What is Homeowners Insurance?
Homeowners insurance is a form of insurance that covers losses and damages to your residence along with furnishings and other assets in the home. Your Homeowners insurance consists of multiple coverages that provide protection in different situations and these coverages are not “one size fits all.” We work with clients to ensure that coverages and deductibles match their needs.
Homeowner Insurance Coverages
Dwelling: Pays for damage to your home from covered perils like hail, wind and fire.
Other Structures: Pays for damage to detached structures on your property, including detached garages, storage sheds, pool houses, and fences.
Personal Property Coverage: Covers your personal items (clothing, furniture, electronics, etc.) both inside and outside the home.
Loss of Use: Pays for additional living expenses while your home is being repaired or rebuilt due to a covered loss.
Personal Liability: Pays for legal and medical bills if you are held liable for injury or personal property damage to someone else.
Medical Payments: Pays medical bills for guests injured on your property.
Optional Coverages:
- Scheduled Property: Pays for damage and theft to certain classes of valuable property like jewelry, art and guns.
- Water/Sewer Backup: Pays for damages from a defective sump pump or drain backup.
- Service Line: Pays to replace or repair exterior service lines that fail or are damaged.
- Equipment Breakdown: Protects your important home systems and property from the expensive repair or replacement costs of mechanical or electrical breakdown, rupture and explosion.
Factors That Can Affect Homeowner Premiums
Your home is one of your largest investments, so you want to make sure that you are insuring it with the proper coverages. As an independent agency, we can explore a wide variety of companies to ensure that you get the best value for your money. Some of the factors that can affect your premium include:
Age of Home and Roof: Many insurance providers include discounts for new homes, with the discount eventually falling off as your home ages. As your home and roof age, they could become more susceptible to damage from weather elements or even internal deterioration. Replacement costs, including material and labor, usually go up over time.
Security Systems: Burglar alarms, fire alarms, automatic water shut-offs and other protective devices can all provide discounts, with the amount of these discounts varying by company.
Multi-Policy: Save by bundling your home with auto, motorcycle, boat, etc. Discounts can be significant to lower your premiums.
Credit Score: Most insurance companies factor your credit score or similar type financial stability score into consideration when calculating your rate. The higher your credit score, the lower your insurance premiums tend to be.
Prior Insurance: Prior insurance and the length of time you have been with your previous carrier can affect your insurance rates.
Many homeowners may not be aware that they are responsible for exterior underground service and utility lines on their property. Damage to these lines can occur from a variety of sources (tree roots, animals, corrosion, freezing). Underground service line coverage extends coverage outside the home to replace or repair exterior service lines that fail or are damaged. Not all insurance companies provide this optional coverage, which is another reason that we, as an independent agency, can find the best fit for your needs.
This coverage can protect your important home systems and property from the expensive repair or replacement costs of mechanical or electrical breakdown, rupture, explosion and more. It is not meant to replace a warranty covering normal wear and tear. Air conditioning systems, well pumps, dishwashers, heating systems, vacuum systems, washer and dryers, water heaters, ranges, and refrigerators are examples. Not all insurance companies provide this optional coverage, which is another reason that we, as an independent agency, can find the best fit for your needs.
Certain dog breeds are restricted from homeowner’s policies due to their aggressive nature. Injuries and property damage due to dogs are some of the most common liability claims made for home insurance policies. Every insurance company has their own list of restricted breeds, and there are a few companies that have no restrictions or exclusions if there is no bite history. Examples of the most common restricted breeds include Pit Bull, Rottweiler, Chow, Akita, Doberman, and wolf hybrids.
Insure your home for its replacement value. The insurance industry uses replacement cost calculators to estimate how much it would cost to build your home from scratch. The market value of selling your home is not a good indicator of replacement cost as the market value includes land and real estate markets can be somewhat volatile.
Trampolines are considered an “attractive nuisance”, meaning it is an object that draws the attention of children or teens while also offering potential danger. Every insurance company has there own guidelines and requirements on allowing a trampoline on the property, the most common being a fenced yard and a netting around the trampoline.
Jeff Johnson Insurance Agency is an independent insurance agency, which allows us to quote a number of different companies to find you the best fit and the best price for your insurance needs. Benefits of working with us as independent agents include:
- Save time – we do the leg work for you to quote numerous options
- Offer choices – we aren’t a captive agency and limited to representing one company
- Offer Expert, Unbiased advice – we can quote numerous companies to find you the best fit and are not biased to steer you to a single company
- Save money – with so many options to quote, we can find you the best value for your money
- Forge a long term relationship – if your company loses its competitiveness over the years, we can requote you with all of our other options and keep you as a customer as your agent
Jeff Johnson Insurance Agency is affiliated with Atlas Insurance Brokers, LLC, which is based out of Rochester, Minnesota. Atlas provides services for over 100 agencies throughout Minnesota and Iowa. The affiliation gives our Agency greater flexibility and a number of options to provide you the most cost-effective and comprehensive insurance packages and provide you with the best fit for your needs.
If you have an accident or claim you can contact Jeff or Dan at Jeff Johnson Insurance Agency and they can assist you through the process or you can contact the company you are insured with using their 800 contact information on our Customer Service page.
Quick Contact
495 SE Alice’s Rd., Suite C
Waukee, Ia. 50263
515-987-6993
495 SE Alice’s Rd., Suite C
Waukee, Ia. 50263
515-987-6993
