It is an unassuming box to check off on your yearly premium invoice. Check this box if you would like a lower premium. Who wouldn’t want a lower premium? In reality by checking that box you are waiving some valuable coverage and you may never know what that is until you make a claim.
You are most likely changing your deductible from $500 to a percentage of your claims value which can end up costing you lots of money if you have a large loss in your home. Even if you changed your deductible to $1500 for a savings of $150 less it may take 7 years without any claims to reap any kind of financial benefit. Can you really afford that kind or risk?
Property Adjustment Corporation always recommends more coverage than passing it up. Some carriers like Erie offer great endorsements like the Roofing & Siding Endorsement is a must-have for homes that have siding on 3 sides or more of your home. If your siding/roofing is partially damaged it will pay to have all the siding/roofing is replaced so you do not have unevenly aged siding and everything matches perfectly.
Jewelry is another area that if you have some pricey pieces they should be appropriately insured. Most homeowners’ policies have a $2500 per item aggregate; that is $2500 total coverage for all pieces of jewelry. Unfortunately all Allstate policies have only a $1500 jewelry aggregate. If your jewelry collection is more valuable, PAC recommends getting a Blanket Jewelry Rider that can cover any item amount you decide to buy.
Our most important endorsement for anyone who keeps or who has a finished basement or keeps valuable items in storage down there is the HO-208 otherwise known as the Sump-Pump Rider which protects you in the event of a back-up of sewer and water. But look out most endorsements do not cover to the extent of the items kept in the basement. Travelers Sump Pump Rider can go as high as $25,000 in coverage but most carriers only offer $10,000 in coverage and again the far inferior Allstate policy only offers $5,000 of coverage for this endorsement.
What’s going on with Farmers Insurance? The Company that advertises about protection from “gaps in your insurance” is the same company that created more holes in coverage than a block of Swiss cheese! Farmer’s new Next Generation Policy covers far less than their previous HO 3 policy. In addition to taking away some of the “All Physical Risk Coverage” that protected you from window and roof leaks, Farmers decided to write out general contractor’s evaluation for property damage claims, thus reducing claim payouts by more than 20%. Who needs that? What does this mean? If you had a good experience with Farmers in the past there is no guarantee that your new Next Generation Policy will make you equally happy.
Check your policy before winter gets here! PAC always recommends finding an insurance broker that can pick from various carriers to get you a policy designed for how your home is built. If you would like questions answered about your policy our adjuster are available for policy reviews! We do not sell policies but we see how effective they are for their customers every day! For now the best advice we can give you is to stay from Allstate and any company that advertises excessively on television.
