HOMEOWNERS
INSURANCE
Home insurance, or Florida homeowners insurance is an insurance policy that combines insurance on the home, its contents, and, often, the other personal possessions of the homeowner(s), in addition to liability insurance for accidents that may happen on the homeowners property.
Also, some lenders will require that you put home insurance equal to the principal of the mortgage or the loan amount. It is vital that you make sure you have sufficient insurance so that in the incident of a fire, theft and other perils, you are fully covered. A typical homeowner’s insurance policy covers the house, the garage and other structures on the property, as well as personal possessions inside the house such as furniture, appliances and clothing, against a wide variety of perils including windstorms, fire and theft. The degree of the perils covered will depend on the kind of policy you have. An all-risk policy offers the broadest coverage and will cover all perils except those explicitly excluded in the policy.
The cost of Florida homeowners insurance often depends on what it would cost to replace the house and which additional riders or extra items to be insured are attached to the policy. Typically, claims due to earthquakes, floods, and other acts of nature, or war are excluded. Special insurance can be purchased for these instances, including flood insurance and earthquake insurance.
CONDO
INSURANCE
If you think insurance for your condominium is covered by your association fees, think again. Typically, your monthly condo fees are used to fund a building insurance policy. This generally provides coverage for perils outside of your unit like the building’s structure and covers liability if someone is hurt on the property outdoors.
But if your unit is robbed or damaged, building insurance will not provide coverage for your personal possessions. You also don’t have protection from personal liability if someone is injured inside your unit. To protect your belongings and yourself, you need to purchase a personal home insurance policy for condos (called an HO-6).
A basic condo/co-op policy should also provide liability protection for incidents such as someone tripping and falling while inside your unit. In addition, if a covered peril should make your condo or co-op uninhabitable, your policy should include a provision to cover additional living expenses incurred if you have to find temporary shelter elsewhere.