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Personal Insurance Notes & Tips
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Home
Based Business
Today,
it is quite common for homeowners to start a home based
business, and it is important that they be made aware
of the insurance implications.
Your
Home Insurance Policy excludes coverage for business use of
your premises unless you have specifically arranged for coverage
with your Insurance Company.
The
insurance market has responded to these demands by providing
"Home Based Business Endorsements" for certain types of business
pursuits. It is important that your insurance broker be advised
of any business operations you may have from your home and
that the proper liability and property insurance coverage
be obtained.
You should be aware
that some business operations do not qualify for the "Home
Based Business" endorsement to your homeowners policy and
you may need to purchase a Commercial Insurance Policy to
meet your specific needs.
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Contents Within A
Vehicle
You
should know that contents left in a vehicle are not included
in the coverage provided with your automobile insurance. These
personal effects may be covered under your Homeowners, Condo,
or tenants Insurance package.
It
is important that you be aware of the fact that some home
insurance policies contain a maximum limit of coverage for
theft of contents from a vehicle. You should check to make
sure that if a limit is applicable in your policy that it
is adequate for your needs. It may be necessary to arrange
additional coverage to provide for some exposures.
Ask about the advantages
of a Comprehensive Homeowners Form compared to a Broad
Form Homeowners package.
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Special Limits of
Insurance
Did
you know that certain items of personal property are subject
to special limits of insurance? Items such as business property,
computer software, watercraft, auto parts and tools all may
be subject to specified total limits of coverage.
Other
items may have special “theft” limits that apply.
Certain target items for burglary are subject to special limits
only if the loss is caused by theft or mysterious disappearance.
This typically includes jewellery, watches, furs, collectibles
(such as stamps, coins and sports cards) and bicycles.
These special limits
can often be addressed by having such items scheduled separately
on your insurance policy. Not only does this provide individual
coverage for these items, but often reduces or eliminates
the deductible for that particular property.
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Personal Property
Inventory
Feel
free to ask one of our insurance professionals for a complementary
personal property inventory booklet. This document takes you
through all the rooms in your home in order to establish a
detailed account of all of your belongings. Completing an
inventory listing for all your personal property is a wise
decision for two reasons.
First
of all, by going through all of your contents, you are able
to properly determine the full replacement cost of your personal
belongings. If you find you are either under or over-insured,
your policy can be adjusted accordingly. This is particularly
important for tenant packages, as you specifically choose
your contents limit rather than having it as a percentage
of your dwelling amount.
Secondly, this listing
is a valuable tool in the event of a claim involving your
contents. If you complete the booklet and have our brokerage
keep it in your file, you have full listing of your property
to look back on at the time of a claim. Another, less time-consuming
method of doing this is to walk through your home with a video
camera and going through all of your property. While not as
detailed as the booklet, this method still assists greatly
in easing the difficulty of an insurance claim.
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