The average home in Franklin county is worth $155,000. Most insurance agencies are used to insuring the “average” home.
If your home is significantly above “average” your insurance agent might not be used to dealing with the issues facing someone who owns a home worth significantly more.
Here’s 5 things to look for when insuring your high-valued home:
1.) Is it insured for enough? Higher valued homes tend to contain custom features. Sometimes, significantly custom features. Most insurance companies use a software “calculator” to come up with the value your home should be insured for. Even though these “calculators” have increased factors for higher valued homes, they still tend to use numbers for a “typical” higher-valued home, and your home most likely has at least a few non-standard features. (think hand-crafted imported tiles, custom hand hewn beams, oddly shaped swimming pools, etc).
2.) Fine art and jewelry. You most likely own some significantly valuable pieces. If your current or prospective agent is asking for updated appraisals on these items, that’s a red flag. The market for fine art and jewelry can jump drastically in a short period of time. These items need to have updated appraisals. If you haven’t been asked for recent appraisals, take a hard look at what these items are being insured for.
3.) Liability limits. Most homeowners policies come standard with $100,000 of personal liability. Most companies will offer options for increased limits of $300,000 or at most $500,000. You most likely need significantly higher limits than that as your home itself is worth more than that. An umbrella policy (or an excess liability policy) can provide personal liability limits in excess of the the primary liability limits on your homeowners policy. If you have very significant assets, it may be necessary to get more than one company to provide enough excess liability limits to cover your net worth.
4.) Insure your toys properly. Local insurance companies just aren’t equipped to handle the types of toys owned by high net worth homeowners. Vacation cabins in remote locations, exotic cars, custom vehicles, boats and yachts used in international waters. These are all examples where you definitely want to deal with a company that insures a lot of high valued clients. Their ability to serve you in a claim situation will be much better than the company that insures “average valued” homes.
5.) Claims. The most important part of the insurance process. Insurance agencies and companies that insure a lot of high valued items are more comfortable dealing with a loss to a high valued home. They understand your needs are greater than an average homeowner. They have a better feel for the value of the items in your home, the requirements you’ll want in temporary housing, rental vehicles, etc.
These are just a few things to consider if you are a high value homeowner. If your current agent is not talking to you about these things, give a us call. We understand your needs and will make sure you have superior insurance coverages for your anything but average home.
About Insurance Agency of Ohio
Insurance Agency of Ohio is a trusted and well-respected family-owned independent insurance agency in Worthington, Ohio. The agency has been protecting their central Ohio clients with comprehensive insurance programs for over 50 years. Insurance Agency of Ohio specializes in preferred personal insurance, business insurance, home health care, construction, manufacturers, dentists, workers compensation and insurance risk transfer programs.
