For many people, investing in insurance seems like one of life’s unnecessary evils – often viewed as little more than an extra expense that, in many cases, we feel we’ll never, ever need. However, if you get caught short and find yourself embroiled in the aftermath of an accident or similar damaging incident, you’ll soon rue the day you decided not to buy cover.
The importance of having a home cover
Of all of life’s purchases, for most people, investing in a home represents the single largest investment we’ll make. Moreover, when you consider most of us also keep our worldly possessions at home, the values involved can soon spiral out of control should the worst happen. Investing in cover for your home and its contents should be at the top of your list when it comes to your outgoings – particularly when you consider the overall total worth of your house and belongings.
Home accident/incident rates
Sure, it can be tempting to think you don’t need cover, and looking back over your life, you may well have been lucky enough not to have suffered times when you needed the best homeowners insurance companies. If so, however, you are very much the exception to the rule. The stats make for sobering reading:
- In the US alone, it’s forecast that 75% of all homes will experience a break-in over the next 20 years
- Again, in the US, an average of 358,500 homes catch fire each year – the top causes being cooking fires, problematic heating equipment, and fires caused by faulty electrical malfunctions
- More than 3000 Americans die each year in house fires
Reasons why having cover makes sense
If the above statistics aren’t enough to persuade you into thinking having cover might be a good idea, below are just a few other reasons why home insurance makes good sense:
- Cover for physical damage: Fires and break-ins aren’t the only threats to your home – dangers can lurk in several other guises. Depending on your environs and the country you’re located in, there are many other additional potential causes of damage ranging from the weather (natural disasters, floods, storms, etc.) to third-party accidents (cars, planes, etc.) to wars, theft, earthquakes, etc. The costs of physical damage to your home could soon mount up and become simply untenable for most average incomes.
- Home insurance doesn’t just cover structural damage: All the dangers mentioned above could pose a significant threat to the belongings you keep inside your home – plus break-ins are a constant worry too. Having a full home insurance cover will allow you to recoup damages or losses should the unthinkable happen. Homeowners insurance (also known as home insurance or insurance for the home) is a necessity, not a luxury. Not just because it protects your home and belongings from damage or theft. Almost all mortgage companies require borrowers to have insurance coverage for the full or fair value of a property (usually the purchase price) and will not make a loan or finance a residential real estate transaction unless proof of coverage is provided. You don’t even have to own a home to need insurance; many landlords require renters to have renter’s insurance. However, whether or not it is required, having this type of protection is prudent. We’ll go over the fundamentals of homeowners insurance policies.
- Many packages include cover for goods even when taken outside your home: Accidents or losses don’t just happen under the relative protection of your roof – items can get lost, stolen, or damaged while outside the home too. You should always check what level of protection an insurer provides but many packages include additional cover for your more precious items – even if you’re using them outside your house.
