Being an informed consumer can do more than just help keep your premiums low - it can also help you make sure what you think is covered actually has insurance protection.
After all, your situation is unique and finding the right policy for you is important. You want to be fully informed, if you have to make a claim.
Insuring Your Home's Structure
Learn about setting the right deductible and getting coverage should you need to pay for rebuilding your home. The price you paid for your home is probably not the amount you will choose to insure it.
Insuring Your Personal Property
You've made a significant investment in your possessions, and they need to be protected. Read about category limits and per item limits that could affect the amount you are paid for covered lost or damaged personal items.
Liability Insurance
If someone accuses you of causing harm, it helps to have support in defending yourself. Discover how liability insurance can help protect your savings in the event of a lawsuit resulting from a covered loss.
Guest Medical Insurance
Find out how your insurance can pay for medical costs (up to policy limits) when someone is injured in a covered loss at your home.
Flood Insurance*
Knowing the difference between protection from a flood and a covered water loss is essential. Get the facts about the Federal Government's National Flood Insurance Program and insurance options for other water damage.
You can get a rough "ballpark" homeowners insurance quote from many companies online, but talking with an agent allows you to ask questions and get a quote for coverage that matters most to you. An agent can prepare a quote that details the coverage, deductibles (your portion of a loss) and cost (premium) of your homeowners insurance policy.
When you have quotes from different companies, make sure to compare the level of protection you are getting. Some typically comparable things are:
- Structure Limits and Deductibles
- Personal Property Limits and Deductibles
- Liability Coverage Limits
- Guest Medical Coverage Limits
Online quotes often default many of the criteria used in a full quote to the best values.
Your family's security primarily depends on having a safe, comfortable place to live.
Your policy will contain a description of your home's structure and a list of excluded events. If something happens, you can make a claim.
Structures vary so widely that a different policy is required for each type of home.
- A Condo policy typically covers interior structures like wallboard and lighting fixtures. Depending on your state, your association by-laws, and insurer, external walls will not be covered.
- A Home’s entire structure is covered along with sheds and detached garages.
- A Manufactured Home’s entire structure is usually covered, while sheds and garages may require an optional policy.
- A Renters policy usually has no physical structure coverage at all, but it does provide essential liability and contents coverage.
Most insurance companies offer coverage for the same events that may damage the structure of your home, including fire, smoke, lightning, wind, hail, frozen plumbing, theft, explosion, vandalism, the weight of ice and snow, and a few others.
An agent can explain the events that would not be covered by your specific policy when it comes to your home’s structure. Typically, floods and earthquakes are excluded from basic policies, but you may be able to get insurance for those with separate policies. A few other conditions most companies specifically exclude are mold, fungus, wet rot, dry rot and bacteria.
The kinds of things we are buying is changing. While your parents may have spent a lot of money on furniture, you may find yourself spending more on home electronics and trying to figure out which remote to use.
Taking the time to understand how your coverage works can help you make sure everything you value is adequately covered.
There is a maximum amount your insurance will pay for your personal property. This Limit is usually a percentage of your Structure Limit (the maximum amount your insurance policy will pay to rebuild your home).
Insurance companies group certain kinds of things into categories. Some categories have a maximum amount that can be paid to replace all the items in the category. Within a few categories, there's also a maximum amount to be paid for any single item. To make sure all your stuff is adequately covered, you'll want to go over your policy's category and item limits with your agent.
Most of your things decrease in value over time. That purple leather sofa isn't worth anywhere near as much as you paid for it back in '92. When you purchase coverage for your personal property, choosing Actual Cash Value or Replacement Cost is one of the most important decisions you may need to make.
When you compare policies from different companies, look for a list of events that are covered when it comes to lost or damaged property. Each policy will detail exactly what kind of losses will be reimbursed and what you need to do after a loss.
…and so do lawsuits. Liability insurance helps keep a stranger's misfortune from becoming yours. For example, letting a tree branch grow over the sidewalk doesn't look like a dangerous hazard. But if a child is knocked off her parent's shoulder, falling to the sidewalk – you could potentially be accused of negligence and sued. If you are found liable in court, your personal assets could be at risk.
