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Finding Homeowners Insurance Quotes For An Older Home
2010-08-03
Whether you have just purchased an older home or whether you have owned your older home for some time and are merely looking for a new policy, you may be worried about obtaining homeowners insurance for your older home. Older homes often draw higher home insurance quotes from insurance companies. Even so, there are some things you can do to find reasonable rates for your older home.
A homeowners insurance policy is, essentially, property insurance. However, there can be several basic types of homeowners insurance coverage. The traditional type covers damage to the structure of the house. Another type covers damage to, or loss of, personal possessions within the house when such events as fire, water damage, theft or vandalism occur. Another type of homeowners insurance covers personal liability if a third person is injured while on the property. Liability coverage is a special kind of policy, and most homeowners need to make a specific request for it to be included as part of their homeowners insurance. Some policies also cover relocation expenses if a homeowner needs to move to temporary quarters during a period of repairs to the insured property. Any combination of these different types of coverage can usually be included in a homeowners insurance policy.
The reason that insuring an older home may be more expensive is because of the cost of repairing or rebuilding the house may exceed the value of the property. In other words, many older homes, especially historic homes, cost more to rebuild in the case of extensive damage than they are worth on the open market. In these cases, the cost of rebuilding may exceed the appraised value of the home.
Fortunately, it is still relatively easy for the homeowner of an older home to find affordable home insurance quotes. For owners of homes that are older but not historic (typically, homes that are less than 100 years old), purchasing a common home insurance policy may be the best option. That kind of policy would cover damage to the house, but not necessarily the cost to rebuild from the ground up. In this case, the insurance company would cover an amount equal to the value of the home, but would not cover the actual expenses to rebuild the home. Rebuilding an older home is usually prohibitive because of the cost of both labor and materials needed to match what was originally there.
Many older homes are insured by companies under HO-8 policies. These policies typically insure the home for its current value. An HO-8 policy is readily available in most markets, making it easy to ask an insurer about that kind of policy for your home.