The single most important number is your dwelling coverage (Coverage A) — it should equal what it costs to rebuild your home, not its market price or what you paid. Tell us a few things and we'll show you the right level for every coverage, what to add, and roughly what it should cost.
Carriers ranked by estimated homeowners premium for your state and the coverage you picked — carried over automatically.
This pays to rebuild your home after a covered loss — structure, built-ins, and attached features. It should equal your rebuild cost, which is what a contractor would charge to reconstruct the house today. That's not the market price (which includes land) and not what you paid.
In hot markets rebuild cost is often well below market value; after a construction-cost spike it can be above it. Under-insuring here is the most common and most expensive mistake. Many policies also enforce an 80% rule — insure for less than 80% of rebuild cost and they pro-rate even partial claims.
Ask your insurer to run a replacement-cost estimate (most do it free) and revisit it after any renovation or a few years of inflation.
Covers structures not attached to the house — a detached garage, shed, fence, deck, or pool. It defaults to 10% of your Coverage A and most homeowners never touch it.
Bump it up only if you have something substantial detached: a large workshop, a guest house, or extensive fencing. Skip the increase if you don't.
Covers your belongings — furniture, electronics, clothing, appliances. It defaults to 50% of Coverage A, which is plenty for most homes; do a quick room-by-room total to sanity-check it.
Actual Cash Value pays depreciated value (a 5-year-old TV gets you $80). Replacement Cost pays to buy new. The upgrade adds only a few percent and is almost always worth it — don't skip it to save a little.
Certain categories — jewelry, watches, cameras, firearms, fine art — are capped (often $1,000–$2,500). Schedule them separately if you own anything valuable.
If a covered loss makes your home unlivable, this pays for hotels, meals, and other extra living costs while you're displaced — typically up to 20–30% of Coverage A. After a fire, this is what keeps a months-long rebuild from draining your savings.
Covers you when someone is injured on your property or you damage someone else's — a guest's fall, a dog bite, a tree that hits a neighbor's car. It pays their costs and your legal defense.
The standard limit is $100k, but $300k–$500k costs only a little more. Rule of thumb: carry at least as much as your net worth. With real assets, add a $1–2M umbrella (~$150–300/yr) on top — the cheapest liability per dollar you can buy.
Pays minor medical bills for guests hurt on your property, regardless of fault, without anyone filing a liability claim. Limits are small ($1k–$5k) and the cost is trivial — $5k is the sensible default.
A standard policy does not cover water that backs up through sewers or drains, or a failed sump pump — a common and messy basement claim. This endorsement adds it back, usually for $50–$100/yr.
If you have a finished basement or a sump pump, this is almost always worth adding.
Insures a specific high-value item — an engagement ring, a camera kit, a watch, fine art — for its appraised value, usually with no deductible and broader coverage than the capped base limit. Add it only if you own something worth scheduling; skip it otherwise.
Homeowners insurance does not cover flood or earthquake. Flood is a separate policy through the NFIP or a private insurer; earthquake is a separate endorsement or policy. If you're in a flood-prone or seismic area, the base policy alone will leave you exposed on the very loss most likely to total your home.
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