Homeowners insurance offers essential coverage that protects your property and personal belongings against a variety of common hazards, ranging from theft and vandalism to fires and storms. But if you own an expensive, high-value home, standard homeowners insurance may not be enough.
If you own a high-value home, you may want to consider purchasing high-value homeowners insurance to ensure your home has adequate coverage. For standard home insurance policies, the dwelling coverage may not fully cover the features of your home. High-value home insurance provides higher coverage limits and unique coverages designed specifically for high net worth homeowners.
Here’s everything you need to know about high-value homeowners insurance in Miami, FL.
Why Do You Need High-Value Homeowners Insurance?
The classification of high-value homes vary depending on where you live, but typically a high-value home has a replacement cost of $750,000 or more. This replacement cost includes the structure of the home, as well as flooring, appliances, cabinetry, roofing, and more. High-value and luxury homeowners insurance offer higher coverage limits or additional coverages needed to protect the property and personal belongings. Ever if you purchase endorsements, a standard home insurance policy may leave you underinsured if your home exceeds this value.
No matter where you live, your home must meet specific criteria to buy high-value homeowners insurance.
What Does High-Value Home Insurance Cover?
There are a few primary differences between high-value home insurance and standard home insurance. High-value homeowners insurance policies offer higher coverage limits and additional perks that you typically won’t find with standard home insurance policies.
High-value home insurance offers the same core coverages as standard home insurance policies but with much higher coverage limits. These coverages include dwelling coverage, personal property coverage, other structures coverage, and personal liability coverage. High-value policies generally cover your home and personal belongings for their replacement cost values. High-value home insurance policies usually cover your home and belongings against all hazards—not just the 16 named perils covered by most standard home insurance policies.
High-value homeowners insurance also typically offers additional living expenses coverage with no upper limits, meaning you’ll be able to maintain your lifestyle if you are forced to temporarily live elsewhere after a covered loss. This is particularly beneficial for homeowners in Florida cities like Miami, Pembroke Pines, Weston, and Kendall, which are more vulnerable to tropical storms and other natural disasters.
High-Value Homeowners Insurance Coverages & Benefits
High-value home insurance offers several additional coverages and perks that standard home insurance policies typically don't include. These extra perks make high-value home insurance an important consideration for high net worth homeowners.
Identity theft coverage
High-value homeowners are more susceptible to identity theft as they are more likely to be targeted due to their net worth. High-value homeowners insurance often includes identity theft coverage, which protects policyholders from fraudsters and scammers that attempt to steal your identity.
Sewer and pipe backup coverage
Generally, standard home insurance policies do not cover water damage caused by sewer and pipe backups. High-value home insurance policies, on the other hand, often do include sewer and pipe backup coverage to help protect your property and personal belongings against water damage.
No-cost inspections
Many insurance companies that offer high-value home insurance provide home inspections at no additional cost for policyholders. This makes it easier to get an accurate valuation and ensure your home is covered for its full replacement cost value.
Deductible waivers
Many high-value home insurance policies include deductible waivers, meaning homeowners don’t have to pay any out-of-pocket costs after a covered loss. Deductible waivers are typically available if the damages exceed a certain amount.
How Much Coverage Do You Need?
There are many factors that determine how much coverage you need and every home owner has different needs. The most common factors to consider include:
Your home’s value
The amount of high-value home insurance you need is based on your home’s replacement cost. When calculating the cost of rebuilding your home to its original state, if the replacement cost comes to $1.5 million, then you should purchase at least that much in dwelling insurance.
Your personal property amount
To determine how much personal property insurance you need, you’ll want enough coverage to replace all belongings, including clothing, furniture, electronics, appliances, decor, etc. You can create a home inventory to estimate the total value of your belongings. However, most companies automatically include 50%-75% of your dwelling coverage amount of personal property.
Your liability risks
Standard homeowners insurance policies come with a minimum of $100,000 in liability coverage. This limit may be higher for high-value homes. If you have a pool or trampoline, you may want to increase this limit or choose an umbrella policy.
Additional living expenses
This coverage applies when you are unable to live in your own due to a covered loss. If your home was damaged in a hurricane and is being repaired, this coverage would go toward any lodging, food, and other expenses you have while waiting to move back into your home. For homeowners living in Miami and the surrounding cities, Kendall, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Weston, and Davie, adding this coverage is advisable in the event that your home is damaged due to a tropical storm or hurricane.
Every situation is unique and if you ever need assistant in deciding coverage levels, don’t hesitate to reach out to FIB Insurance to speak to a trusted agent.
How Much Does High-Value Home Insurance Cost?
High-value homeowners insurance typically costs more than standard home insurance due to the higher coverage limits and additional perks.
That being said, the cost of high-value home insurance can vary significantly depending on several factors, including:
● Home value
● Home age
● Location
● Claims history
● Credit score
● Deductibles
● Endorsements
The cost of homeowners insurance is different for everyone depending on circumstances. An FIB Insurance agent will work with you to help you find a comprehensive home insurance policy that offers the coverage you need to protect your Miami home.
How to Find High-Value Home Insurance
Not every home insurance company offers high-value homeowners insurance. Some companies have specific underwriting regulations for high-value coverage, and companies often have a separate company name for high-value policies to differentiate then from standard policies. This is the case for AIG and Nationwide who have a separate “Private Client” name for their high-value home insurance policies. Other insurance companies that offer high-value insurance include Chubb and PURE Insurance.
When looking at any insurance company it’s important to research and evaluate a company’s coverage options, policy features, and average premiums. You should also evaluate the company’s financial strength scores and their history of meeting financial obligations.
When choosing the right high-value home insurance policy it’s important to understand your needs, the type of coverage you need, and how much you want to spend. Make sure to get quotes from several different companies in order to find the best fit.
Request a High-Value Home Insurance Quote
Miami residents who own homes worth $750,000 or more should strongly consider purchasing high-value home insurance rather than standard home insurance to ensure their property and personal belongings are fully protected against common hazards.
Contact FIB Insurance today to get a custom quote and learn more about high-value home insurance in Miami, FL.