Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Guaranteed Replacement Cost Coverage

By Brentz Walker


Most people have heard the term "guaranteed building replacement", but many don't fully understand the term's meaning.

It's a very important coverage provided by most home insurance policies today. What is generally meant by this is that if an insured peril is the cause of your house to be damaged beyond repair, your home will be rebuilt by the insurance company, even when the policy's limits are surpassed during the reconstruction.

That sounds like a pretty good deal, right? In most cases, there are specific conditions that apply here, in order for this coverage to be approved:

Your insurance company will determine the replacement cost of your home, and 100 percent of this cost must be insured by you. Your agent will have an evaluation tool, and will work with you to determine what this amount is.

You are responsible to inform your insurance agent if you do renovations to your home that increase it's replacement value. Your insurance policy will be adjusted to the new replacement value of your home after you complete the basement, or make a new addition to your property, for example.

You accept the yearly adjustments made to the policy. Your home's replacement value will increase due to inflation or other considerations, and your insurance company will calculate the new costs and apply it to your policy.

You rebuild your home on the same site, in the event of a loss.

Floods and earthquakes and the damage they cause is not covered by most standard policies. There could be other exceptions like intentional loss, neglect, general power failure, earth movement, and war damage is excluded as well. Reconstruction can cost dramatically more if there have been building code upgrades, making building standards more stringent. In a case where a newer, more expensive type of wiring is needed in the new home, you must foot the bill for the difference in price between the original wires and the newer type needed.

Depending on which company you have taken out a policy with, the restrictions could vary drastically, so talk to your agent about what your policy excludes. Your policy will have an amount shown, and this will be the limit of your protection if the conditions set forth were not complied with by the homeowner. A homeowner can be rather anxious at this stage, hoping to rebuild the home on budget. After the original amount is paid out, the homeowner will have to incur the rest of the cost on their own.

Insurance providers don't always allow vacation or rental properties to be covered by guaranteed building replacement; the policy will have a limit shown, and this will be the highest amount paid in damages.

In most cases, an increase of 10 or 15 percent will be added to an insurance policy, for those who want replacement coverage instead of cash value. If you were to suddenly lose your home due to fire or a tornado or have the contents damaged or stolen, you probably could not afford to replace everything all at once. By becoming familiar with your homeowners insurance policy, you will be sure to have the coverage you need when you need it.



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