Homeowners Insurance that Gets the Job Done

A standard Home insurance policy provides coverage for disasters such as damage due to fire, lightning and explosions. Yet there are factors that go into ensuring your coverage will respond, including but not limited to: 

• Having policy amounts high enough to cover the cost of rebuilding your home. We recommend having Replacement Cost Coverage on the structure, which takes into consideration several factors including local construction costs, the type of exterior wall construction, type of roof and materials used, other structures on the premises such as garages and sheds, special features such as fireplaces, and whether improvements have been made adding value to the home.
• Determining whether your home was built to code. In the event of damage, you may need to rebuild to be in compliance with new regulations. If your home or elements of the home are not up to current building codes, we recommend adding an endorsement to your policy called an Ordinance or Law. This pays a specified amount toward bringing a house up to code during a covered repair.
• Allowing for possible increased cost of building materials with an inflation guard clause added to your policy. This will automatically adjust the dwelling limit to reflect current construction costs in your area when you renew your insurance.
• Properly covering your personal possessions with Replacement Cost Coverage. We also suggest conducting a home inventory – there are several apps available to do so.
• Covering expensive items separately, such as your jewelry, artwork and collectibles. The amount of coverage for these and other items are limited under Homeowners insurance.
• Reviewing how much in additional living expenses you will need. This is important if you have to move temporarily while rebuilding takes place after a covered loss.
• Determining how much Liability insurance you need to protect your assets in the event someone is injured on your property.

There are exposures a Homeowners policy does not cover including flood and earthquake damage. We can provide you with Flood insurance through the National Federal Insurance Program (NFIP), up to $250,000 for your home’s structure and $100,000 for your personal property. We can also provide coverage through private insurers as well as offer Excess Flood insurance to increase the limits available on a basic policy.

Earthquake insurance is available with a 10%, 15% or 20% deductible before the policy kicks in to pay for damage. Coverage will pay for repairs to the house and attached structure, personal belongings and additional living expenses.

Arroyo also recommends purchasing a Personal Umbrella policy to extend the limits provided under the liability portion of your Home and Auto insurance. An Umbrella policy will respond with an extra layer of coverage in the event of a catastrophic loss.

In addition, if you have a high-value home, please visit Arroyo’s Private Client Services.