Importance of Orlando Homeowner’s Insurance

Unlike owning a car, it is possible to legally own a home without carrying homeowner’s insurance. If the property is mortgaged, however, lenders will require that the home is insured. This requirement is included in the loan agreement in order to protect the lender’s investment. Once you are mortgage free, the decision to purchase homeowner’s insurance is left at the discretion of the homeowner. Corkhill Insurance strongly recommends that as long as Orlando homeowners live in their homes, they carry a homeowner’s insurance policy. Unforeseen damages occur in homes daily, and without proper coverage, this can become extremely costly for homeowner.

Most Common and Costly Homeowner’s Claims
Between 2009 and 2015, weather related damages were found to be the most common causes of homeowner’s insurance claims. Exterior wind damage was among the most prevalent issues caused by weather and accounted for 25% of the losses. Water damages from broken pipes also had a large impact with 19% of the losses, followed by hail and other weather related issues. Though weather related issues were the most common claims, fire related claims were the most costly and accounted for 25% of the total claim cost.

What If You Have No Insurance?
If you opt to not carry homeowner’s insurance, then plan to have a minimum of six months of emergency funds saved for any disaster. Sometimes the damages are too severe for six months of funds to cover, but it’s a good place to start. If a tree damages the roof of your home, for example, and your entire roof needs to be replaced, it can cost a homeowner approximately $5,000 – $12,000 for a standard home, depending on the size and the type of roof.  If the homeowner had insurance, they would pay only what the deductible of their insurance requires which is normally much less.

Get Covered
Because of the potential damages to a home, and the cost to repair those damages if no homeowners insurance is carried, Corkhill Insurance strongly recommends that Orlando homeowner’s get and keep coverage as long as they own their home. Homeowner’s insurance will cover problems that arise due to hazardous (hazard insurance) or accidental (liability insurance) situations. Keep in mind, however, that this coverage will only pay up to your policy limit so you want to ensure that you have a policy that will cover the likely situations. Also keep in mind that there are other limitations to homeowner’s insurance. It covers damages to your property and any other liabilities that occur on that property. Personal items or business related items stored on the property, are generally not covered.

If you are not sure of what coverage to choose, and have further questions about which policies will keep you completely covered, give Corkhill Insurance a call at 407.888.8891. Our team of experts will be glad to assist in choosing the policy that’s right for you.