Here are some important things you need to know about homeowners insurance.

It’s incredibly important for homeowners to understand how insurance works, but there are a lot of complicated aspects that can be tricky to grasp. Today, I’m joined by Jim Steed of Options Insurance, who will be helping explain a few key things you should know about homeowners insurance.

Jim used to work as a captive agent for an insurance company, but he’s since moved into an independent role that allows him to work with multiple companies. He found he didn’t like being stuck to one company, and he’s now able to offer many more options to his clients. He’s able to work with nine different carriers in Tennessee and eight carriers in Georgia, and he recently got licensed in Alabama. 

Jim explained a few things that people typically get mixed up. For example, “full coverage” usually doesn’t apply to homes; instead, it’s more related to automobiles. Similarly to car insurance, however, liability has different levels when it comes to homes. Jim’s agency avoids non-standard limits and only writes standard or preferred limits for insurance. They see a lot of people with non-standard coverage, which is typically unadvisable, so they work to get them into a better insurance plan. They often even help these homeowners put some money back in their pockets by doing so.

“Jim’s agency won’t write a policy without a dwelling extension, which provides an additional 25% of coverage in the event of a total loss.”

Home prices have skyrocketed recently, so I wanted to ask about what happens when a home is destroyed but the insurance was purchased before prices rose. If you have been properly written and have a standard carrier that increases the annual monetary value, you’ll get what your home is worth. For example, it’s normal for a $200,000 home’s insured value to increase by $5,000 the next year. Jim’s agency also won’t write a policy without a dwelling extension, which provides an additional 25% of coverage in the event of a total loss. This helps insulate homeowners from things like high lumber costs or unprecedented home appreciation.

I’d like to thank Jim for sharing some insight into homeowners insurance and how it works. If you’d like to reach out to him at Options Insurance, visit jsteedagency.com. In the meantime, if you have any questions about real estate or would like more information, feel free to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you soon.