Homes, Condos, Renters, Apartment Buildings & Rental Properties

If you rent, own or lease your home, you need homeowner’s insurance. A typical San Diego Homeowners insurance policy is designed to cover your personal property, structure, and personal liability.

Homeowners Insurance Coverage

Your homeowner’s policy pays to repair or rebuild your home if it is damaged or destroyed by fire, hurricane, hail, lightning, or other disasters listed in your policy. Most policies also cover detached structures such as a garage, tool shed, or gazebo—generally for about 10 percent of the amount of insurance you have on the structure of the house.

Your furniture, clothes, sports equipment, and other personal items are covered if they are stolen or destroyed by fire, hurricane, or other insured disasters. The coverage is generally 50 to 70 percent of the insurance you have on the structure of the house.

A standard policy will not pay for damage caused by a flood, earthquake, or routine wear and tear.

Liability insurance covers you against lawsuits for bodily injury or property damage that you or family members cause to other people. It also pays for damage caused by your pets. So, if your son, daughter (or even your dog) accidentally ruins a neighbor’s expensive rug, you are covered. (However, if they destroy your rug, you’re out of luck.)

Additional living expense pays the additional costs of living away from home if you cannot live there due to damage from an insured loss. It covers hotel bills, restaurant meals, and other costs, over and above your usual living expenses incurred while your home is being rebuilt.

Keep in mind that the ALE coverage in your homeowner’s policy has limits—and some policies include a time limitation. However, these limits are separate from the amount available to rebuild or repair your home. Even if you use up your ALE your insurance company will still pay the full cost of rebuilding your home up to the policy limit.

Our agency works very hard to bring our clients the best possible combination of premiums, coverage, and service.

Whys to reduce your homeowner’s insurance (these may not apply to every insurer)

  • Purchase all your insurance through our agency
  • Install an alarm system
  • Choose paperless billing
  • Avoid making small claims
  • Pay annually instead of monthly
  • Review the limits in your policy and the value of your possessions at least once a year
  • Ask us about additional discounts
  • Evaluate your policy and eliminate any coverage you no longer need
  • Consider increasing your deductible.
  • Don’t confuse what you paid for your house with rebuilding costs
  • Keep your home well maintained
  • Replace your roof, water heater, and other equipment when needed
  • Review your policy regularly. You may not need the same kind of coverage you did a few years ago.

Common Homeowners Insurance Exclusions

We recommend that you read your policy and call us if you have any questions. It is important to remember that every policy has limitations, exclusions, and terms. If you buy your insurance online, you may be putting your property at risk because you will have to determine all the coverage you need without the help of a licensed professional agent. Here are a few of the limitations found in most homeowner’s insurance policies.

Each Policy Will Be Different – But Here Are Examples of Policy Limitations

  • Jewelry is usually limited to $1,000 or $2,500
  • Guns and other collections also have a limit of $2,000
  • Business personal property has a limit of $2,500
  • Antiques, art, and silver have limitations
  • Money and gold are limited to $1,000
  • Watercraft is limited to $1,000 and only up to a certain length
  • Trailers have limitations too
  • Securities, Deeds, passports, tickets, and stamps all have separate limits
  • Other structures on the property have a limit of about 10% of the main dwelling

These limitations and limit amounts vary. We always recommend that you read your policy and/or talk to your insurance agent.

This information in to be considered general in nature. All claims will be settled based on your actual policy terms and conditions.

Sources: Insurance information Institute.

San Diego and Southern California residents, welcome to McCormick Insurance Solutions!

San Diego’s Highly Rated Auto, Home, Life and Commercial Insurance Broker (Nominated for Best Preferred Insurance Agency in CA in 2017.)

Call or get a quote online – 619-276-0492

Our independent San Diego insurance brokerage offers a full range of autohome, and life insurance and a variety of other insurance coverage needed to protect your property—and your loved ones. One of the biggest advantages? McCormick Insurance Solutions in Bay Park has direct access to high-quality A.M. Best rated “A” or better carriers in all lines of insurance.