Every home owner needs insurance to cover damage – or transfer risk from himself/herself to a third party – the insurance company.

Every homeowner should (and in many cases, must ) have insurance against:

• Fire
• Theft/crime
• Accidents within the home or on its grounds (especially guests or trades people falling or having accidents, or suffering bites from a family pet)
• Hurricanes
• Flood (required by municipalities in many areas)

Once you decide on your needs and what you can afford, consider the “deductible” – how much you have to pay personally for an incident before the insurance policy will reimburse you.

Insurance deductible amounts vary (e.g., $500, $1,000, $5,000). The higher your deductible, the lower premium you pay monthly.
E.g., you have $5,000 worth of damage. Your deductible is $500. After the insurance company sends its inspector to assess the damage, you will be reimbursed $4,500 since you are responsible for the first $500.

A Homeowners Insurance Policy usually doesn’t cover floods which is why you may need to add flood insurance separately.