Home Insurance

A deductible is the amount you’re responsible for in the event of a covered loss. In most covered loss cases, you are responsible for any amounts up to your deductible level and your insurance would cover anything beyond that up to your coverage limit. For example, if you select a $1,000 deductible and have a $3,200 covered loss, you would receive a claim payment of $2,200 after deducting the $1,000.

A homeowners deductible applies to each claim. If you have more than one claim in a policy period, you will be responsible for the deductible amount for each individual claim regardless of the number of claims you have during that policy period.

For home policies, there are three common types of deductibles:

• A flat deductible is a specific or fixed dollar amount; for example, $2,500.
• A percent deductible is a percentage that it is based on the home’s dwelling coverage, often called Coverage A. For example, a 1 percent deductible on a home with $160,000 dwelling coverage is $1,600, and the same 1 percent deductible for a home with $400,000 dwelling coverage is $4,000. Keep in mind that as your home’s dwelling coverage increases the calculated amount of your deductible will also increase.
• A split deductible means there is a specific deductible that applies to some cause(s) of loss and a different deductible that applies to other causes of loss. For example, a percent deductible may apply to wind and hail losses, and a flat deductible may apply to all other causes of loss. A split deductible can be separate flat deductibles, separate percent deductibles, or a combination of both.

There is limited coverage available for your valuables. In most cases, you may want to consider purchasing a Personal Articles Floater, which provides coverage for your personal articles, such as jewelry, furs or fine arts, when their value is higher than the limits stated in your policy.

Your local agent can help you when you are deciding if you need to purchase this coverage.