It’s critical to be certain that you are carrying enough of this essential coverage – and not paying too much for it – to ensure that your property, belongings, and other assets are fully protected.
While there are many reasons why individuals and families across the South Shore, MA, and beyond, turn to Austin Insurance for help with their home insurance needs, topping this list would have to be the personalized service, attention to detail and focus on accuracy that we provide throughout the home insurance process.
Whether you’re a long-time homeowner currently evaluating your insurance options or you’re a potential homebuyer looking for help with a new policy, it’s extremely important to partner with an insurance professional who you are confident has all three of these qualities.
Otherwise, you could end up with a home insurance solution that is not nearly the right level of protection for you and your property, as well as one that might fall well short of your expectations and needs should you ever have to file a claim.
Getting – and maintaining – the proper homeowners insurance coverage.
Home insurance is frequently called “hazard insurance” in the industry because it is designed to be there for homeowners like you in the event that your home and its contents are damaged or destroyed by perils including but not limited to:
- Fire
- Lightning
- Smoke
- Windstorm or Hail
- Theft
- Malicious Intent/Vandalism
- Weight of Snow, Ice, or Sleet
- Falling Objects
- Water Damage
- Volcanic Eruption
- Explosion
- Riot or Civil Commotion
- Damage Caused by Aircraft
- Damage Caused by Vehicles
- Sudden and accidental tearing apart, cracking, burning, or bulging of a steam or hot water heating system, an air conditioning or automatic fire-protective system
- Sudden and accidental damage from artificially generated electrical current (does not include loss to a tube, transistor or similar electronic component)
In addition to providing coverage for your dwelling and your personal belongings against these threats, your standard home insurance policy typically offers:
- Loss of use, which is coverage for some of the additional living expenses that you may incur if your home becomes uninhabitable after an insured disaster
- Liability protection, which is coverage against lawsuits for bodily injury or property damage that you, family members, or your pet cause to other people or their property
In the event that you experience a loss to your home or its contents as a result of a covered event, or you find yourself in a legal battle as a result of an accident at your home, you, of course, want to be able to rely on your home insurance to offer financial protection and assistance.
However, the only way to ensure that this protection is there for you when you need it most is to make sure that the level of homeowners coverage you have in place is based on a careful and accurate calculation of your home’s value at the time of purchase, and that it has been updated throughout your years of living there.
Without the correct valuation – and regular adjustments as you modernize or renovate your home – you could end up having to kick in thousands of dollars, or more, to rebuild a fire-damaged home, to replace ruined personal items, or to pay for legal representation and any court judgments against you.
This is why it is so critical to work with a local, experienced, and extremely diligent insurance professional, like Austin Insurance. Our team is dedicated to putting in the time and attention necessary to thoroughly evaluate your property and belongings and to determine your specific coverage needs. It is our priority to help you find the broadest coverage to fit your particular risk exposures, while at the same time making sure that you are not paying one penny more than you need to for this feeling of security.
How Austin takes care of Homeowners is different from all the rest.
At Austin Insurance, we take a personal approach to homeowners insurance that is very rare in the industry. It starts with meeting all potential new clients in person, at their home, so that we can explore every facet of their dwelling, including the:
- General shape and style
- Exterior and interior features and finishes
- Age, square footage, and height
- Siding condition and materials
- Roof slope, condition, and materials
- Framing design and materials
- Architectural designs like trim, columns, or ornate handrails
- Unique, large, arched windows
- Ceiling height
- Paint or wallpaper type
- Doors
- Flooring
- Crown molding
- Heating systems
- Fireplaces
- Plumbing and pipes
- Electrical and wiring system
- Cabinets and countertop quality and design
- Appliance types
- Attached structures, such as a garage
- Pools or spas
- And more
Yes, this is a comprehensive list of things we want to see. But by viewing all of these structural details, as well as the condition of your current or potential home, with our own eyes, we should get a much better perspective on the true value of your home than we could ever get from asking you a list of standard questions over the phone or pulling the information from a public database.
Being there on your property also gives us the chance to clearly understand the neighborhood you live in, including the risk level for a natural disaster to impact your community and the costs of labor and construction, which are also factors in determining an adequate value for your home.
In addition, the insight that we get from this in-person visit can alert us to all the discounts you may be eligible for, but not taking advantage of, as well as special endorsements that you may want to consider in order to close risky gaps in your coverage, including:
-
Discounts for…
- Bundling Auto & Home Policies
- Installing A Security System
- Using Smoke Detectors
- Using Deadbolt Locks
- Being Claims-Free
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Endorsements such as…
- Scheduled Personal Property
- Dwelling Fire/Rental Homes 1-4 Family
- Guaranteed Dwelling Replacement Cost
- Home Systems & Service Line Protection
- Water and Sewer Backup
Finally, and perhaps the most essential reason why we make the extra effort that most others do not, is that we want to establish a good relationship and trust between you and our team from day one. That’s why it doesn’t matter if you’re right around the corner from us in Whitman, MA, or farther down the south shore in Plymouth or Marshfield, or if we have to road trip up to see you in Maine or New Hampshire; a member of our team will be there personally to visit with you and walk around your property.
This is the Austin way and, more importantly, the only true way to ensure that we value your property correctly, get you the right coverage options to fit your unique needs and budget, and provide you with the best ongoing service for the long-term.
The Austin Family takes care of Renters and Condo Owners too.
Whether you have a small one-bedroom apartment on Franklin Street, an upscale condo loft on Centre Street, or a generous-sized townhouse on Commerce Drive, it’s as important for you to protect your home and all of its contents as it is for any traditional homeowner. Even the most minimalist renters and condo dwellers can have personal property in their home worth thousands of dollars. Plus, size does not matter at all when it comes to liability risk – we all have it and could be sued at any time. While a renters or condo insurance policy does not have to cost you a lot of money, it does need to be broad enough to cover your important possessions. It also should protect the structural areas of your unit that are not covered by your landlord or condo association and help you pay for legal fees or judgments against you should you ever be held liable for an injury in your home. Working with our local, professional, and always straightforward team, you will get a combination of the best coverage and price to meet your insurance needs and gain the peace of mind that you and all of your things are well-protected.