Home Insurance That Protects What You've Built
More homeowners choose our company as their home insurance company over any other insurer. Make the move to protect your home and family. With access to innovative tools, money-saving discounts and a local agent, it's easy to make sure you're covering all your bases.
Your Home Is More Than an Address. It's Everything You've Worked For.
A house is usually the single largest purchase a family ever makes, and the things inside it — the furniture, the photographs, the tools in the garage, the instruments in the spare bedroom — represent years of decisions and savings. Homeowners insurance exists so that one bad night doesn't undo all of it.
A Real Local Agent
You are never routed into a maze of menus and left there. When you call (833) 652-9459, you're connected with a licensed agent who understands the building codes, weather patterns and rebuild costs in your specific area — because a coastal home in the Gulf and a two-story colonial in the Midwest do not face the same risks, and they should not carry the same policy.
Money-Saving Discounts
Most homeowners are paying for discounts they already qualify for and never claimed. Bundling, monitored alarm systems, impact-resistant roofing, claim-free history, new-home credits, paid-in-full savings and more can stack together. Our agents review every available credit line by line before quoting a premium.
Innovative Tools
Replacement-cost calculators, home inventory tracking, digital policy documents and proactive renewal reviews mean your coverage doesn't quietly fall behind while construction costs climb. Coverage that was right five years ago may leave a serious gap today.
The difference between a claim that restores your life and a claim that leaves you writing checks usually comes down to decisions made long before the loss — the limits you selected, the endorsements you added, the deductible you agreed to, and whether anyone ever sat down and explained the difference between actual cash value and replacement cost. That conversation takes about ten minutes on the phone, and it is free.
Homeowners Insurance May Cover Losses to Covered Property Caused By:
Standard homeowners policies group covered perils into a few broad families. Here is how they break down in plain language.
Weather
Storms, fire, wind, hail, lightning, freezing of a plumbing system, weight of ice, snow or sleet.
Non-Weather
Theft, vandalism, riots, aircraft and vehicles.
Accidental Direct Physical Loss
Water from plumbing, tearing or bulging of heating or cooling systems, artificially generated electrical current.
Weather-Related Losses in Detail
Weather is the single most common driver of homeowners claims in the United States, and it rarely arrives politely. A summer thunderstorm can drop hail large enough to bruise a roof so subtly that the damage isn't visible from the ground — and then the leak shows up eight months later in a bedroom ceiling. Windstorms peel shingles, snap trees onto rooflines and drive rain sideways into places rain isn't supposed to go. Lightning doesn't only start fires; a strike near the house can travel through wiring and destroy every piece of electronics plugged into a wall.
Winter brings its own category. When a plumbing system freezes and a supply line splits, the water does not politely wait for you to come home. A quarter-inch line can release hundreds of gallons in a single afternoon, and the resulting damage to flooring, drywall, cabinetry and subfloor routinely runs into five figures. The weight of ice, snow or sleet accumulating on a roof can also cause structural failure, particularly on older framing or on flat and low-slope roofs where the load has nowhere to shed.
Non-Weather Losses
Theft and vandalism cover the losses that come from other people rather than the sky. A break-in isn't only about the missing television — it's the forced door, the broken window, the ransacked rooms and the sense that your home is no longer entirely yours. Coverage typically extends to the damage caused during the theft, not only to the stolen items themselves. Riots and civil commotion fall into this same family. So do losses caused by aircraft and vehicles, which sound exotic until a car leaves the road and ends up in a living room, or a delivery truck backs into the corner of a garage.
Accidental Direct Physical Loss
This is the category most homeowners understand least and use most. Water escaping from plumbing — a burst supply line, a failed washing machine hose, a slow leak behind a wall that finally announces itself — is one of the highest-frequency claims in the industry. The tearing apart, cracking, burning or bulging of a steam or hot water heating system, an air conditioning system, or an automatic fire protective sprinkler system falls here too, as does damage from artificially generated electrical current, which is the technical way of saying a power surge cooked your appliances, your HVAC control board or your home office.
It is worth understanding the line the policy draws: insurance responds to sudden and accidental events, not to gradual deterioration or deferred maintenance. A pipe that bursts is covered. A pipe that has been seeping for three years behind a cabinet, producing rot and mold, usually is not. That distinction is exactly the kind of thing worth asking an agent about before you need the answer.
Have a question about a specific scenario in your home? Call (833) 652-9459 and ask. There's no obligation and no form to fill out.
What Standard Home Insurance Does Not Cover
An honest agent tells you where the policy stops. These are the most common exclusions that surprise homeowners at claim time.
Flood
Damage from rising surface water, storm surge, overflowing rivers and heavy runoff is excluded from every standard homeowners policy. Flood coverage is purchased separately through the National Flood Insurance Program or a private flood carrier. Roughly a quarter of flood claims come from properties outside high-risk mapped zones.