Family Liability Coverage helps protect you against the financial uncertainty arising from injury or property damage that you or your family may cause to other people – on or away from your property. It typically includes compensation for the injured party, the cost of defending you in court and any court awards or settlements up to the limits of your policy.
Compare the total worth of everything you have with the limits of your policy and talk to an agent to make sure you are comfortable with your level of protection.
- Retirement accounts [IRA, 401(k), pension plans]
- Non-retirement investments (stocks, bonds, mutual funds)
- Liquid assets (checking, savings, CDs, money market accounts)
- Personal property (actual value of all your possessions if you sold them: cars, boats, jewelry, furniture, etc.)
- Home and other real estate equity
In the event that you or anyone in your household is accused of accidentally causing injury or damage to property, your insurance coverage can help by providing for legal defense fees and, in the event of a settlement or judgment, can pay damages (up to your policy limit). Talk with an agent about limits for this coverage, as coverage is dependent on your particular policy limit.
You meant to clean the ice off the stoop before Aunt Anna arrived, but she was early, and now she has a sprained wrist — an injury she really can't afford. Of course, Aunt Anna isn't going to sue you, but it's nice to know you have Guest Medical coverage included in your homeowners policy so Aunt Anna can be reimbursed for her emergency room visit. Policy holders with Guest Medical coverage can feel confident in offering to help pay for that trip to the emergency room.
Typically, Guest Medical pays for medical expenses (up to policy limits) caused by accidents at your home that are not covered by liability protection.
Reasonable medical expenses incurred to resolve a medical emergency will be reimbursed, for example:
- Medical
- Surgical
- X-ray
- Dental
- Ambulance
- Hospital
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- Licensed nursing
- Funeral service
- Prosthetic devices
- Eye glasses
- Hearing aids
- Pharmaceuticals
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A flood can be one of the worst disasters that can devastate your neighborhood. It's such a big deal that the Federal Government runs a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). That's why Home and Property Insurance typically doesn't cover flooding. The government draws a Flood Hazard Boundary Map that divides the country into flood zone risk areas, and their Flood Insurance Rate Map sets the coverage and premiums for those areas. You can enter your address at www.floodsmart.gov to find out your risk.
You Need Flood Insurance
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Floods and flash floods can occur anytime, anywhere.
You can't rely on Federal Disaster Assistance alone.
Flood insurance may be more affordable than you think.
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Floods happen in all 50 states: on coasts, on mountains, along rivers, in the desert, in towns and cities of every size. In recent years, roughly 25% of all flood insurance claims came from areas not considered high risk.
Many people don't qualify for grants, making the most common form of assistance a disaster home loan. These loans must be repaid: principal plus interest.
Contact an Allstate agent to learn more about the Flood Insurance coverage that may be available in your community.
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When buying your home policy, your agent can tell you if your community is a participant in the National Flood Insurance Program, and if so, help you obtain flood insurance.
If you are worried that your finished basement will be under a foot of ground water if your sump pump fails, you’ll need to consider additional water backup insurance – neither the NFIP nor your base homeowners policy will typically cover water that backs up through sewers or drains or overflows from a sump pump.
However, if your home has water damage due to a broken pipe, most basic homeowners policies will pay to repair the damage (but will not pay for the repair of the pipe). To be sure you have the right coverage, discuss all of your specific concerns about water damage with your agent – not just “flooding.”
Owning a house is an investment that you can enjoy every day. Now you have to help protect it with homeowners insurance.
No one likes to think about their home and property being destroyed, but spending some time to buy the right policy now will prevent a lot of heartache if it happens to you.
Some threats to your future are less obvious but require equal amounts of caution. Our policy helps protect you and your family in the event you are accused of causing harm to others, or an accident happens on your property.
Modern manufactured homes look nothing like they did just ten years ago, and rest assured the Warren Gray Agency is keeping up with the changes in the industry. If it was built in a factory to HUD standards, we have a policy to insure it. Talk to our staff about the coverage that's right for you and your home.
