Three Things to Know Before Buying Homeowners Insurance in Your State

Homeowners insurance may seem easy enough, but there are certain personalized facts about your home that are important to know before purchasing an insurance plan in your state. Allow the independent insurance agent or broker to help you determine your home replacement cost. You can feel free to get a quote from a builder as well. Be sure to consider and unique, custom features of your home before caluclating. Several different factors could affect the outcome of the insurance package for the homeowner. Many of these factors can dramatically reduce the cost of the home insurance as well, so it's crucial for every homeowner to know the following top three factors before settling on a home insurance plan.

1. How Old is the Home?

The age and condition of the home has a big impact on the type of homeowners insurance for which you are eligible. The older the home is, the more likely it is to be vulnerable to damage and require repairs. If you are the homeowner of an especially old home, the best thing to do would be to highlight the secure aspects of the home, such as a new roof or a stable foundation, to compensate for the home's age.

2. How Large is the Home?

It's important to know the exact size of the home (in square feet) because size will often determine the price of the coverage. This is simply because repairing or replacing the damage done to a larger area compared to a smaller area is always more expensive for the insurance company. The more exact the homeowner is with the square footage, the more accurate the final price for insurance will be.

3. Where is the Home Located

A homeowner should always let the insurance agent know the exact location of the home while highlighting any factors that may lower the cost of insurance coverage. This is important because insurance tends to be higher in areas where crime is more prevalent or primitive areas that may not receive fast attention in case of an emergency. For example, a home far away from a fire hydrant would pay more for fire insurance coverage since it would likely take much longer for professionals to extinguish the fire in this unfortunate event.