Personal property insurance provides peace-of-mind for homeowners and other homeowners in California. It’s also an important protection for all of your valuable belongings, as well. Whether your home is an apartment, condo or a house, you can often help receive more security for your personal property with the proper personal property insurance. You may already be covered by renter’s insurance or car insurance in some parts of the state, but personal property insurance offers even more protection and peace-of-mind. Here’s what you need to know about this type of insurance and how to find the best coverage.
How do you obtain personal property coverage? Most homeowner’s insurance policies include personal property coverage. This means that you’ll need to add your personal belongings to any existing homeowner’s insurance policy. This coverage will usually replace your personal belongings, such as jewelry and clothing, with similar items that meet the same criteria as those covered by your new homeowner’s insurance policy. For instance, your belongings would become personal property if they are lost or stolen and replaced with brand new ones.
If you have renter’s insurance coverage on your existing home, your renters insurance policy may already include personal property insurance, too. If not, you’ll want to check with your current homeowner’s insurance company to determine if they provide this protection for renters or not. You can find out this information either at the beginning of your homeowner’s insurance policy, or from your agent.
If you own your own business, you may also want to consider purchasing additional types of insurance protection, such as business personal property insurance. Unlike homeowners coverage, which typically focuses on dwelling properties, business property insurance policies focus on your business property. You may own your business in a residential area, but if you have a storefront or other business property, you’ll need additional coverage.
Business personal property coverage usually comes in the form of replacement cost coverage. This type of insurance covers your business property for replacement costs should it be damaged due to a fire or other event. This enhanced policy will also reimburse you for losses or repair costs for personal property that is stolen during an event. You may also be reimbursed for damages to a rented vehicle or contents of a building owned by you, in the event of a disaster or theft. In addition, if you use a vehicle for business purposes, but don’t use it for the full period of time that you are allowed to use it, you may be able to get additional replacement costs reimbursed.
Another type of insurance that may be required by your insurance company is scheduled personal property coverage. Scheduled coverage amounts vary depending on the policy. A general scheduled personal property coverage amount will cover your personal property at the beginning of your policy and will increase over time as your policy ages. The policy may also provide for inflation and accelerate the maturity date of your scheduled amount.
One final type of insurance policy for homeowners is called replacement cost coverage. If your real estate has a value, which is greater than the purchase price, your insurance policy will compensate for the difference between the actual value of the property at the time of purchase, and the amount you paid for the home. If there is any kind of damage to the home, this is one way to ensure that you have adequate personal property protection. Many homeowners find that this particular type of insurance policy will actually save them money because the amount of depreciation that occurs as a result of home damage is less than the expense of replacing the items damaged during a catastrophe.
Some insurance companies also offer additional personal property coverage for items like jewelry, art, antiques, and even electronics and computer equipment. When purchasing your home inventory insurance, make sure to include all of these items. The more unique or valuable items you list, the more expensive your premiums will be. In fact, in some cases, it may actually be cheaper to buy the insurance for these items in bulk than to individually insure them. This is why jewelry, art, and antiques are so popular among insurance companies-they are generally purchased in large quantities and thus offer the insurance companies a discount for their policies.