Homeowners insurance offers protection for not only your home, but your personal possessions. Don't allow storms, fire, theft, and other unexpected events to leave you and your family in financial distress.

Homeowners Insurance

Homeowner insurance is one of the most important types of insurance to possess A homeowner's policy consists of two main sections. The first covers damage to the physical property, the second provides personal liability coverage against lawsuits arising from occurrences that result if others are injured on the property. If you own or leases property, you should have personal liability coverage insurance.

With all of the different types of natural disasters that can occur, including hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and earthquakes to name a few, homeowners should protect their home and property with a homeowner's insurance policy that covers 100% rebuilding costs.

Before choosing a homeowner's insurance policy, a homeowner should know exactly how much his or her home is worth. The worth of a home is not based on real estate market sales value. A home's worth is determined by the cost of replacing not just the structures, but also the contents inside.

A best method for estimating the worth of a home is to contact a local contractor. Not only are they better qualified to give a detailed estimate, but hey can also determine the cost of upgrades, amenities and the labor associated with installing them. All this should be included in determining the total worth of your home.

Next, the homeowner needs to calculate the value of the personal property inside. A reasonable estimate of the worth of the contents inside the home can be accomplished with an inventory. Once an inventory has been taken, pricing of the personal property will result in a calculated value of the homeowner's personal belongings.

Homeowners Insurance Policy

There are several types of homeowner insurance policies. Most homeowner insurance policies only cover losses that are from include fire, windstorm, hail, and other physical losses. A policy can be requested by the homeowner to cover any event, including the ones just mentioned. This policy is more expensive than a standard homeowner's insurance policy, but provides more extensive protection.

The following is a basic list of each type of policy:

• Basic Homeowners Policy
  This type of policy covers your house and possessions against theft, fire or lightning, explosion, wind or hailstorm, civil commotion or riots, aircraft accidents, other vehicles colliding into your home, smoke damage, vandalism, damage by glass or safety grazing material of the structure and volcanoes.

• Broad Homeowners Policy
  This policy covers the structure of your home and your personal. However, it also covers falling objects, weight of ice, snow, or sleet, water damage including, electrical surge damage, freezing of plumbing, and damage caused by electrical and heating systems. The policy premium costs about 5 - 10 percent more than the basic policy.

• Special Homeowners Policy
  This policy is also known as the "special homeowners policy". This policy makes sense for most homeowner's. It is preferred over the basic policy because it contains much more coverage. This homeowner's policy protects against all damage except those specifically excluded by name in the policy. Earthquakes, floods, and damage caused by war or nuclear accident are almost always excluded from this policy. This type of policy does cover damage to the homeowner's specifically named personal property.

Renters Insurance

More than 50% of people in the United States rent or lease their home. As a renter, you can protect your belongings with renters insurance. Renters insurance can protect your possessions against the same damaging events as described above. Renters insurance covers liability for injuries occurring on the property as well. However, renters insurance does not cover damage to the building you are renting. Cost varies depending on the risks involved in your neighborhood, including flooding and a high crime rate.