The contents of the home are covered to full replacement value and not capped by the limits of the homeowners insurance policy
Many people think that just because they own a home and have insurance on the property that the contents are automatically covered by that insurance in cases of catastrophic loss. However, when the need arises to make a claim due to a fire, flood, theft or other loss, they are often disappointed and heartbroken to learn that the limits of the coverage are far below what it will cost to fully replace their items.
This is where home content insurance comes into play. With a home contents insurance policy, the contents of the home are covered to full replacement value and not capped by the limits of the homeowners insurance policy. This is great news to help you replace the items in your home that were lost. While not every precious personal item can ever be replaced, such as wedding photos or other irreplaceable items, this type of insurance will help to replace items with like items, no matter what the cost might be.
For example, if you have several pieces of antique furniture, the home content insurance will replace them with “like kind”. What this means is that you can find similar or exact items and have them replaced without worrying about the cost of the items. Most normal and traditional homeowners insurance policies will only cover those items up to a certain cost before “maxing” out and capping the payout to replace them.
This also means that if your 3 year old 50″ flatscreen television is destroyed due to fire and the exact model is no longer made, you can replace it with a similar brand or model television.
Traditionally you would have to have a rider policy on your homeowners policy to cover additional items such as jewelry, guns or specialized equipment in your home for people with special needs such as wheelchairs. With the best home content insurance companies these items are automatically covered.
While it is hard to recover from a catastrophic loss both financially and emotionally, the best thing you can do is to take pictures and inventory your household items. These photos and inventory should be kept in a safe location, such as a fire proof storage box or safe deposit box in case you should ever need to make a claim. This will aid in getting your items replaced in a faster timeframe and provide proof of ownership to the insurance company as well.
