If you are trying to insure a home with a high rebuild value, you may find out there is more to it than your normal everyday home. Most insurance companies have caps or limits set on the value of homes that they are willing to insure and that forces high valued homes into a very specific insurance market. Having educated and highly trained insurance professionals handling your high valued homes insurance could be the difference between getting the house rebuilt the way it was or having a cheap imitation of your home given to you instead. It’s worth the time and effort to make sure your home is properly insured and you have the proper coverages that your family needs.
What Is a High Valued Home?
A high valued home is usually a house that has a rebuild value greater than $800,000 CAD. The reason these types of homes can be difficult to insure is that not every insurance company is willing or able to write the insurance on these properties. It’s not just the value of the home that concerns the insurance companies. Higher valued homes tend to have more expensive construction materials, be of an age where different construction techniques where used, or have more extravagant and unique contents within the home.
What is a Rebuild Value?
A rebuild value is a term that is thrown around in the insurance world often. When an insurance company values your home, they calculate what it would cost to demolish the current home (or what is left), pull contractors off their current jobs for a faster build time, and rebuild your home. The debris removal and extra costs associated with rebuilding a home after an insured peril are all factored into this evaluation of the rebuild value of the home. These values will rarely be in line with real estate values and the land that the house is located on does not get factored into the amount.
How to Insure a Higher Valued House
The first step is to find a brokerage that has access to insurance companies that specialize in higher valued homes. If you are on our website and reading this blog, the good news is that you already have found such a brokerage.
At Elliott Insurance we have access to multiple companies who specialize in high valued houses. It is the only type of insurance these companies write and they know exactly how to insure these types of homes. If your current brokerage or insurance company does not have access to these types of companies, it would be worth your time getting a quote with a company that does specialize in higher valued homes.
Why Choose a Specialized Insurance Company?
The insurance companies who specialize in higher valued homes offer different coverages and higher limits than your ordinary insurance company. Some of the highlights from these types of insurance companies may include:
- Optional Cash Settlement
- You don’t have to rebuild your home if it were to be a total loss. You have the option to take a cash settlement instead.
- Complimentary Home Inspections
- Insuring a home with a higher rebuild value can be tricky. These types of homes could have unique features and building designs. These insurance companies will do an inspection to ensure both your safety and your rebuild values are correct.
- Higher Special Limits
- Comparable Workmanship and Quality
- When rebuilding after a loss, the higher valued home insurance policies will try to rebuild your home or the portion that was damaged with comparable workmanship and quality of the original.
- Exceptional Claims Handling and Speed.
- Unlimited Additional Living Expenses
- Additional living expenses are if you needed to be put into a hotel while your home is repaired or rebuilt and the extra costs associated with having to do so.
- Higher Deductible Options
- To bring down the premium cost you can opt to have a higher deductible on your policy. These unique higher valued home insurance companies offer deductibles significantly higher than your ordinary insurance companies.
As you can see from the list above, insuring your home with a company who specializes in High Valued Home Insurance has many benefits. Not only are you going to enjoy better service and higher limits, but you are also going to make sure that your home and family are going to be properly insured.
If you have spent your life trying to obtain the home of your dreams, why wouldn’t you protect that investment with the best possible coverages?