUCTURE COVERAGE
Covers damage to your manufactured home and additional structures. (Additional structures are structures that you own on the same piece of land.) The amount of coverage should be enough to replace your home and additional structures in the event of a total loss.
Be sure to ask your agent about the difference between actual cash value and replacement cost.
PERSONAL PROPERTY COVERAGE
Your personal possessions such as furniture, clothing and appliances are covered. Certain types of possessions are excluded or have limited coverage. Be advised that many policies do have several exclusions and limitations for this coverage. Make sure to read your policy and discuss this coverage with your agent.
IMPORTANT NOTE #1: Replacement cost of your contents is not always included in homeowners policies. This means that if your home burns to the ground, your insurance company will pay you the depreciated value of your 10 year old living room furniture set as opposed to just replacing your living room furniture set. This coverage only cost a few extra dollars, but well worth it at the time of loss.
IMPORTANT NOTE #2: Check with your agent about all peril coverage for your personal property. Often policies are written to only cover your personal property if it is damage, lost or destroyed by certain causes. It only cost a few dollars more each year to add this protection.
LOSS OF USE
The coverage is also called Additional Living Expense. Essentially, this pays for your housing and other living expenses (like meals and laundry) if a major loss makes your house uninhabitable and you have to move out temporarily while it’s being repaired. With manufactured home policies, this may or may not be included. It is important to check with your agent about including this coverage.
PERSONAL LIABILITY
Provides coverage for bodily injury or property damage for which you are legally responsible. In other words- Accidents. For example, let’s say your dog bites someone, a guest falls down your front stairs, or your son throws a ball through your neighbor’s window. You are legally responsible for these actions. Personal Liability helps to cover the associated costs of these related damages.
Most policies provide a minimum of $100,000 of liability protection. However, you can opt to increase this amount.
MEDICAL PAYMENTS
Pays all reasonable and necessary medical expenses for a period of three years from the date of an accident to a person or persons injured while on your property. This coverage does not apply to the insured or regular residents of the insured’s household.