Southwest Florida has thousands of condos, allowing residents enjoy the outdoor activities like golfing, visit the shore, or simply living our Florida lifestyle without needing to mow the lawn or shovel the driveway. Still, it's important to be sure that your condo or townhouse is protected with the proper condo insurance coverage.
Is Condo Insurance Required?
Many lenders (generally mortgage companies) will require you to buy a condo insurance plan for your unit. This coverage is sometimes known as "walls-in" coverage or HO-6 insurance coverage since it will help to cover the inside walls, fixtures, and personal property inside your condominium rather than the outside of the condo construction.
How Do I Save Money on My Condo Insurance?
Raising your deductible is one way to save money. You may also be eligible for a discount if your condominium is new or if you have made it safer by installing smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, or a safety security system. Applicable discounts will depend on those upgrades.
A condo insurance policy incorporates several standard kinds of coverage that will help you protect your possessions, you, and your family. You might also be able to buy additional, optional coverage to help protect what matters most to you.
Condo insurance helps to cover your unit and your personal belongings if they're damaged or destroyed by any event insured on your insurance plan.
Condo insurance policies typically cover the following:
Theft
Fire and smoke
Vandalism
Water damage from ruptured appliances such as water heaters or air conditioners
What's NOT Covered by Condo Insurance?
Condo insurance protects you from losses, however, there are some losses that aren't covered. The things you can expect to not be covered with your condo insurance are as follows:
Items Breaking Down and General Maintenance:
Most condominium insurance doesn't cover basic maintenance fixes. By way of example, if your water heater cracks, your policy most likely will not help replace the water heater itself. However, an if a policy covered incident causes damage where your water heater cracks, or leaks water, it should be covered by your condo insurance. That's why it's a great idea to have all of your heating, cooling, and plumbing systems frequently serviced.
Floods, Earthquakes and Water Backup:
Floods, earthquakes, and water (sewer) issues are excluded from many condominium insurance coverages. If you would like to get extra insurance to cover these types of incidents [such as flood insurance], Richard Dean Insurance offers many add on options and are more than happy to accommodate that to make sure your coverage includes all the items you need it to.
Most condo insurance policies protect your belongings up to a certain value amount. But particular valuables, such as expensive jewelry, furs, and silverware may require an extended policy to cover their whole worth [we would typically suggest an Umbrella Insurance Policy for such items].
You might also consider coverage to pay for computers, satellite dish antennas, lock replacements and fire department charges. If you have specific questions regarding your condominium insurance needs, please don't hesitate to contact us.
What if I don't have all of the information to submit a claim?
When it comes to filing a claim, the earlier the better - even if it's right after the incident, and especially if your property remains wet from water damage. Let us know as soon as possible and we can help speed up the claim process. Even in the event that you don't have all the information, you always have the option to supply us with additional details later.
Our knowledgable staff is ready to help you figure out which insurance coverage is best for you and your needs, if you might need additional policies added on the make sure everything you want to have covered, is covered, or if you need help with filing a claim.
Don't wait until it's too late to reach out, that's why we're here - we've got you.