New Homeowners Help: Tips to Buying Insurance

Buying the best homeowners insurance, as a new homeowner, can be stressful. You’re probably unsure of the process, pitfalls to watch out for, and which company you should choose. That’s why at Orion180 Insurance, we aim to simplify the process with home insurance quotes that are transparent and will make sense to cover all your needs.

It’s protection you can count on to bring you back from any losses in case the worst scenario happens to your home or belongings.

Orion180 wants to give you some tips and advice on buying insurance for new homeowners because if you need home insurance in North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, or Alabama, we want to make working with us a breeze.

What a Standard Home Policy Covers

A standard policy of the best homeowners insurance will cover the replacement cost of the actual house, any of the personal property in it, and liability if someone gets injured on your property. Any policy from insurance companies will also cover other structures on your property, like fences, sheds, or garages. There is a contingent for “loss of use” which will cover your living expenses, if your home becomes inhabitable, and you need to live somewhere else with your normal standard of living while it’s getting rebuilt. That’s just a basic overview of what the best home insurance companies will provide to you with a regular policy.

Learn the History of Your Property

There is a really beneficial report that you can look up about the history of your home. It’s called the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange report (CLUE). This handy report goes back seven years to let you know if any claims have been served on the property. You should look up other things about the area you live in, as well, that might affect your home insurance quotes, like crime rates and proximity to a police or fire station.

Consider Bundling Your Insurance Needs

Some insurance companies will offer discounts, if you purchase more than just one policy with them. Along with your homeowners insurance, see if you can move your auto policy to the same company. You can purchase life insurance, which might end up lowering the cost of all your insurance needs.

Ask Your Agent Any Questions or Needs You May Have

It’s important that you feel free to ask any questions you may have to your insurance agent. They are the experts in this situation and are there to help you make the right decisions about homeowners insurance. If you need clarification on something, or don’t understand all the fine print, that’s the time to have them explain all the little details, so you get the coverage you need. At Orion180, our agents will be able to make the optimal recommendations to cover your house and location.

Look for Policy Gaps in Home Insurance Coverage

You don’t want to be left with an underinsured home or a policy that has gaps in coverage. For example, a standard insurance policy doesn’t usually cover flooding or backup sewer damage. If you know this might be a problem considering where you live, make sure that you purchase additional coverage for those types of losses. Keep this in mind, many homes across the country are chronically underinsured. You don’t want to be one of them in case something happens, and you wind up needing to put forth a lot of your own money to make the situation right again.

Understand the Difference Between Actual Cash Value vs. Replacement Cost

This is a big one to understand the difference about, the actual cash value of the house vs. the replacement cost. The replacement cost will cover all of the expenses for rebuilding a house similar to the one you lost. The cash value is just the market value of the house itself. You want to make sure your policy covers the replacement cost, and not just the market value, since that’s just a percentage of what the total cost will end up being.

Trust Orion180 Insurance to Help Out New Homeowners

We love working with new homeowners at Orion180. It’s an exciting time in your life to buy your first home, congrats! Let us guide you on the right path to the best in homeowners insurance. Give us a call or send us a message with any questions you have to get started on the process of getting your own home insurance quotes.