If your home is completely destroyed, you want to be able to rebuild it to its original condition. This requires having enough insurance to replace your home, which may cost more than its value on the open market. The cost of rebuilding is usually more expensive than new construction, especially if your home was destroyed along with many others in a single neighborhood or town. In the wake of a flood, for example, simple supply and demand can drive the cost of materials and labor up and cause the price of rebuilding to skyrocket.

• Our companies will work with you to determine your home's replacement cost. Normally using data from the E.H. Boeckh Company, the U.S. authority on replacement value, the insurance company will consider the construction costs of homes in your area that are of similar size and quality.
• We also can offer an optional endorsement providing your policy with a Home Replacement Guarantee, a coverage option that can pay the additional cost of repairing or rebuilding , even if that cost exceeds policy limits. Although this coverage may not be automatically included in all policies we offer, we invite your inquiries and questions about a home replacement guarantee endorsement to your homeowners policy.
• Typically, a homeowners policy covers possessions whose total value equals 70 or 75 percent of the homeowners coverage. In simple terms, that translates to $70,000 to $75,000 worth of coverage for your personal possessions if you have $100,000 in coverage on your home.
• If you collect art, have valuable jewelry or keep other things of special value, consider expanding your coverage to protect those items.
• When the value of the things you own exceeds the 70 to 75 percent coverage included in a typical policy, additional coverage can be critical.
• In addition, many policies have sub-limits on specific categories of valuables. If the value of those items exceeds the policy sub-limit, extra coverage is probably in order.

A standard policy will probably insure your possessions at actual cash value, which is the value of an item at the time of a loss. To make sure you can fully replace lost or stolen items, you may want to add an endorsement for replacement cost coverage, which will replace the item with one of similar make and model, regardless of the stolen or damaged item's actual cash value. In many of our companies homeowners policies, replacement coverage is included at no extra cost. Check with us, about your policy, to be sure.

Finally, we suggest that you take the time to inventory your possessions.

• In the wake of a catastrophe such as a fire, it can be very difficult to create a list of all the things you owned.
• Now is the time to walk through your house and make an inventory of your possessions.
• One easy way to do this is to videotape the contents of your home.
• When you're done, place a copy of the tape in a safe deposit box. Or make a copy of your tape or inventoried documents, and store them at a family members home.  Then, if the worst ever does happen, you'll have a record that can help us to help you in the replacement of your possessions.

Learn More...

Overview | Understanding The Basics | Types Of Insurance | Coverage Amounts
Choosing A Policy | Filing A Claim | Other Types Of Insurance | Home Safety Tips
Planning Concerns | Home Glossary

Please Note: The information contained in this Web site is provided solely as a source of general  information and resource.  It is a not a statement of contract and coverage may not apply in all areas or circumstances.  For a complete description of coverages, always read the insurance policy, including all endorsements.