Homeowners Insurance

Homeowners insurance is the policy most people buy once, at a closing table, under time pressure — and then never look at again until something goes wrong. That is how coverage gaps get old.

What actually matters on the declarations page

Three numbers decide most outcomes. Coverage A is the dwelling limit, and it should reflect what it costs to rebuild your home today, not what you paid for it or what it would sell for. Construction costs have moved faster than most policies have been updated.

Your deductible structure is frequently more than one number. Many policies carry a flat all-other-perils deductible plus a separate percentage-based wind, hail, hurricane or named-storm deductible. The second one is the expensive one.

Roof settlement decides whether a claim pays for a new roof or a depreciated fraction of one. Replacement cost versus actual cash value is often the single largest financial difference between two policies that look identical on price.

Where policies quietly fall short

• Extended replacement cost — adds a percentage above Coverage A, which matters when a regional disaster drives up local rebuilding costs
• Ordinance or law — pays the cost of rebuilding to current code rather than to how the house was originally built
• Water backup — sewer and drain backup is excluded by default on most policies
• Scheduled personal property — jewelry, art and collections carry low sublimits unless specifically listed
• Additional living expense — the coverage that houses your family during a rebuild, often set too low for a long one

What we do

We shop the carriers appointed in your state, compare the policies on coverage rather than premium alone, and tell you plainly where the differences are. If your current policy is already the right one, that is a fine outcome and we will say so.