Typically your homeowner insurance policy will cover your home and your belongings against fire damage. Most policies include coverage to help pay for replacing your home and the contents. This is incredibly important since your house and everything in it make up one of your most valuable assets. Every year there are an average of 357,000 residential fires. Being prepared in the event of a fire is critical, and we would advise that you talk to your insurance agent to determine if you have the correct amount of coverage. 

What is covered by your homeowners insurance policy?

Personal Property. 

Usually your homeowners insurance will cover your personal property that is in your dwelling. This would include furniture, electronics, clothing, and appliances. Typically this coverage is described as covering "perils" in most policies. This includes fire, lighting, wind, etc. If you have this in your policy, then you should be covered in the event of a house fire. 

Dwelling coverage.

Your homeowners insurance policy should cover your home, everything in it, and it often will coverer any part of the house that is attached. This would include an attached garage. The policy will usually pay for you to live somewhere else during the time needed to rebuild the home if necessary. For example, if your house is completely  destroyed and takes 6 months to rebuild, then the cost of a house or some other residence will sometimes be covered by insurance. Again this is something you should talk to your insurance agent about, it isn’t always included. 

Detached structure.

A frequent question asked about homeowners insurance is “Does it cover detached buildings?” The answer can be yes or no, but usually your insurance will cover detached buildings as long as they are on your property and not used for a business. This would include a detached garage, shed, fences, etc. 

How much homeowners insurance do I need? 

There is no one size fits all answer. It depends on the value of the belongings contained in your home. If you have a large amount of personal property or anything with higher value than normal, then you should mention these to your insurance agent. Some items like expensive collections or jewelry might need separate insurance. 

Keep in mind that the amount you paid for your home is not necessarily the amount of coverage you need for your house. It could be much more to rebuild the home then purchase it already built. The price of materials change and the values of homes fluctuate. 

Always have working smoke detectors and change the batteries regularly. This can greatly reduce the risk of fire and the damage inflicted if something smoking is caught quickly.