How Renovations and Upgrades Affect Your Home Insurance

How Home Renovations Impact Your Home Insurance

Home renovations can offer a plethora of benefits, including an increase in your property value. But it’s crucial to consider your home insurance with HighPointe Insurance Services LLC in Overland Park, KS, as upgrades, whether small or large, may considerably affect your home insurance.

Increased Coverage Needs

Major upgrades or multiple renovations in various parts of the home will likely raise your property’s value. This includes things like finishing off your basement, adding a grandparent’s suite, or putting in a new room. Remember, your home insurance is primarily designed to cover the cost of rebuilding your home after a disaster, so you need to report any renovations and upgrades to your insurance representative. This will ensure that the current state of the house is accurately reflected in your policy coverage.

Reconsidering Liability Coverage

Certain types of home additions, such as a swimming pool, outdoor kitchen, or even a new outdoor deck, may require more liability coverage. Amenities like a new swimming pool or hot tub pose a higher risk. Therefore, even when installing an above-ground pool, consult your insurance representative to double-check that the policy will honor related claims.

Adjusting Premiums

Renovations can also impact your insurance premiums. Upgrades like installing a new roof or updating electrical systems can lower your premiums as they reduce the risk of damage or hazards. However, luxury upgrades such as a swimming pool or expensive custom features may raise your premiums as they increase the home’s risk or replacement cost.

Home renovations can improve your lifestyle and provide comfort for your family and guests. But be sure to inform your insurance representative at HighPointe Insurance Services LLC, serving Overland Park, KS, about all significant changes to ensure you have the appropriate coverage for your renovated home.

Perils Options When Purchasing Home Insurance

When you contact HighPointe Insurance Services LLC for homeowners insurance, you might think there’s just one type, but you have four choices: HO-1, HO-2, HO-3, and HO-8 coverage.

What makes the four homeowners insurance options so different? Each level of insurance covers a different number of perils.

What’s an insurance peril?

The term peril refers to natural and human-induced hazards. Examples of perils include fire, tornado, hurricane, and vandalism. Insurance policies cover specific perils, so if you need to cover a variety of situations that threaten Overland Park, KS frequently choose a policy with a higher peril coverage level.

Guide to Homeowners Policy Options

In Kansas, tornados occur with some frequency. Droughts and floods also happen with some climatic regularity. That doesn’t mean that completes the list of potential perils you need a policy to cover. Here’s a quick guide to home policies to cover homeowners.

HO-1

An HO-1 policy covers 11 specific perils only. This named-peril policy includes:

  • Aircraft crash
  • explosion
  • Fire and lightning
  • Glass that’s part of the home, such as windows
  • Riots and civil commotion
  • smoke
  • theft
  • Vandalism and malicious mischief
  • Vehicle collision
  • Volcanic eruptions
  • Windstorms and hail.

Very few companies still offer this limited coverage.

HO-2

An HO-2 policy also offers only named peril coverage. It covers all the perils of an HO-1 policy, plus the following:

  • Falling objects
  • Water damage is caused by accidental overflow of plumbing, heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), or household appliances.

HO-3

Most homeowners choose the HO-3 policy, called an all-perils policy. If anything except rising water flood damages a home, this policy covers it.

HO-8

Also called historical home coverage, the HO-8 policy covers the same perils as an HO-1 policy. Only owners of historical homes and architecturally significant homes can qualify for this policy.

Contact HighPointe Insurance Services LLC for Home Insurance to Protect Your Investment

Contact HighPointe Insurance Services LLC to obtain a homeowners’ insurance policy that provides your Overland Park, KS home the protection it needs.

Facts About Home Insurance That You May Not Know

If you own a home, you probably want to protect it. One of the best ways to do it is to purchase home insurance. Standard home insurance covers damages and losses to your residence, your personal belongings, and other household assets. If you are currently shopping for home insurance, there are some things you need to know about it, including several interesting facts. 

Facts That May Not Know About Home Insurance

  • Home insurance does not cover natural disasters. Even though home insurance protects your home against losses from ice damage, lightning, and forest fires, it does not cover all-natural disasters. For example, if your home is in a flood zone, you should purchase separate flood insurance as home insurance does not cover floods. 
  • Your location has an impact on the cost of insurance. For example, if your home is in a prime urban location, your home insurance will be more expensive than the insurance for a house in a rural area. 
  • Old homes cost more to insure. If you own an old property, it will cost more to insure than a new one, even if it is in a prime area. 

HighPointe Insurance Services LLC – Insurance Company You Can Rely On

Are you a resident of Overland Park, KS, or another nearby area? Are you a lucky homeowner of a beautiful house? Do you want to buy home insurance to protect your property? Contact HighPointe Insurance Services LLC, serving clients in Overland Park, KS, to learn more about insurance plans and decide on the type of insurance. Our agents will help you find the perfect plan based on your insurance needs and budget. 

