Home Insurance

Homeowner’s Insurance

Homeowner’s insurance is important in protecting your house against perils that may damage your beloved home. As an added bonus, it provides personal liability and medical payments coverages. With traditional homeowners insurance, any buildings, contents, outbuildings, personal liability, and additional living expenses will be covered in any unfortunate event that may happen.

Condo Insurance

For Condo Unit-Owners, homeowners coverage is available to fill the gaps in your HOA’s coverage, and to also cover your personal contents, liability, and additional living expenses. Condo insurance also covers Loss Assessment, to cover your share of an assessment levied against all unit-owners when there are damages exceeding the limits, or not covered by the master HOA policy.

Renters Insurance

We also offer Renters insurance for tenants and it covers your personal property (contents of the apartment) and personal liability and medical payments, as well as additional living expenses if your apartment becomes uninhabitable due to a covered loss. Renters insurance is fairly inexpensive and is designed to keep you from having to open a Go Fund Me campaign, should you or your neighbor start a fire in your apartment building.

Learn More about Renters Insurance

About Home Insurance

Here we cover:

Understanding Your Homeowner’s Policy’s Declarations Page

The house, or dwelling, at the insured location. This coverage amount is determined by completing a Replacement Cost Estimate. Your homeowner’s policy is most likely a “Replacement Cost” policy. You can learn more about standard loss settlement options here: Progressive Home Insurance

Any structures not attached to the insured dwelling (e.g. detached garages, storage sheds, pole barns, mailboxes, fences).

Personal belongings of the insured residents. Limits on losses to certain types of property are set forth in the homeowner’s policy. If you have valuable jewelry, furs, fine arts, firearms, silverware, sports equipment, musical instruments, etc… contact your agent to inquire about an Inland Marine Schedule.

Coverage for a temporary residence while the insured residence is uninhabitable due to an insured loss.

Provides home insurance coverage for any loss sustained to another person or their property where the insured is deemed negligent.

For injuries sustained at the insured location by another party, where the insured had no fault or negligence.

This is a specified amount that the insured must pay before the insurance company will pay a claim. It is simply deducted from the amount of the loss when a check is issued.

Grey house sits peacefully in the suburbs

What to do in Case of Loss

If any type of loss is sustained at your home, it is your duty to notify your insurance agent or company promptly.

View Carriers & Claims Information

Home Insurance Policy Coverage

What’s Typically Covered

Your home insurance policy provides protection “against risk of direct physical loss” to your property, provided it is not otherwise excluded in the homeowner’s policy form.

Examples of some perils insured against are:

Fire
Wind
Hail
Theft
Explosion
Smoke
Vandalism or Malicious Theft
Riot or Civil Commotion

Aircraft
Vehicles
Falling Objects
Water Damage (from Leaking Appliances)
Weight of Ice
Snow or Sleet
Certain Types of Collapse

What is Not Covered

Certain events are excluded from homeowner’s coverage under the home insurance policy form.

Your home insurance policy will not cover:

Earthquake or earth movement
Flood, surface water, water seepage
Neglect
War
Nuclear hazard

Ordinance or law that is not covered elsewhere in the policy
Intentional losses
Wear, tear or deterioration
Business ventures

Some excluded events, like flood or earthquake, can be covered with the purchase of additional endorsements or policies, contact your agent with any questions.

*For precise language regarding what is covered under your home insurance policy, please read your specific home insurance policy form. The information compiled here was taken from a sample HO3 Special Form policy from The Insurance Services Office (ISO)

Cost Factors of Home Insurance in Columbia, MO

Not all home insurance is exactly the same. Many factors determine the price of the homeowner’s insurance, including:

Age of Home
Construction Type
Age of Roof
Fire Protection Class
Loss History
The Right Home Insurance Policy For You

Frequently Asked Homeowner’s Questions

What if my neighbor’s tree fell on my house, shouldn’t I find out who his/her insurance is through?

Unfortunately, unless you can prove that your neighbor’s tree was dead and he/she was aware of it and negligently let the tree fall on your property, they are not responsible. When a live tree falls on property, it is considered an “act of nature” and whoever’s property was damaged…

Are my household contents covered while I move?

While there are certain situations that only provide 10% contents coverage extension, a standard homeowner’s insurance policy will provide coverage at 100% of Coverage C – Personal Property while “in a newly acquired principal residence for 30 days from the time you begin to move the property there.”

My wife lost her ring, is that covered?

Please read our article To Schedule, or Not To Schedule

What is Water/Sewer back-up coverage?

This is a specific endorsement that has to be added to your homeowner’s policy for coverage to apply. Water back-up coverage covers you when water backs up through sewers or drains and causes damage to your home.

Why is my home insured for so much more than I bought it for?

Most homeowner’s policies are designed to provide “Replacement Cost” coverage. Every insurance company uses a calculation method to determine the replacement cost for each home it insures. Replacement cost is based on factors such as: year built, number of stories, living space square footage, number of bathrooms, exterior and…