- Home and Other Structure Protection
Covers repairs to your home's structure
- Personal Property Protection
Covers the loss or damage of your stuff
- Family Liability Protection
Provides legal representation and protection against judgments
- Guest Medical Protection
Covers medical costs for visitors injured at your home
- Additional Living Expenses
Reimbursement for costs of temporary housing during reconstruction
- Actual or Replacement Cost – If your home is 10 years old or less, choose your coverage option
- Trip Collision – Insures your home as it is being transported from the factory to your site
- Replacement Coverage – Allows you to receive the full purchase price of lost items
- High Value Items – Extend protection beyond your basic policy limits
- Business Pursuit – Extends coverage to property associated with a home business
- Original Owner – Save up to 5% a year for the first five years of ownership.
- Multi-Line (Home + Auto) – Save up to 15% depending on the type of home and the state in which you live.
- Protective Devices – Save up to 15% depending on the combination of installed protective devices.
- Fire Resistive – Save up to 15% depending on the materials.
- 55 or older and retired – Save 10%.
Since a Manufactured Home Insurance Policy doesn't cover floods, ask your agent if people in your community are eligible for a National Flood Insurance Policy.
If you're insuring your rental property with a homeowner's policy, you may be spending more than you need to. The Allstate® Landlords Package Policy can help protect landlords with smaller properties-from single-family homes up to four family-rental units. It helps cover:
- Up to 12 months of lost rental income
- Damages to your property
- Damages you are legally obligated to pay
- Legal fees
As a landlord, you need more protection than an average homeowners policy provides. In addition to property and liability coverage, the Allstate Landlords Package Policy provides coverage for special risks landlords face.
Your rental property can put you at risk of a lawsuit. This coverage provides protection against non-auto liability injury claims or property damage occurring on your property. Allstate will also help provide legal counsel to defend you in the event you are sued as the result of a covered loss.
If you can't rent out your property because it's damaged, you're losing valuable rental income. With Fair Rental Income protection, if your property becomes uninhabitable because of a covered loss, you'll receive compensation for the rental income you would have received. This covers the time required to either repair or replace the rental unit - up to a maximum of 12 months.
If your property is robbed, your landlord's policy likely won't pay to replace any of your tenants stuff. Make sure your tenants have coverage for personal property, family liability, guest medical and additional living expenses. Have them ask the Warren Gray Agency about Renter's Insurance.
As a landlord, having the proper protection is important. Ask the Warren Gray Agency about our personal umbrella polices.
Even if you are unclear about how homeowner's insurance works, you can always talk with our staff about your situation. Our professional staff will start by asking you a few questions about your home. These questions aren't always specific to our agency — most companies ask questions like these.
Home, Condominium, Rental or Manufactured Home. The differences between these residence types are considerable. Each has its own policy type.
Typically a home is less expensive to insure when it is newer. As a home ages, the insurance rates increase. A brand new home is usually the least expensive to insure.
If your home is listed on the National Registry of Historic Homes, The National Register of Historic Places or any other locally designated Historical Society, a landmark status may be a factor in how your home should be insured.
Your home's replacement cost is the estimated expense of rebuilding your home at today's prices for labor and materials in your area. It does not include the value of land, so in most cases it will be less than your home's current market value.
No matter how old your home is, you'll get a discount of 10% for buying a home that is "new to you," which will phase out over 5 years.
It's the "Three Little Pigs" principle — and why they ended up in the brick house. The wolf wasn't able to blow the brick house down. In addition, wood is an easier target for fire. Not that we all should live in brick homes, but this tale helps illustrate why what it is made of matters.
Your location carries a history of the unfortunate events that have caused home and property losses in the past. These statistics help us determine premiums appropriate to the area's risk.
The closer the better. Take a drive to the nearest fire station, or map it using Google Maps or MapQuest; note the mileage. Count your steps to the nearest fire hydrant and multiply by three to roughly estimate the distance in feet.
Be prepared to talk about the number and nature of losses you have experienced in the last five years.
Knowing the value of your possessions can help you make sure you'll have enough Personal Property coverage. This handy tool can help you be better prepared when meeting with your agent, and can help speed up a claim if you ever suffer a loss.
We appreciate every time someone chooses to become a Warren Gray Agency customer. So we strive to provide outstanding service in helping you manage your policy and make a claim.
Because we want our valued customers to stay with us for a lifetime, we offer a variety of benefits to our Home & Property policyholders. Among them are easy ways to manage your homeowners insurance.