Home insurance is essential if you have a home, and could be required by your mortgage lender. It gives you much-needed protection if something were to happen to your home, since it is most likely the biggest purchase you'll ever make. That said, there are some common questions people have about home insurance when they are unfamiliar with it.

Will You Be Relocated While Repairs Are Being Made?

In extreme loss situations, such as a house fire, chances are that your home will be unsuitable to live in until the necessary repairs will be made. Thankfully, your home insurance policy will cover the expenses involved to live somewhere else temporarily.

If the repairs shouldn't take long to do, you'll simply stay in a hotel. Insurance will cover your additional costs of living involved with doing so, such as more expensive meals due to needing to eat out. If you have a much longer repair schedule, they'll consider having you find a rental home or apartment to stay in so that you have full access to a kitchen and can resume a normal life during repairs.

How Will Belongings That Were Destroyed Be Replaced?

Check the details of your policy to find out how your exact personal property policy works. In most situations, insurance will repair or replace everything that was damaged in a home. You may be given the option to replace the item with the equivalent of what you could purchase new today, or to receive a depreciated cash value of an item based on how old it is. For example, you don't need to replace your old Apple laptop with the exact same model, your policy may allow you to replace it with the latest model available today.

How Can You Better Prepare Yourself To Make A Personal Property Claim?

Since a personal property claim will be based off all the items that you write down on the claim form, it will require your ability to remember what you had or produce a record of what you had. It may help to periodically take photos of what is in your home, including what is in closets and drawers, and upload those online to the cloud where they will be easy to retrieve later. These photos could be a great help if you suddenly find yourself needing to recall what you had in your home.

If you have more questions about home insurance, speak to a local insurance agent.

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