Homeowners Insurance NJ Home Insurance rates and consumer help for insuring your New Jersey house. Get free quote help and rates as you learn various NJ policy coverage types.
NJ Home insurance, or NJ homeowners insurance, is an insurance policy that combines various personal insurance protections which can include losses occurring to one's home, its contents, loss of its use, additional living expenses, loss of other personal possessions of the homeowner, as well as liability insurance for accidents that may happen at the home.
Not All Insurance Companies Charge the Same Price, each insurance company calculates its own rates, subject to Department of Insurance approval. Since each company's loss experience differs, the rates will differ as well. Therefore, it is wise to shop for the best price and coverage available in relation to your insurance needs.
Costs and Payments
Most companies sell their policies through independent agents, who are often representing several companies and should be able to get the most competitive prices. However, some companies deal directly with the consumer and can offer competitive prices because of lower expenses. Again, premiums can vary greatly between insurers!
Many companies have their own methods of premium installment or payment plans, so ask for the details regarding premium installments or payments available through the company you consider for coverage. You can use this information to compare with premium financing options.
Discounts
Sometimes companies offer discounts for burglar alarms and fire protection devices such as smoke detectors, alarms, and sprinklers. Ask about the discounts available through the companies you are considering.
What Is Covered By Homeowners Insurance?
Typical homeowners coverage insures your dwelling, other structures and contents, and may cover against losses such as:
Fire or lightning
Windstorm or hail
Breakage of glass
Explosion
Riot or civil commotion
Theft
Aircraft
Vehicles
Smoke
Vandalism and malicious mischief
You may elect to buy specialized homeowners coverage that provides additional protection for your dwelling and contents beyond the standard coverage limitations in most homeowners policies. Ask your insurance agent or broker about available endorsements to extend coverage. Endorsements to coverage such as building code upgrade can greatly add to your protection in a loss. You may also want to consider separate earthquake coverage or flood insurance, as these types of hazards are specifically excluded in most homeowners insurance policies.
Your policy also covers loss of use, including increases in living expenses due to fire or other insured loss. It is a good idea to be familiar with the coverage provisions for living expenses and include the information in your regular disaster plan in case of emergency.
Liability coverage protects you for injuries or damages to others caused by you, a member of your family, or pet. Medical payments insurance covers medical expenses to non-family members injured at your home.
Important: Read exclusions in your insurance contract. Earthquake, flood, mold, earth movement, and "wear and tear" are some of the perils that are usually excluded. When an insurer writes your homeowners coverage, the insurer is legally obligated to offer you earthquake coverage for an additional premium. The earthquake coverage may be written directly by the homeowner's insurer, by a separate insurer, or through the California Earthquake Authority (CEA.
Tenants (renters) insurance covers the loss of personal property and loss of use due to the above-mentioned perils, and may include liability and medical payments coverage.
Condominium insurance is similar to tenants insurance and covers personal property and improvements. Loss of use is generally limited to 40 percent of the contents limit. The condominium association generally purchases insurance for the building structure and common areas, such as corridors. Loss Assessment Coverage can be an important policy provision for you. It covers you for certain assessments the condominium association makes. However, you should check if it covers you for earthquake losses and how much it will provide you in the event of an earthquake loss. You should also carefully analyze the type of insurance your association has and how it would affect you in the event of a loss. Most condominium association policies cover the common areas and walls. Your condominium owner's policy will cover interior damage to your unit.
What Limits Should I Set on My Policy?
The "dwelling" limit should be the amount it would cost to replace your home. This may have nothing to do with the purchase price or the current market value of your home, as homeowners insurance does not generally cover the land value of your insured property. Your insurance policy is not governed by the real estate market, but by the cost of the materials and labor involved in rebuilding your home. Insurance companies have formulas that they use to evaluate the replacement cost of your home. Since the formulas developed are unique for each company, different insurers may suggest or require different limits of coverage for your dwelling limit.
The following information can assist you to determine if the limit set by your company accurately reflects the price it would cost to rebuild your home in the event of a total loss:
Contact your agent or broker for assistance in evaluating your dwelling limit. In order to prevent a "he said, she said" situation from arising in the future, you need to document your discussions and inquiries in writing.
Review your dwelling limit initially and upon renewal. Discuss any changes to your home in writing to your agent, broker, or insurer that may cause your dwelling limit to increase or decrease.
Know the replacement cost of your home. Be familiar with the building materials that make up your home including the construction type and any special features.
Stay informed as to the current building costs in your area. Contact local general contractors and ask what the current price per square foot is for a home similar to your own.
Keep accurate records of updates, renovations, and improvements to your home. Save receipts and samples of materials used when possible and contact your insurance agent or broker to increase the dwelling limit when appropriate.
Contact your agent, broker, or insurance company if you believe your policy limits may be inadequate to request a comprehensive inspection of your home.
If you believe that your dwelling limit is undervalued or overvalued, and you have submitted documentation in writing to your agent, broker, or insurer to raise or lower the limits and your request is refused, then contact the CDI for assistance by using the information in the "Talk to Us" section of this brochure.
The "contents" limit is generally around 50% of the dwelling amount; however, this is a guideline only, as the most competent source on the replacement value of your personal possessions is you. Be sure to take into account all of your personal property when calculating the contents limits. Read and understand the limited coverage amounts for specific types of personal property such as:
Jewelry
Fine arts
Silverware
Antiques
Collectibles
Firearms
Computer hardware and software
Business personal property
Money
The limited coverage amounts for specific types of personal property are not separate limits in addition to the contents limit. These limits are included in the overall contents limit and represent the maximum paid out for that specific type of personal property. Therefore, it is very important to add an endorsement (sometimes referred to as a "rider" or a "floater") to coverage which specifically schedules and takes into account the value of personal property that you may own above the special limits. Contact your agent or broker to discuss how to adequately cover any personal property that is valuable, falls above the limits, or is in any way out of the ordinary. Also, make sure to take into account commonplace household items when calculating your contents limit. Often, people concern themselves only with big ticket items purchased for use in their homes and neglect to account for all the many things you need to run your household and enjoy your home such as small appliances, kitchen utensils, linens, window coverings, and sundries. Remember, personal property also includes clothing, shoes, accessories, and personal items.
Two major problems suffered by homeowners on their Residential Property/Homeowners insurance policies in the Northern and Southern California fires were
(a) Many of the dwellings were under-insured, i.e., insured for amounts inadequate for rebuilding. Insurers sometimes refer to this as inadequate insurance-to-value.
(b) The problem of increased cost of construction was evident in many situations. When rebuilding, homeowners have to comply with new building code requirements. In some instances the difference between the dwelling limit and the code upgrades was a significant amount. Also, the extreme heat of some fires (and some new building code requirements) necessitated building new foundations along with appropriate debris removal. This is a situation that can be easily overlooked when determining building limits.
An important part to owning any property is protecting the property to the best of your ability. Homeowners insurance is a vital component to the protection of your property. By knowing and understanding the coverage and limits of your policy, and by making sure that values are current, your greatly add to you and your family's peace of mind in any loss situation.
Will My Policy Completely and Totally Replace My Home If It Is Destroyed?
This depends on whether your policy is a replacement cost value policy or an actual cash value policy. If your policy is an actual cash value policy, it will not. California courts have decided that actual cash value, unless otherwise specified in the insurance contract, is the fair market value. Fair market value can be loosely defined as the amount that a knowledgeable, willing buyer would pay and that a knowledgeable, willing seller would take for an item, neither being under unusual pressure to buy or sell. Insurers are permitted to provide an alternate definition of actual cash value in the policy if another method of determining value is to be used. read more...