Do you need home insurance in Spokane, Washington? Homeowners insurance helps pay for the replacement or repairs to your home if it was damaged by a covered loss. Let’s take a look at how homeowners insurance protects you.
Homeowners Insurance in Spokane, Washington
Homeowners insurance policies help financially protect you if your home or belongings are damaged in a covered loss. For example, if your home’s roof was damaged by high winds, you’d file a claim and wait for the insurance company to assess the damage and either approve or deny the claim. If your claim is approved, the insurance company pays for the repairs to your home’s roof minus the deductible. This can save you thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses.
What Homeowners Insurance Covers
Homeowners insurance covers your home, personal property, certain detached structures and loss of use. It also helps pay for any injuries that occur to anyone visiting your property.
Coverage for Your Dwelling
Dwelling coverage is the primary component of a homeowners insurance policy. It covers damage to your home’s structure, including its roof, walls, foundation and any attached structures, like a garage or porch.
Detached Structures Coverage
Homeowners insurance also covers some detached structures, like a detached garage, shed or fence.
Personal Property
Your personal property is everything you’ve brought onto the property. This can include your clothing, electronics, jewelry, art, furniture and lawn equipment.
Personal Liability
If someone is visiting your home and gets injured or has their property damaged, your personal liability insurance coverage would pay for the treatment of their injuries or the repair or replacement of their personal property. It’s important to note that this does not cover any injuries that may occur to the occupants of the home.
Medical Payments
Medical payments insurance is a specific type of coverage within the home insurance policy that covers payments to injured parties on your premises.
Loss of Use
If your home is so damaged that you cannot live in it, the loss of use coverage in your policy helps pay for additional living expenses, like a hotel or rental and food.
What Homeowners Insurance Doesn’t Cover
Homeowners insurance tends to specifically exclude certain things, including damage from floods, earthquakes, and exterior water intrusion. Homeowners insurance also does not pay for damage to your home that was the result of lack of maintenance. Home insurance also provides limited coverage for small boats. It’s important to read your policy and ask questions about the coverage limitations. This is because in order to be fully covered, you may need additional types of insurance, like flood, earthquake and boat insurance.
Who Needs Homeowner Insurance
Homeowners insurance is not legally required in the state of Washington. However, if you have a mortgage, your lender may require that you have and maintain a homeowners insurance policy in order to keep your mortgage valid. However, even if you don’t have a mortgage, homeowners insurance is a good idea if you own your home. This is because it can save you thousands of dollars if your home is damaged by a covered event.
Cost of Homeowners insurance in Washington
Homeowners insurance typically costs between $1,100 and $1,300 a year or between $90 and $110 per month. Your exact premium amount will depend on certain factors, including your claims history, your home’s age, your location, your credit history, the market value of your home, and your marital status. The size of your deductible will also impact the cost of your premiums. If you have a higher deductible, which means you’re assuming more of the financial responsibility, your home insurance premiums will be lower.
Additional Factors that Can Affect Your Home Insurance Rates
- Having a Dog – Depending on where you live in Washington, the area may have a ban on certain types of dogs, even though Washington takes a neutral stance, meaning the state goes by the behavior of the dog. Breeds that may be disallowed include pit bulls, bulldogs, and akitas. Your homeowner’s insurance may be affected by the type of dog you have in your home due to the increased bite risk.
- Having a Pool or Trampoline – Having a pool or trampoline could impact your ability to get home insurance. These are known as attractive nuances, which are items on your property that are both attractive, especially to children, and dangerous.
- Being Close to a Body of Water – Being close to a body of water increases the risk of water damage to the home and can increase your homeowners insurance rates, even if the policy doesn’t cover flooding.
- Being Far Away from a Fire Station – Your home’s proximity to a fire station can increase or decrease your rates.
Homeowners Insurance at Boyd Insurance Brokerage Inc
If you need home insurance in Washington, we can help you find the right policy at Boyd Insurance Brokerage Inc. We have the ability to look through hundreds of policies from many different carriers in order to find you the right coverage at the right price. We can even help you find additional coverages, including umbrella insurance, boat insurance, and flood insurance.
To learn more about your insurance policies and to get a quote, call us at 509-340-2693.
