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A traditional home insurance coverage includes protection of the home, its contents, loss of use, loss of the homeowner’s personal possession, and liability insurance for accidents that may happen within the vicinity of the home to the extent of the territory indicated in the policy. For a home to be considered the primary home, one of the named insured must actually be living in it. A home that is not occupied by its owner is considered a second home. A second home usually necessitates paying a higher cost for insurance coverage.
Home insurance is also known as hazard insurance. It can be categorized as an All-risk Insurance which covers the home and all its contents unless otherwise specified in the policy or a Named Peril Insurance which covers the loss from specified causes as indicated in the policy. Some of the usual perils that homeowners seek protection from include vandalism, theft, and some natural calamities.
The Named Peril Insurance is something that can be considered by homeowners who are intending to travel and leave their house for a certain period of time. For an additional premium, homeowners can get for themselves an Away From Home cover. This type of insurance will provide homeowners protection except for those termed as uninsurable perils or loss and damage that are incurred due to predictable events.
These exceptions seek to make the homeowners more responsible for their homes in preventing damages that can occur due to negligence. This simply means that homeowners are expected to observe due diligence in eliminating preventable damages that may occur especially when they are away in travel. One good example of this is when homeowners fail to take the necessary precautions against freezing of indoor plumbing. Coverage usually includes personal properties that homeowners will temporary take way from their home since they will be brought in travel.
Even if a home is sufficiently insured, there are still some steps that need to be taken to secure the home while on travel. One is to install timer switches for lights and radio to make it appear that the house is occupied. The home must not manifest any obvious signs of non-occupancy such as uncut grass, as well as newspaper and mail deliveries piling up at the lawn. Homeowners can ask a neighbor to look after the home or request neighbors to temporarily park in front of the house just to give a semblance of occupancy. It should be noted that home insurance policies provide exclusions in coverage for extended non-occupancy of the house.
About the Guest Blogger:
Dante of HomeInsurance.com can offer home insurance packages for various purposes.