What To Do if You’re Worried About Your Home Being Underinsured

Home insurance is an essential part of many Americans’ finances. It protects families from the financial consequences of a covered loss, like replacing a stolen television or repairing a roof damaged by a hurricane. 

But for many residents of Overland Park, KS, their home insurance coverage is inadequate. Highpointe Insurance Services LLC knows that many people don’t realize that even a small shortfall in their home insurance can lead to significant financial trouble.

The Dangers Of An Underinsured Home

Imagine you and your family have been in your home for many years and never had a claim. Then one day, a fire breaks out in your home. Then you discover your insurance doesn’t cover the full value of your home. It’s a total loss. 

Can you afford to replace your home? Can you afford to move into a new home? What will happen if you can’t?

This is a situation many Americans find themselves in. In fact, according to the Insurance Information Institute, the average claim for fire and lightning damage costs over $77,000. That’s a lot of money, even if you don’t have a total loss.

How To Make Sure You’re Covered When You Need It

Take a home inventory. Make a list of all the items in your home you would want to claim if you lost them. Take pictures of your valuables. This will help your insurance agent better estimate the value of your property.

Analyze and update your policy when needed. It’s a good idea to review your coverage to ensure it’s regularly adequate. Also, make updates after you do anything to affect your property’s value, such as renovations or installing new detached buildings.

Work with your Overland Park, KS insurance agent. When you have worries or questions about your home insurance coverage, Highpointe Insurance Services LLC is here to serve. 

Protect Your Future With Home Insurance

When you own a house, a lot can go wrong with it. There are disasters that can threaten it, accidents that can cause damage and calamities that may leave it in need of repairs. If you don’t have home insurance to cover it, you would be responsible for paying for all of the repairs yourself, and this can ruin your financial future. To protect your future with home insurance, call us at HighPointe Insurance Services LLC in Overland Park, KS.

Coverage for the Structure

When you own a home, the structure itself needs to be covered by home insurance. This type of home coverage pays for repairs if the home is damaged during a covered incident. The policy will also pay to rebuild a house that is destroyed in a covered incident. This coverage by itself is enough to warrant having home insurance, and there are still more ways that home insurance protects you.

Protection for Your Things

Your possessions are inside your home, and they represent a substantial outlay of funds. Your home insurance policy also protects these belongings. If you things are damaged or ruined, the policy can pay for them to be repaired or replaced. This can be extremely expensive to do without home insurance, and it could send you into serious debt. 

Liability Protection

If someone is injured on your property, your home insurance protects you there as well. It pays for injuries that third parties suffer from after an accident in your home or yard. This means that the third party has no reason to sue you and is instead paid by the insurance policy.

Get Your Home Insurance

To keep your future more secure, get your home covered by home insurance. Call us now at HighPointe Insurance Services LLC in Overland Park, KS to find out more. 

How Much Home Insurance Do I Need?

Chances are pretty high that your home is going to be your most expensive and valuable asset in your repertoire. Consequently, you need to ensure that you have enough homeowners insurance to protect the entirety of the home in case an accident or natural disaster happens. Keep in mind, that you are not legally required by the state to have homeowners insurance; however, if you have financed your home it is likely a requirement from the mortgage lender. Even if you have bought your home outright and do not have a mortgage, having insurance should be a no brainer because it can help pay for costly repairs to your house. 

When deciding how much homeowners insurance to purchase, you’ll want to start by determining the replacement value of your house. What this means is, determining how much would it cost to rebuild your house to the same condition it is today if something happens to it. Many insurance companies will offer homeowners the opportunity to purchase extended replacement cost coverage which helps protect you if the cost to build in your area experiences a spike because of increased demand or trouble obtaining materials. In addition to dwelling coverage, be sure to have proper liability insurance which pays for lawsuit judgments and settlements against you in cases where you’re sued for injuries at your property or damage claims. As an example, $100,000 may sound like a lot of coverage, but if you are sued for a greater amount than you’ll be on the hook for the difference. 

When it comes to finding the perfect homeowners policy in Overland Park, KS, look no further than HighPointe Insurance Services LLC where our talented team of professionals are ready to help customize the perfect policy for your needs.

Home Insurance Questions for First Time Home Buyers

Buying your first home can be an exciting time. There are many details that must be considered, however, to make sure that this huge, new investment is completed properly. The folks at HighPointe Insurance Services LLC are here to help you navigate these sometimes confusing waters. We are now serving Overland Park, KS and surrounding areas, and we are prepared to help you better understand home insurance issues. 

Don’t Procrastinate

If you are buying a home for the first time, you should not put off purchasing the homeowner’s insurance. When you procrastinate on this important decision, you will, later on, feel a crunch to make a hurried decision. When you make a rushed decision you will not consider your options as carefully and will probably not get the best deal. While you are finalizing the purchase of your house, you should also be shopping around for homeowner’s insurance. 

