#ShelterMatters – Is your house insured?

Is your house insured?

Your home is your biggest investment. Unlike cars, which depreciate the minute you drive them off the lot, houses typically increase in value over time.

 

• Is home insurance really necessary?
• What is the value of home insurance?
• Does it really pay off later to insure my home now?

 

You’ve probably asked at least one of the above questions at some point in your life as a homeowner. But the truth is, insuring your biggest investment is important.

 

Let’s say that you have a house that you own with no insurance. As long as you continue to pay your Land use charges, you have every right to enjoy the use of that house for as long as you like, as guaranteed by law.

 

You may live there, rent it out, leave it vacant or even sell it if you like. However, if your house suffers fire, erosion or any fatal incident, it is still up to you to cover the cost to repair the house. This is the basic reason to carry property insurance, which would have paid for your property to be fixed or replaced.

 

2ndly, before funding your mortgage or refinance, a lender will ask that you provide proof that your home is adequately insured. Because they want to make sure their financial stakes are protected.

 

Asides paying for damages, theft or destruction of your property, property insurance brings peace of mind which we can’t really put a price tag to. Having a home insurance policy won’t prevent random acts of nature or accidents occurring from carelessness but it does put a safety net between you and catastrophe.

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A couple shared their story with us in anonymity. They went on a vacation only to get back to a burnt house. Investigations revealed there was a high voltage of power which caused a surge.

 

Luckily for them, the property in question was insured. The insurance company traded blames with them and reprimanded them for not taking simple safety measures. After some level of back and forth discussions, they had to split the bill in two. One for the insurance company while they paid the other part because the incident was partially their fault.

This also goes to show we can’t relax and not take care of our properties just because they are insured. If such damages is found to have been caused by you on purpose or negligence, then you probably would have to take care of whatever damages yourself.

Even as a tenant, it becomes necessary for you to ask the owner if the house you are about to occupy is insured.

I ask you once again, is your house insured? Do you still think it is unnecessary?

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