Episode 17: Choosing The Best Home Insurance Policy
Your insurance policy is a living, breathing, document. So do you have an ongoing relationship with your Insurance Agent? Marilyn Sparks, Insurance Agency Owner with Farmers Insurance, Los Angeles County Insurance Commissioner, and amazing lady explains all her best recommendations on how to protect your assets.
Takeaways:
1. Insurance is based on the cost to rebuild your home
2. A Fire-Line score ranges from 0-30
3. Every insurance Policy is different
4. New home builds or home improvements may offer discounts
5. Call your Representative first, not the 800 number to file a claim
6. Vacancy and Landlord policies have a different set of rules
Did you watch our video on our Backyard Kitchen Makeover? Check it out here!
Are you confused by all the different things that come with owning a home? Did you even remember to get Home Insurance? Cause you need it. Let’s find out what to consider when you are choosing the best Home Insurance Policy for you.
We sat down with Marilyn Sparks, Insurance Representative for Farmers Insurance to ask her some common questions our clients may have.
Marilyn loves to serve from her heart. She aims to educate people how to best protect their investments and to provide the best recommendations.
The Question:
What’s the Best Home Insurance Policy for me?
If you’ve ever looked into Insurance for your home, or honestly any type of insurance at all, you know it’s confusing.
“Insurance is a living, breathing document. It needs to be revisited and reviewed often.”- Marilyn Sparks
Every family is different. Every house is different.
The best one for your neighbor may not be the best one for you.
Just a forewarning, the answer is, “It' depends” a lot because it truly does. It’s all based on your situation and your policy.
Do you have to have Home Owners Insurance?
Most lenders require that you have Home Owners Insurance and you want to make sure you abiding within your lender’s requirements.
But what if your mortgage is paid off?
Well, we would say, “Why wouldn’t you want to protect something you own?” So while it may not be required, we advise you protect one of your largest assets.
How do they determine Insurance?
Insurance is based on the reconstruction value of your home. It has nothing to do with the market value of your home.
Insurance will cover the cost to rebuild your home, for instance if a fire burned it to the ground. An insurance company does not insure the land per-say, but the box that is your home.
For example, a home in Beaumont may sell for $399,000 on the market right now, but the cost to rebuild that same home could be about $500,000.
That same kind of home in San Dimas for example, may sell for about $800,000 on the market and still cost about $500,000 to rebuild.
Reconstruction Value does not match Market Value.
Do I Have Fire Insurance?
When you live in California, fires are just a part of life for a season. So if you live here in California you may be wondering, am I covered if my house burns down? Does it cost me more? Do I have enough?
It depends on your policy if you’re covered.
Some policies may give you additional living expense coverage. And that sort of covered may pay for a hotel expense, and extended stay expense, a temporary rental expense until their home is repaired or replaced.
Fire Insurance and Home Owners Insurance covers so much more than the actually cost of the repair of a covered loss from something like a fire.
What’s a Fire Line score?
A Fire Line score ranges from 0-30.
nd out your financial goals, and when it hits the market, you can be ready to make an offer and switch from Tenant to Owner.
It’ll happen when the time is right for you.
Don’t just buy a house because someone tells you to. Make sure it’s the smart move.
Things to Consider
When you look at a house, you want to think about:
What do I need?
What do I want?
Where am I going?
Renting is a great alternative to waiting for when it is the time to buy.
Homeownership Takes Work
Getting into home ownership is not easy.
You need to get ready. Get educated. Save money. Align yourself with the right professionals to support you. And then continue to build your real estate portfolio.
“I want to be a Landlord”
So now that you’ve purchased one home, you’re thinking, I want to buy another house.
A lot goes into that. You need to be informed. There are government laws and regulations you need to follow.
There’s a thing such as the 10-31 exchange, and taxes to consider on that growth of equity, and a ton of other things. And again, why we say you need someone to talk and walk with you through that journey until you understand what you’re doing.
You don’t want to be blindsided by fees, illegalities, and the like and lose all you’ve worked for.
In Conclusion
Enter Homeownership when you’re ready.
We are just a family that loves serving families. We encourage you to schedule an appointment with as and start your journey.
If you want to get started on your home ownership journey check out our Buyer’s Consultation and see what it’s like when you have a FREE Buyer’s Consultation with us.
We don’t decide what’s best for you. You do. We just give you great information to make the right decision.
Call us and find out what’s best for you.
909-227-4196
Thanks so much for reading. We look forward to helping you with your real estate goals.
Check out Part 1 to this topic here.
Lori Alvarez has been in the Real Estate Industry for almost 15 years. If you’d like to contact her call her at 909-227-4196. She loves helping families find their home sweet home.
Our podcast is geared towards our current clients. We love to give our buyers and sellers great information. Wondering about something we haven’t covered? Send us a message.
Thanks for reading. What’s going to be your next step to finding your home sweet home?
Real Estate is an ongoing, beautiful story. That’s why we love to share ours and to help you begin yours! Tune in to the next episode where we will continue the conversation.
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