Many of you have seen the advertisements for the Sheboygan Home Expo. You may be planning a trip there later this month. It’s impressive, isn’t it? There are so many ways to make your home more special. We’ve recently heard our clients talking about the changes they’ll make – adding a new raised garden to start growing organic vegetables or building a new shed and greenhouse to accommodate their needs. These are fantastic ideas, but it’s important that you let your home insurance agent know what you are doing.
Why We Need to Know
Of course, we are not going to tell you not to make your home more personalized to your unique needs. But, we do need to verify a few things:
- You have adequate home insurance to cover the value of the additions you make to ensure you have ample protection if the worst happened.
- You have the proper amount of liability insurance to minimize any risk of having to pay claims should a visitor or third party suffer an injury.
- To be sure your policy reflects the current types of structures on your property accurately.
All it takes to do this is to give Heinen Insurance a call. We can update your home insurance to reflect what you’re building. The question is – what should you let us know about? Here’s the scoop.
Garages and Sheds
The investment in these larger buildings, along with permanent greenhouses, gazebos, and sheds, can add a significant amount of value to your home. They also can make it easy for you to reach the upper threshold of your home insurance coverage. Most home insurance policies provide for just 10 percent of the total coverage as other structure protection. Sometimes these structures can be valued significantly higher than this.
Decks and Fencing
The addition of a deck around your home’s pool or on your backyard can be a great way to personalize the space. Imagine the time you’ll spend there all summer long. But, these also add value to your home. It is important to have the proper amount and type of insurance to cover these investments. No matter the type of fence you install, the size of the deck, or the overall process, let us know about these changes.
Outdoor Kitchens and Fire Pits
This is a growing trend in many areas of Wisconsin. Who doesn’t want to have a smoker, grill, perhaps even a refrigerator and a wine bar set up outside? The problem is, these structures involve fuel and fire risks. While you can still build them, you need to be sure they are included specifically on your policy. Otherwise, a fire here could lead to limited claim coverage.
Pools
Pools, spas, and other outdoor water areas carry some liability with them. Even though many of our clients will fence them in and lock gates to them, there’s always the risk someone can be hurt. Even if you do not welcome them onto your property, if they fall and are hurt in your pool, or drown, you could be liable. We want to make sure your home insurance policy will minimize that risk for you with adequate coverage. Again, let us know so we can add your new pool to your policy.
At Heinen Insurance, our goal is to make sure you have coverage. If you do not have enough or the wrong type, you could be exposed to risks that could be very costly to overcome. Avoid this. Let our agents update your policy with your new structures and additions.
