About
Riverview Homeowners Insurance

The most important investment you and your family will probably ever make is your home, therefore you must be sure that it is protected in every situation.

No matter what neighborhood you live in, Riverview homeowners insurance is absolutely vital. The bigger the home you have on your property, the more value you have to lose in unfortunate situations. It is so important to have a stable insurance policy in order to protect the structure itself as well as its contents, but also your friends, family, and visitors from any unexpected incidents. 

You will be provided protection in four different areas with the typical Riverview homeowners insurance policy, those areas include: liability, personal belongings, home structure, and additional living expenses.

Below are the main facts you should know about the different areas of coverage:

Personal Property Protection:

This part of your policy includes coverage for your own belongings within your home like electronics, clothes, and furniture if they are damaged as a result of any of the misfortunes that you are covered for under the “dwellings” section of your policy, or if any of the items were simply stolen. Personal property coverage under your Riverview homeowners insurance policy is able to cover your belongings whether you take them around the world, simply leave them at home, or keep them in a storage facility off of the premise of your property. In general, the covered amount for your personal belongings is 50-70% of the coverage of your dwelling. However, if you want to get a more accurate estimate of what your coverage could possibly entail it is helpful to do frequently updated and thorough inventory of your stuff.

There are different classes of personal property based on their expense and value. The more expensive items may only have limited coverage if damaged or stolen, these items may include but are not limited to furs, art, jewelry, collectables, coins, and silverware. It will be necessary to purchase a floater or special endorsement to insure these items fully and they must each be listed separately with an accurate appraised value. In terms of watercrafts, some might be covered under these special endorsements, but depending on the make and model you may need to purchase additional yacht insurance. Your natural landscaping items like large plants, shrubs and trees are not covered for diseases or poor maintenance, but luckily in circumstances of natural disasters they would be covered under your standard Riverview homeowners insurance policy. 

Dwelling Coverage

This part of your Riverview homeowners insurance will protect your home’s structure and would work to rebuild or repair your home if damage occurs as a result of a number of different scenarios. The covered damages include:

• Vandalism and theft
• Severe whether, like hurricanes
• Falling objects
• Fire or smoke
• Damage from motor vehicles
• Damage from aircrafts

These dwelling coverage limits are not based on the value of the home, but rather the estimated cost to rebuild it. As labor and material costs rise and fall over time making rebuilding more or less expensive, this figure changes frequently. If you are updating any part of your house during the length of this policy that might also change the rebuild costs, so it is important to keep your provider updated on any additions such as decks or sunrooms, or upgrading any part of the home like the kitchen or bathrooms. It is always better to be safe than sorry and frequently review your dwelling coverage and make sure that you have the sufficient amount. With Riverview homeowners insurance the dwelling coverage extends to any additional structures attached to your main house like porches or garages.

Often standard policies also include coverage on the structures that are not attached to the main home like guest houses, detached garages, gazebos, tool sheds, and even fences as long as they are a part of your property. These may be listed on your Riverview homeowners insurance policy as “other structures”. 

On the other hand, these standard policies do not cover damages from earthquakes, floods, storm surges from hurricanes/tropical storms, nor the routine wear and tear that all houses experience. Therefore, it is important to make sure that you pair your Riverview homeowners insurance with an additional flood policy.

Liability

Everyone tries to avoid accidents on their property, but just because we are humans we can’t prevent everything. When mayhem strikes the liability portion of your policy will protect you, your family, and even your pets accidentally cause harm to others in the form of bodily injury or property damage. There are various different costs associated with different mishaps on your property that may deem you liable or negligent in the event of accidents. The liability section of your Riverview homeowners insurance policy will pay for the following:

• Medical bills for injured persons
• The pain and suffering endured by that injured person
• Legal defense/court costs
• Loss in wages
• Death benefits

In general, most liability limits are set at $100,000, therefore it is always helpful to purchase an additional umbrella policy or an excess liability policy. It is especially beneficial to purchase these if you have considerable assets so that you have higher liability limits and broader coverage in general.

There are certain policies that will even cover you and your family members if you unintentionally damage property away from home. For instance, damaging someone else’s boat or part of a hotel at which you are staying. 

Additional living expenses/loss of use

This part of your Riverview homeowners insurance policy enables you to be paid for your additional cost of living elsewhere if your home is damaged to the extent that it is unlivable as a result of a covered incident. It would help you pay the added costs above your usual expenses if you are required to live in a hotel or apartment and the higher expense for meals in the same way for a limited period of time. This part of the policy is usually based on your dwelling coverage like everything else, so it could be about 20-30 percent of the dwelling coverage. Keeping time limits in mind, make sure that your coverage will fit your lifestyle.

Other types of coverage

In Florida, another addition to your Riverview homeowners insurance policy that is necessary is National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policies. To protect yourself, the dwelling and its contents, you most likely have to purchase separate flood policies.

Homeowners frequently have issues with water backups from drains, sewers and sump pumps that give them a good reason to purchase additional coverage, being as it is separate from damages caused by surface water. People often also consider “green home coverage” because it provides more protection for systems following said damages and green materials. Luckily, some Riverview homeowners insurance policies now include fraud recovery expenses in their package.