Your home may be your castle, but it requires an insurance policy that covers the moat, too. You could purchase a standard HO policy, but you need to customize it to cover the things that make your home a castle. This requires add-ons and riders that your agent at Karla Salmon Insurance of Oviedo, FL can explain further.

The typical HO policy includes property damage coverage from falling objects, fire, hail, lightning, water damage from plumbing, smoke, windstorms, theft, vandalism, HVAC, and damage caused by the weight of snow, sleet, and ice. Personal property also receives protection. Many policies also cover debris removal, plus per diem when you must stay in a hotel or apartment while your home gets repaired. The policy provides liability coverage for lawsuits and financial claims brought by those who were injured accidentally on the property.

You might need to add-on to your policy. One common add-on, sump pump overflow, and water backup coverage that reimburses you for the cleanup and restoration if your sump pump fails and the sewer backs up or overflows into your basement.

You can add to roof coverage including hail and wind damage. Discuss with your agent whether you need it covered for replacement cost or actual cash value. The former pays for a new roof as it costs today, but the latter pays you what the roof on the house was worth when the storm hit. In other words, the depreciated value.

Matching siding coverage covers the cost of replacing all the siding on the house if the siding on the house no longer gets manufactured. The standard HO policy covers only the damaged bits. This add-on lets you put on all-over siding so it continues to match.

You need the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) coverage to protect your home from a flood. Even home not in a flood plain remain at risk for flooding. In an area prone to earthquakes, you need separate coverage for it. The add-on applies to the house, garage, personal property, other structures such as a workshop or shed plus driveways, fences, and sidewalks.

Most standard policies provide about 10 percent of the value of the home as other structures coverage. You can add to this so your swimming pool or detached office building receives the coverage it needs.

Home renovation insurance covers when you remodel your home. It covers the ongoing work as well as the construction materials, damage, and potential for foundation collapse. Those who work from home may need home-based business coverage to insure their business property as well as cover perils causing a business-interruption and liability. One of the new types of coverage is identity theft coverage. You can bundle this into your home policy to protect your identity and the costs involved with reputation rebuilding.

Call or email Karla Salmon Insurance serving the Oviedo, FL area. We can help you obtain the home policy you need, customized to protect your home.