703 North Court Street
P.O. Box 446
Medina, Ohio 44258
(330) 725-4543
(800) 589-8333
Fax: (330) 723-2500
info@hunterins.com
office hours: 8:30-5 M-F
Evenings & Saturdays by appointment
Homeowner Insurance
Your home is a valued possession. Whether you live in a house, condominium or apartment, your home is a vital asset to you and your family that you want to adequately protect.
Homeowners insurance includes two areas of protection—property and liability. The property protection includes your home, other structures on the premises, and your personal property. The liability insurance protects you for accidental bodily injury to others that is attributed to the actions of you or your family members. Ask us about limitations of this coverage.
Protection Options
While the basic Homeowners Policy offers broad protection, insurers place necessary limits on that protection to make the policy affordable. If your protection needs exceed the limits of the policy, you can tailor-make the policy with protection options. These include:
- Back-Up of Sewers and Drains pays to repair damage to your home and replace contents damaged from the back up of sewers and drains.
- Home Based Business protects your business property and/or business liability for your business operations from your home.
- Earthquake protection for earthquake damage to your home is an affordably priced option in Ohio.
- Expanded Replacement Cost pays to replace your home for up to 25 to50 percent beyond your policy limits, in the event of a covered loss. (The percentage varies by policy.) This valuable extension comes in handy when widespread regional damage drives the cost of materials up and contractors are paying overtime wages.
- Identity Theft offers services to help protect your family, finances and future if you ever become a victim of identity theft.
- Inland Marine Protection broadens the causes of loss or increases the amount that ould otherwise be paid for certain types of personal property.
- Bicycles
- Coins and stamps
- Firearms
- Jewelry
- Boats
- Computers
- Fine arts, antiques
- Musical instruments
- Cameras
- Farm equipment
- Hearing aids
- Loss Assessment pays your share of a property association members assessment levied against all members due to direct loss to property collectively owned by the members, liability for which your personal liability applies, or liability for acts of volunteer directors, officers, or trustees on behalf of the association.
- Personal Injury Liability protects you against claims of libel, slander and false arrest.
- Replacement Cost pays the full cost of repair or replacement of your home and contents without deduction for depreciation in the event of a covered loss up to the policy limits subject to policy terms.
- Special Personal Property broadens the protection on your personal property from a specified list of 16 to 18 causes of loss to any direct physical damage to personal property that is not otherwise excluded in the policy.
Save Money on Home Insurance
Insurers will reward you for efforts to reduce the likelihood of a loss by offering discounts. Since these vary considerably from one insurer to the next, ask us what discounts you are eligible for and if there are other ways to reduce your premium. This is a sampling of the discounts:
- Smoke, fire and burglar alarms
- Newer home
- Sprinkler system
- High deductible
- Home/auto
- New roof
- Prime of Life (age related)
- Longevity discount
- Loss free
- Deadbolt locks
- Good credit
Q&A
Q: What is not covered under the Homeowners Policy?
A: Generally, other than coverage limits on the declaration page of the policy the Homeowners policy limits or excludes protection for causes that are:
- Available as an optional coverage like earthquake, home-based business, high valued jewelry or firearms, sewer backup, etc.
- More appropriately insured under a separate policy like autos, motorcycles, mopeds, flood, boats, airplanes, etc.
- Generally uninsurable like war, nuclear attack, insects, vermin, communicable diseases, intentional damage to your property, intentional injury to others, etc.
- A home maintenance or aging issues like furnace breaks down, roof wears out, corrosion or deterioration occurs to any structure or personal property, etc.
Q: How much should I insure my home for?
A: Two key values apply to your home—market value and replacement cost. The market value, or what you might sell it for, and the replacement cost, or what it would take to rebuild it with “like kind and quality”, may be very different. It is common for a market value to be $200,000 while the cost is $250,000 or more. Since your goal is to rebuild the entire home, it is essential to insure for the full replacement cost. We can assist you in determining the replacement cost of your home.
For More Information
For more information about homeowner insurance, please contact us.