Home insurance, also known as buildings insurance or homeowner’s insurance, is a must for anyone who owns property. The likelihood may seem low, but if an act of nature, an accident, or even a theft occur, home insurance can save you from financial ruin.
Just as important as having home cover in the first place is making sure you’re insured right. When you’re looking for home insurance quotes, be sure to read the fine print before saying yes to an offer. There are some easy but costly mistakes you can make when it comes to insuring your building. Let’s take a look at them so you know exactly what to do to be certain of your home insurance.
At first glance, the home cover might seem basic, but each insurer has their own rules about what they will and won’t insure. For example, we at Dialdirect will cover your swimming pool under our Buildings Insurance but not the swimming pool pump; that’s insured separately under Portable Possessions Cover. Likewise, your geyser may not automatically be covered if it bursts; you might need to specifically tell your insurer you want this cover.
Home insurers also don’t cover wear and tear, so if you see your carpet starting to wear thin, don’t rely on your insurance paying for a new one. You’ll have to fix or replace it out of your own pocket.
It’s an easy mistake to make, but over insuring or under insuring your property will almost always lead to you spending more ching than is necessary. If you over insure, you’ll pay too much on your monthly premiums. If you under insure, you won’t receive the full payout amount because you’ll only be paid out a percentage of your claim. For example, if you under insure your property by 30%, your insurer will underpay you by 30% when you claim.
The market value of a property typically refers to how much one could sell it for at that time. The replacement value refers to how much it would cost to replace the home or fixtures within it. Most of the time, these values aren’t that different because people tend to update and renovate their homes as time goes by to align with what is standard in that area. However, if, for example, you have a home with low-cost fixtures in a sought-after and affluent suburb, the difference between the market value and replacement value could be world’s apart. Look carefully at your property and its features to be sure you insure it for the right amount.
Your home’s value is almost certain to increase gradually as years go by, but it will change rapidly if you do renovations on it. Whether you’re constructing an additional outbuilding or are simply remodeling your bathroom, it’s important to get in touch with your home insurer and have them update your cover if necessary. To err on the side of caution, we recommend getting in touch once a year with your home insurer to update the value of your building on your policy.
Now that you know what to look out for when insuring your home, get Home Insurance you can rely on with us. You can complete a Home Insurance quote online so you can get started at a time that suits you. If you prefer to chat to one of our consultants, leave your details and we’ll call you back at a time and day that fits your schedule.
Dialdirect is an authorised FSP and Insurer T’s and C’s online