Protecting Your Investment with Home Insurance

Your home is a significant financial investment. Protecting it with the right insurance is a safeguard should anything happen. If there is a fire or severe weather, your policy helps you to recover more quickly. It provides more benefits than that, though. At Smith Insurance Agency of West Virginia, our team works with homeowners throughout the Kingwood, WV area to protect their homes. 

Your homeowner’s insurance provides an array of benefits to protect your greatest asset, your home. The policy covers all of your possessions inside of the house, including artwork, furniture, and electronics. It even protects items that are damaged or stolen while away from home. For example, if your laptop is stolen while you are at the library or café, it is still covered. The liability coverage protects you if someone is injured on your property due to your negligence. For instance, if someone trips and is injured, the policy will cover their medical expenses. If they sue, it will also take care of their legal costs. 

Your home insurance policy protects more than your house. It also covers all structures on your property. This includes outbuildings, fences, and gazebos. While this is a high level of protection for homeowners, there is one thing that a home policy will not cover. Home policies never cover water damage from a flood event. It will, however, cover water damage from a faulty water heater or broken pipe. If your home is located in an area at moderate or high risk for flooding, it’s important to talk with your agent about adding flood insurance to your policy. Even in areas with a lower risk for flooding, some homeowners opt for additional coverage. This is because 20% of flood claims come from low-risk areas. 

Our agents at Smith Insurance Agency of West Virginia can help you understand your home insurance options. In the Kingwood, WV area, we are known for our quality service. Contact our office for information and have your questions answered! Our knowledgeable agents are ready to help you protect your investment in your home.

How Homeowner’s Insurance Helps Protect You Against Liability Claims

You work hard to protect your family, physically, and financially. However, do you know what your policy covers in terms of a liability claim? Our team at Smith Insurance Agency of West Virginia has put together a quick guide for you to review. Here’s how homeowner’s insurance coverage helps protect you against liability claims.

Protection Against Most Civil Liability Cases

First, it is essential to know that your policy has some protection against most civil liability cases. A civil liability case is where another person is suing you for damages that arise from your negligence or actions. This includes situations both in your home and outside your home and could cover a pretty wide variety of topics. Think things like contract disputes or defamation. If you find yourself facing a lawsuit and you have homeowner’s insurance, contact your agent.

Injuries to Others

One of the most commonly known aspects of homeowner’s insurance is that it pays for the medical bills of guests who are injured while visiting your home. For example, if your dog bites a visiting friend or the mailman trips over a cord on your porch and breaks their arm.

Property Damage to Someone Else’s House

Another coverage most people are surprised to see included in their homeowner’s policy coverage is damage to someone else’s house. As an example, your child accidentally throws a baseball through the neighbor’s window. The cost to repair the window would be paid for by your policy, subject to your deductible.

Learn more about how your homeowner’s insurance policy protects you from liability claims. Please get in touch with our Smith Insurance Agency of West Virginia team in Kingwood, WV today to schedule an appointment. We proudly serve the Morgantown and Kingwood, WV area.

Does Your Home Insurance Cover Stolen Packages?

Many homeowners insurance policies in Kingwood, WV will cover stolen packages. However, you will still have to pay your deductible on stolen items. As such, it may not make sense to file a claim, depending on how much your package is worth. Many deductibles are between $500 and $2,000, so if your package was worth more than your deductible, it could be worth filing a claim with your agent at Smith Insurance Agency of West Virginia to get your money back. If your package is not worth the amount of your deductible, consider the hassle of filing the claim and if there is a possibility of your premiums going up after your claim.

If filing a claim is not worth it, there may be other things to do in order to recover your stolen package. Track your package to make sure it was actually stolen and not just delayed in transit. If it has been delivered, check to see that a well-meaning neighbor doesn’t have it. Sometimes neighbors pick up packages to prevent them from getting stolen in the first place. Next, contact the retailer. Different retailers will have different policies on what happens for stolen packages and may issue a replacement or a refund. If the retailer is unable to help you when filing a claim with the shipping company may work, as well as looking into your credit cards for purchase protection.

There are ways to prevent packages from being stolen, and these may offer you discounts on your home insurance. Installing a security camera can give you some more peace of mind. Security systems may ward off potential thieves but, even if it doesn’t, you then have photo evidence for a police report or claim. Also, be sure to keep your home well lit and even consider using motion detection lighting.

Contact Smith Insurance Agency of West Virginia, serving Kingwood, WV, to get a quote on home insurance.