Homeowners Insurance

Unlike auto insurance, you are not required by law to have a certain amount of coverage for your home. If you’re paying off a mortgage, however, the lender may require you to have homeowners insurance to protect the property from unexpected damage.

Your home is a large investment and you don’t want to lose any of its value to an unforeseen disaster, so it’s a good idea to protect it with homeowners insurance.

Several factors affect how much you pay for your homeowners insurance, and these can include:

• Installing protective devices, such as smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, burglar alarms, etc.;
• Adjusting your protection options, like raising your deductible, adding an auto policy, or changing coverage options;  and
• Using insurance-friendly construction materials, such as concrete or tile roofs.  

A Mercury agent can help you discover exactly what features in your home can decrease your premium, potentially saving you hundreds of dollars a year.

Unfortunately, most homeowners insurance policies don’t cover damage caused by an earthquake or a flood. You have to buy earthquake insurance and flood insurance separately. Just because these coverages aren’t included doesn’t mean they’re not important. Earthquake and flood insurance cover the cost of repairing or rebuilding your home if it’s damaged by these catastrophic events, potentially saving you hundreds of thousands of dollars. Learn more about earthquake insurance.

The best way to find out how much coverage you may need is to conduct an appraisal. In addition to working with your Mercury agent, we recommend hiring an independent and licensed professional every several years to calculate the cost to rebuild your home with similar quality materials. Remember, this value may be different than the actual market value of your home. Once the appraisal is completed, you will have a better understanding of how much coverage is needed to protect your investment. You should also let your agent know if you plan to make any upgrades to ensure you have the proper amount of coverage in the event disaster strikes.

A deductible is the amount you agree to pay out-of-pocket for damages before your insurance policy will pay on a covered loss. If you have a $500 deductible, for example, and your home sustains $1,000 worth of covered damages, your insurer will pay $500, which is the amount that exceeded your deductible.

To learn more important homeowners terms, visit Homeowners Insurance 101: Glossary of Important Terms.

Mercury is proud to offer homeowners insurance and coverage in the following states: Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia.

Contact a local Mercury Insurance agent today to find the best insurance for your needs.