Finding the Necessary Home Insurance Coverage
Everyone has heard the myths about people paying for hurricane insurance in areas like Montana, where you'll never get a hurricane. Or flood insurance in the desert. Actually, some of these stories are true, and some are not so crazy after all. In Arizona, where there are regular droughts, there are cases of flooding, and most people who suffer floods were not insured for it. In fact, region is not always the most important factor for determining if you should get a certain type of coverage.
For everyone
It's always a good idea to get flood insurance, no matter where you are. Even if you almost never get any rain, water pipes burst, sprinklers break, and sewers fail. Furthermore, most flood coverage will only provide a specified amount of money for damage and repair. For this reason, it is important to figure out what your property is worth. If you have $5000 of furniture and even more for books and electronics, getting $2000 of flood coverage does you very little good. Keep good detailed records and accounts to make sure you aren't underinsured.
Eastern US
Don't need:
- Earthquake coverage
- Tsunami coverage
- Hurricane coverage
- Flood coverage
- Tornado coverage
- Mudslide/Sinkhole coverage
If you live by the coast, it is especially important to get mudslide/sinkhole coverage. Shifting foundations are the primary cause of natural home damage other than storms.
The Midwest
Don't need:
- Hurricane coverage
- Earthquake coverage
- Tsunami coverage
- Flood coverage
- Tornado coverage
- Mudslide/Sinkhole coverage
Even though every five years or so an earthquake does make an impact in the Midwest United States, it very rarely causes any damage to the foundation of homes. What it does do is knock down power lines and trees. Make sure damage from power lines will be covered by either the electric company or your municipality. Tree damage should be covered on its own, so you would just be double insuring yourself.
Midwestern basements, especially in Michigan, are known to flood easily. Storms in Illinois and Wisconsin barely need mentioning.
The South
Don't need:
- Tsunami coverage
- Hurricane coverage
- Earthquake coverage
- Flood coverage
- Tornado coverage
- Mudslide/Sinkhole coverage
The Pacific Coast
Don't need:
Do need:
- Tsunami coverage
- Hurricane coverage
- Earthquake coverage
- Flood coverage
- Mudslide/Sinkhole coverage
- Wildfire coverage
If you live in California and don't have coverage for Earthquakes, Mudslides, and Wildfires, you're asking for disaster.
If you're on a tight budget, make sure to prioritize your needs by region by checking statistics on disasters before buying home insurance. You can find cheap home insurance online, but those cheap home insurance quotes need customizing to get the best deal. Don't be taken by unnecessary policies, but don't be underinsured either!