Earthquake and Earth Movement
Earthquakes, landslides, mudflow and sinkholes are excluded and require a separate policy or endorsement. In some states this coverage is widely available and inexpensive; in others it carries a percentage deductible.
Maintenance and Wear
Deterioration, rot, rust, mold from long-term seepage, settling and foundation cracks from ordinary aging are the homeowner's responsibility. Insurance covers sudden accidents, not the slow consequences of deferred upkeep.
Pests and Infestation
Termites, rodents, birds and insects are considered preventable maintenance issues. The damage they cause over months or years is excluded regardless of how expensive the repair turns out to be.
Business Activity
Inventory, equipment and liability tied to a business run from the home are excluded or severely limited. If clients visit your property or you store product there, you need an endorsement or a separate commercial policy.
High-Value Items Beyond Sub-Limits
How Much Homeowners Insurance Do You Actually Need?
The most common and most expensive mistake in home insurance is underinsuring the dwelling. Here's how to think about it.
Insure to rebuild, not to sell
Your dwelling limit should equal what it would cost a contractor to rebuild your home from the foundation up at today's local labor and material rates. That figure has almost nothing to do with your home's market value, and nothing at all to do with what you still owe the bank. Market value includes the land, the neighborhood, the school district and the state of the market — none of which burn down. In some markets rebuild cost exceeds market value; in others it's well below. Either way, guessing costs you.
Construction costs have moved substantially in recent years. Lumber, roofing, drywall, skilled trades and permitting have all repriced, and a policy that was accurate when it was written can drift badly out of date in a handful of renewals. This matters more than most people realize because of the coinsurance provision buried in nearly every policy: if you carry less than a required percentage — commonly 80% — of full replacement cost, the insurer may reduce even a small partial claim proportionally. Underinsurance does not just hurt you in a total loss. It hurts you in a kitchen fire.
Build a home inventory before you need one
After a serious loss, adjusters ask what you owned. Almost nobody can answer accurately from memory, and the gap between what you actually lost and what you can document is money you never get back. Walk each room with your phone, record video, open closets and drawers, narrate brands and approximate purchase dates, and photograph serial numbers on major electronics and appliances. Store the file somewhere that isn't inside the house — cloud storage or a relative's computer. It takes about twenty minutes and it is the highest-return unpaid work a homeowner can do.
Don't shortchange liability
Liability limits are the cheapest coverage on the policy and the most consistently underbought.
Choose the deductible deliberately
Raising a deductible from $500 to $1,000 or $2,500 lowers your premium meaningfully, and it is a reasonable trade if you keep that amount accessible in savings. Be aware, though, that many policies in wind, hail and hurricane regions apply a separate percentage deductible for those specific perils — 1% to 5% of the dwelling limit rather than a flat dollar figure. On a $400,000 home a 2% wind deductible is $8,000 before the insurer pays anything. Knowing which deductible applies to which peril is not a detail. It is the plan.
Not sure where your current limits stand? A licensed agent can review your existing declarations page with you over the phone in about ten minutes. Call (833) 652-9459.
What Actually Determines Your Home Insurance Premium
Two identical-looking houses on the same street can carry very different premiums. These are the variables doing the work.
About the property
- Rebuild cost — square footage, construction quality, custom finishes and architectural complexity.
- Age of the home — and specifically the age of the roof, wiring, plumbing and HVAC.
- Construction materials — masonry and fire-resistant materials generally price better than frame.
- Roof shape and material — hip roofs outperform gable roofs in high wind; tile and metal outperform three-tab asphalt.
- Attractive nuisances — pools, trampolines, hot tubs and certain dog breeds affect liability pricing.
About the location and the owner
- Distance to a fire hydrant and fire station — a direct input to your protection class rating.
- Regional catastrophe exposure — hurricane, tornado, wildfire, hail and severe convective storm frequency.
- Local claim history and crime rates — priced at the ZIP code level.
- Your claims history — carriers review the CLUE report, a seven-year record of claims on you and on the property.
- Coverage choices — limits, deductible, endorsements and replacement-cost basis.
What to Do After a Loss
The first few hours matter. Here's the sequence that protects both your family and your claim.
Make everyone safe
People before property, always. If there's fire, gas, structural damage or standing water near electrical panels, get out and call emergency services. Report theft or vandalism to police and get the report number.
Stop further damage
You have a duty to mitigate. Shut off the water main, tarp the roof, board a broken window, run fans. Keep every receipt — reasonable emergency mitigation costs are typically reimbursable.
Document everything
Photograph and video the damage from multiple angles before you clean up or throw anything away. