Homeowner Insurance
Your home is the center of your daily life, and likely your most valuable asset. When your home is damaged or destroyed, you need your claim settled by an insurance company that understands this simple fact. The Cusmano Agency can help you find the Fairfield home insurance that will best meet your needs and provide the most valuable combination of tailored coverage, quality service and fair pricing.
Depending on where you live – a house, apartment, or condominium – the right home insurance policy can provide you peace of mind as well as the money you need to repair or replace your home and/or belongings.
Fairfield Home Insurance
Whether you own or rent, insuring the place you call home can help protect you financially if you suffer a loss due to fire, theft, vandalism, or other covered events. It will also cover you in the event someone is injured while on your property and wins a legal judgment against you.
Homeowner insurance policies differ by which losses are covered, which coverages you choose, and what type of residence you own. You choose which policy is best for you, whether it’s a comprehensive policy that cover losses such as fire, hail, smoke, falling objects, vandalism and theft of personal property, or whether it’s a policy that covers only specified losses.
Whether you’re a home or condo owner, a renter, or a landlord, we will work with you to find a Fairfield home insurance policy that fits your needs. We specialize in making it easy to choose the insurance coverage that gives you the best value for the best price.
Your home insurance policy is most often made up of the specific options you choose. How much you'll pay for your policy depends on:
- Options you select - Often home owner insurance options are priced individually, so how much you'll pay for your policy depends on what coverages you buy.
- How much you want to cover - Higher deductibles usually lower your premium price by shifting part of the loss payment to you. For example, if you had a $500 deductible, you would be responsible for paying the first $500 of the covered loss.
- Where you set your limits - You may choose to set higher limits than the recommended amount if appropriate to your situation and needs.
Worried you aren’t completely covered? Consider an umbrella insurance policy that extends your coverage.
The Right Coverage. The Right Price. The Right Value
The amount you pay for your home owners insurance depends on many factors. Think of your personal housing situation, and the assets you want to protect.
- Protection for Your Home
Property or Dwelling Coverage typically pays to repair or rebuild your home if it’s damaged or destroyed by an insured event like a kitchen fire or windstorm.
- Protection for You and Other People
Personal Liability Coverage applies if someone is injured or their property is damaged and you are to blame. The coverage generally applies anywhere in the world. When choosing your liability coverage limits, consider things like how much money you make and the assets you own. Your personal liability coverage should be high enough to protect your assets if you are sued. - Medical Coverage
This covers medical expenses for guests if they are injured on your property, and in certain cases covers people who are injured off of your property. It does not cover health care costs for you or other members of your household.
- Additional Living Expenses
If you can’t live in your home because of a covered loss, your home insurance policy will pay additional living expenses (commonly for up to 24 months) while damage is assessed and your home is repaired or rebuilt.
- Protection for Your Belongings
Your home is filled with furniture, clothes, electronics and other items that mean a lot to you. Personal Property Insurance helps replace these items if they are lost, stolen or destroyed as a result of a covered loss.
- Scheduled Personal Property Coverage
If you have special possessions such as jewelry, art, antiques or collectibles you may want to talk to your agent about this additional coverage. It provides broader coverage for specific items.
- If You Rent Out Your Home
Landlords may have the option to buy optional liability coverage for the risks posed by tenant-occupied dwellings.
Be Sure You Have Enough Fairfield Home Insurance
Here are some steps you can take to reduce the danger of being seriously underinsured:
- Call The Cusmano Agency - If you have questions or concerns about the limits in your policy, ask us to show you how those amounts were calculated. This will also give you an opportunity to make us aware of any overlooked information.
- Read your policy - Certain property, such as jewelry, and certain perils, such as earthquake or flood, is better insured separately. Knowing what is covered and for how much will help you insure properly. If there is anything in your policy you don’t understand, contact us and ask for an explanation.
- Review - At each annual renewal of your policy, you receive a new Policy Declarations page showing limits of coverage and optional coverages. Review this information. If you do any significant remodeling or add a family room, extra bedroom or bathroom, etc., tell us about these changes so your coverage limits can be adjusted to cover the improvement.
- Consider whether your policy provides all the protection you need:
- Does it provide coverage for extra costs resulting from building code changes?
- Does it automatically increase coverage limits annually to keep pace with inflation?
- Does it provide additional funds if the cost of rebuilding your home exceeds the policy limits?
Make sure you know:
- Will your insurance company stand behind agreed upon repairs after a claim? Some companies are willing to put this guarantee in writing.
- Does your policy include replacement cost coverage for contents (clothing, furniture, appliances, and other personal property inside your home)? If not, you can add it by endorsement. The cost is small, but the protection valuable. Replacement Cost Coverage pays for losses to your possessions at the cost of brand new items. Without this option, a covered loss to your personal possessions would be depreciated by their age and condition, reducing the size of your claim settlement.
If you have an art collection, antique furniture, jewelry, or other valuable possessions, ask The Cusmano Agency about supplemental coverages, such as fine arts or scheduled property endorsements, to adequately protect your investment in these items. The cost is modest for the extra protection, and often the deductible is waived.
Consider whether you should have more coverage for personal property (contents) than your policy provides. Personal property coverage is usually 70% of the coverage limit for the structure. Your limit may be lower than 70%. Supplemental protection is available for a small additional premium.
Inventory your home
Prepare an inventory of personal property items , update it periodically, and keep it in a safe place outside your home, such as a safe deposit box at your bank. It will save you hours of time trying to list everything damaged or destroyed if you need to make a claim. It will also help ensure you don’t forget some items. We can advise you on ways to simplify the job of preparing a personal property inventory such as videotaping each room with descriptive information on the sound track.
Personal Liability
Besides making sure you have enough protection to cover possible damage to your own home and contents, you should also evaluate your exposure to liability risks. These result from damage to the property of another, or injury to a person, not a member of your household, for which you can be responsible.
In recent years it’s become common for homeowners to be sued for injuries or damages to others, even when there is no evidence of negligence by the homeowner. The reality today is if you have any appreciable assets, you are exposed to the risk of being sued. Even if you ultimately prevail in court, your legal fees and the months or years of worry and uncertainty can be a terrible burden on you and your family.
The Personal Liability coverage provided by your Homeowners Policy usually provides a limit of $100,000 or $300,000. We recommend increasing this protection with a personal umbrella policy. Not only will it increase your personal liability, but also your auto liability. Limits are available from $1 million to $10 million and beyond. The cost of this coverage is usually very reasonable.
Every home is unique. Talk to us today to find out how to get the best price and value on Fairfield home insurance for you.
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