Homeowners Insurance Replacement Cost Calculator

Homeowners Insurance Calculator

Using a homeowners insurance calculator can help you get a ballpark figure of your home’s replacement cost which you can use when shopping for home insurance.

What Does It Do?

A homeowners insurance calculator is designed to give you a rough estimate of how much insurance you should purchase for your homeowners policy. You might find a calculator on your current insurance carrier’s website. Otherwise, just do an online search for the term “homeowners insurance calculator” or visit some well known insurance company websites to see if they have one. These calculators are free and typically ask for minimal information like your zip code, your home’s square footage and sometimes the year it was built. Once you enter that information, the calculator returns either a range of replacement cost value for your home, like $200,000 – $250,000, or one number that represents an average replacement cost value.

When Should I Use A Homeowners Insurance Calculator?

Home and contents insurance calculators should be used when beginning the process of shopping for homeowners insurance. They provide you with a rough estimate of your home’s replacement cost value, which you can give to your insurance agent to get a general feel for policy pricing. You can use a home contents insurance calculator or a home building insurance calculator. But the most prevalent type you’ll find online is one that does both. Most companies that an independent insurance agent represents will use their own replacement cost estimator that takes more specific factors into consideration like construction type, distance to fire hydrants, presence of smoke detectors, and burglar alarms. Taking this detailed information into consideration gives them a more precise value of your home.

What Are The Limitations?

You should only use a homeowners insurance calculator to get an estimate of your home’s replacement cost, which you can use to get a ballpark insurance premium figure. In order to get a more accurate idea of true replacement cost, you should use the replacement cost value listed on your home’s most recent appraisal, if you’ve had one done in the last couple of years. If not, it’s a good idea to get an updated appraisal. Online insurance calculators do not take into consideration your risk for flood insurance, which should be purchased separately. They also do not take valuable items like jewelry, furs or silverware into consideration, which should be scheduled on a separate personal articles floater attached to your homeowners policy. Finally, most calculators you find will not be a home insurance premium calculator that determines what rate you’ll pay. They will typically only calculate replacement cost value of your home and contents.

Conclusion

When you begin shopping for insurance, using a homeowners insurance calculator can provide you with a general idea of your home’s replacement cost, which you can pass along to your insurance agent. Just realize that this is only a rough estimate, and that you should use a recent home appraisal or rely on your insurance agent to help you calculate a more accurate value of your home’s replacement cost.

5 Things You Need To Know When Buying Home Insurance

Atlanta Home Insurance Image If you’re planning to buy home insurance, there are several things to keep in mind that will save you money and heartache. Atlanta, in particular, is a great place to live, especially with our affordable home prices (Yes, your house would probably cost 3 times as much up North!). But if you’re trying to rush the home insurance buying process, you may pay for it in the end.

Our prospective clients ask us good questions about buying home insurance. Here are some important ones that may help you out in your search for the best home insurance policy.

1) What does a typical home insurance policy cover?

The structure of your home (Fires and hail damage are the most common causes of loss in Georgia.)
Liability protection
Your personal belongings
Living expenses in the event of a disaster

2) What’s the difference between Actual Cash Value and Replacement Cost?

Let’s use an analogy: If your 10-year-old home were like a BMW and it suffered a total loss, an Actual Cash Value policy would replace it with something like a Honda Civic, whereas Replacement Cost would give you a brand new BMW. Actual Cash Value is a form of insurance that pays damages equal to the replacement cost of damaged property minus depreciation. Replacement Cost is insurance that pays the dollar amount needed to replace your damaged property without deducting for depreciation, up to the maximum insurance limit on your policy.

Put another way, if you owned a classic 1920′s bungalow in Buckhead and a similarly priced new construction home in Marietta, you’d better make sure you’re insuring both to Replacement Cost value. Otherwise, a Spring outbreak of tornadoes could leave you with only enough insurance money to rebuild half of your Buckhead home while your new home in Marietta gets fully rebuilt.

3) Is my personal property covered when I travel with it?

A resounding Yes! We know having the world’s busiest airport in our backyard makes it irresistible for Georgian’s to travel, so this is good news for those of you with wanderlust. Personal property (except property that is specifically excluded) is typically covered anywhere in the world. So that new iPad or iPod or iWhatever that accidentally got crushed underfoot while running with the bulls in Spain is covered. Heck, even if the Persian rug you purchased while in Turkey get’s snagged and unraveled in the Hartsfield-Jackson airport escalator, you’re covered. Even if it hasn’t made it to your home yet, it’s still covered.

4) Does my Homeowners insurance policy cover flood damage?

No! No!…and No! Sadly, many homeowners have suffered enormous losses to their personal property because they thought it was included in their Homeowners Policy. Whether you’re in a high risk flood zone near the Chattahoochee River or not, it’s a good idea to have flood insurance.

Remember:

Floods and Flash Floods can happen anytime and anywhere.
Federal assistance may not be enough to cover damage cause by a flood.
Flood insurance may be more affordable than you think.

Flood insurance isn’t just for property owners living along the coast. Most folks living in Georgia remember the historic flooding in our state a couple of years ago. Even our neighbors in Nashville, Tennessee suffered from floods shortly after that.

5) What are the benefits of purchasing home insurance in Atlanta through an independent agent?

An independent agent offers personal service that is hard to come by these days, something Southerners expect when doing business. An agent will shop your home insurance policies with multiple top rated insurance carriers to find the best coverages at the lowest price. Plus, in the event of a claim, it’s nice to hear a familiar voice on the other line who you know will go to bat for you, instead of being introduced to someone you’ve never met before in a time of crisis.

For more information about buying home insurance in Atlanta, call us today at (888) 800-4824 or fill out the form below to get a free home insurance quote.

homeowners insurance replacement cost calculator