Have a second home…is it covered?

Have a second home…is it covered?

For the winter some people like to move down South to escape the cold. If you’re one of these people and have a secondary home then it is important to keep it insured with secondary home insurance. Here are some tips from www.homesite.com

Insurance Tips

• Make sure that a homeowner’s policy covering your primary residence extends liability coverage to your vacation or rental property. You may have to purchase a separate policy.
• Check the amount of liability insurance to make sure that you have adequate coverage. There is a higher risk of accidents associated with a rental property than with your own home.
• Consider purchasing extra liability insurance, also known as a Personal Umbrella Policy (PUP). This can increase the liability coverage on your home or auto up to $1 million or more.
• Check to see if you have proper coverage for hurricane or windstorm damage if you own a home near the coast. Many homeowners’ policies may provide limited coverage on hurricane damage, and may or may not provide windstorm protection.
• Call your insurance company for information on flood insurance from the National Flood Insurance Program. Most homeowner’s policies do not provide flood coverage and the national program requires a thirty day waiting period before coverage takes effect.

Maintenance Tips

• Don’t keep valuable items in your rental property or vacation home.
• Provide helpful phone numbers and information for guests or renters (for example, trash pickup, beach stickers, appliance directions, and emergency numbers).
• Keep utilities on minimum coverage, even if you are gone for an extended period of time.
• Check on your property frequently, even if you have a management company rent or clean the property on a regular basis.
• Maintain a checklist of house contents.
• Make sure that walkways and stairs are free of clutter.
• Check porch and deck railings for loose boards.
• Check outside lighting and all electrical appliances.

Whether you are visiting or your second home is unoccupied it is always good to have peace of mind with secondary home insurance.