Over a long and lucky life I have accumulated a lot of possessions. Our home is among the most valuable assets. Getting good protection for our place with home owners insurance is pretty simple. Online insurance companies offer quick quotes and fast service, but do you (or I) know how we should best insure the asset?
High value home insurance in particular requires a closer look at services available to provide the “best” coverage. I am also lucky in the friends I have. Jon Kelly at Kelly Klee Insurance, offers a custom fit home insurance policy with all the other policies I need too: Auto insurance, RV insurance (yes, got one 3 years ago and love it) Collection insurance, and finally coverage for our ATVs. Whew we have lots of stuff! And most importantly, like a ribbon on a package, they add Umbrella insurance that covers all of our assets from liability lawsuits.
My friend Jon offers me some advice on planning and buying high value home insurance. He says to:
- Work with a specialist who’s business focuses on insuring larger custom homes. The polices involved are completely different from the policies for tract homes and people who only do 1 or 2 big home policies per month (or per year!) are often unaware of many important details.
- Make sure that the firm you work with has the full set of high value insurance options. Often times, agencies only have one or two “go-to” carriers and it’s pretty rare that they are the best options for everyone. Custom homes are different, by definition, and the high-end carriers view each home very differently.
- Remember that for high-value homes, insurance isn’t for the small stuff. We generally recommend high deductibles to save money on premiums, since these policies are really there for big problems like a massive water leak, sewage backup, or fire. The best policies pay for unlimited replacement cost of the home and living expenses, so think of these as policies to cover really big issues.
- Work with a company that’s available to you when you need them. The standard practice is get your agent’s cell phone number, which is great … if they are always available and always answer. The more modern approach is to have an always available mobile app, combined with 24/7/365 phone service. That’s really table stakes at this point!
Good people like Jon run agencies that cater to people with lots of stuff: Homes, boats, Assets (like stocks) and … My best advice is to never overlook the keystone of all your insurance policies: buy the Umbrella insurance too. It is the one very cheap policy that will cover holes in all the other policies.