Pay Close Attention to Your Home Inspection

The home inspection is the key to understanding how much your home is going to cost you in maintenance and repairs. If there are warning signs during the home inspection, it can help you better purchase homeowner’s insurance policies that will really cover the costs of what you need. It is very easy to get caught up in the excitement of your new home purchase and begin to ignore the warning signs which the home inspection will bring to light. 

Shop Around

You will want to compare several different policies to make sure you are getting the best one for you and your family. Do not assume that all policies are created equal. 

Purchasing your first home can be exciting and exhausting. There are many details to consider. Homeowner’s insurance should be one of the most important details during this process. If you have further questions, please contact us at HighPointe Insurance Services LLC, now serving Overland Park, KS and surrounding areas. 

Does Home Insurance Cover External Structures?

It is important to know exactly what your home insurance covers before you purchase your policy. One aspect of a home insurance policy that many people don’t consider is whether or not it covers external structures such as a shed, carport, or pool house. Having precise knowledge of your policy allows you to understand your coverage and losses you might incur as a result of damage to the structures.

Policy Coverage

Although there are no set guidelines for homeowners’ insurance coverage, as a general rule, most policies will cover an external structure as part of the primary policy. Before you make a home insurance policy purchase, you want to make sure that it does, in fact, provide coverage if you have an external structure with significant value, or with contents of significant value. Always discuss this issue with the insurance agent prior to buying insurance coverage. Some policies may also have stipulations on coverage of an external structure, which is why discussing the fine print is important. 

Get The Information You Need

You should purchase your policy from an insurance agency that is knowledgeable and takes pride in delivering excellent customer service. Your financial security may depend on the terms and conditions outlined in your insurance policy. Reputable insurance providers such as HighPointe Insurance Services LLC serve Overland Park, KS, and the surrounding areas and are happy to sit down with potential customers one on one to clearly outline the details of each policy and answer any questions they may have. 

Get the coverage you need to protect your investment and prevent financial loss in the future. If you live in or near Overland Park, KS, you should call or stop by HighPointe Insurance Services LLC to speak with one of their knowledgeable, friendly agents today.

How Renters Insurance Protects Your Home In Overland Park, KS

If you’ve ever carried out any research on insurance, or simply seen an insurance ad, then you probably have heard about renter’s insurance. But what is renter’s insurance and how can it protect your Overland Park, KS home?

If you’re living in a rented apartment, chances are you barely think about insurance, after all, your landlord has insurance on the building. Well, what most people don’t know is that the landlord’s policy does not cover any one of your personal property and that’s where renter’s insurance comes in.

If you’re a resident of Overland Park KS and you’re interested in protecting your home, then one way you can do that is to get a renter’s insurance policy. An agency that can assist you in getting renters insurance is the HighPointe Insurance Services LLC.

Before we get carried away even further, let’s see what renter’s insurance is. Renter insurance is an insurance policy that provides coverage for your damaged, stolen, or lost personal properties. It also covers injuries in your home that may occur to another person, say your guest.

So in a nutshell, renters insurance ensures that you have a backup plan if your personal belongings were ever to get lost, stolen, or damaged. But how does it work?

Let’s say your home got burgled. Renters insurance helps to pay your cost if you suffered a loss. It also allows for financial reimbursement in case your belongings get stolen or damaged. The compensation you receive depends on two factors, the type of loss, and the amount of coverage you had.

One thing to note is that certain items such as jewelry and collectibles may have a value limit or they may require additional insurance before the full cost of the lost or theft gets covered.

Thinking of getting a renter’s insurance for your home in Overland Park, KS, then why not check out HighPointe Insurance Services LLC and allow them to assist you in getting the right renters coverage you need for your home.

 

5 Tips For Home Safety

You should always focus on home safety in Overland Park, KS. At HighPointe Insurance Services LLC, we offer some tips to help you improve the safety in and around your home.

Purchase Fire Extinguishers

Fire extinguishers should be readily available throughout your home. You should have one in the kitchen as well as at least one on every level of your home. Additionally, you should make sure that everyone inside your home knows how to operate them.

Talk with Children

Take the time to talk with all of your children about home safety. Make sure that they know what to do in the event of a fire, tornado, and various other natural disasters. They should all know how to call emergency services as well.

Handle DIY Projects

The various DIY projects that you have on your to-do list should be done in a timely fashion. Especially when it comes to fixing front steps or anything that person could get injured on, you want to put at the top of your list. Otherwise, you could end up with someone suing you for a liability claim.

Install a Security System

It’s a good idea to install a security system in your home, regardless of how safe your neighborhood might be. A security system should provide notifications of when windows and doors are open. The system should also be monitored so that if you are out of town, emergency personnel will be notified of a potential break-in.

Pick Up the Yard

It’s important to pick up your yard from time to time. If you have various items that can be moved around by the wind in Overland Park K,S, they become missiles when there is a storm. Additionally, they could be a trip hazard if you have someone come over.

When you want to get a customized home insurance policy, contact us at HighPointe Insurance Services LLC to speak with an independent insurance agent.