Homeowner’s Insurance
To request a comparison quotation for a Homeowner’s Policy please call Craig Martin at 781-383-0787 or email a copy of the Declaration page to craig@cohassetinsurance.com or fax it to 781-383-3109. If you are buying a home please email or call with the address of the property and the amount of insurance required.
A short recap of the coverage provided by the policy might be beneficial.
The “Personal Liability” section of the policy protects you in the event that you cause bodily injury to someone or damage their property. Some examples are: you hit someone with a golf ball, your dog bites someone or someone slips on your icy stairway.
The “Property” section of the policy provides coverage for your dwelling and personal property. The personal property is covered for specific perils such as fire, windstorm, theft, some water damage and other perils. The dwelling is covered under a broader form which includes these specific perils.
The policy is based on the replacement cost of your home and we can help you to estimate this cost. In the event of a catastrophic hurricane loss, the cost of materials and labor will increase considerably and therefore the replacement cost will most likely increase. We will be glad to discuss this with you.
There is a wide choice of deductibles available and the premium savings warrant consideration. In coastal communities a higher deductible is usually applied to windstorm and hail losses.
Other considerations are coverage for Flood, Earthquake and Ordinance and Law coverage. The standard Homeowner’s policy does not cover Flood or Earthquake losses and provides a limited amount of coverage for costs required by building ordinances.
If your home is situated in a Special Flood Zone your mortgagee requires that you buy a Flood Insurance policy. If your home is not situated in a Special Flood Zone you may still be exposed to flood damage and there is a “Preferred Risk” policy available at a reduced premium.
New England is subject to many fault lines and Massachusetts suffers many minor tremors each year. The worst quake to rattle Massachusetts occurred on Nov. 18, 1775 with a magnitude of 6.2. This quake affected Pembroke and Scituate as well as Boston. There were two noticeable tremors in October 2007 in Amesbury and Littleton. We will include the cost of earthquake coverage as a separate item for your consideration.
Ordinance and Law coverage enhances your policy. The additional costs, required to meet current building codes, would be covered up to the limit provided in your policy.
After Hurricane Andrew the State of Florida required that roof anchors be installed for replacement roofs; these anchors would be covered under the L & O coverage. An increase in this coverage would probably be warranted for an older home.
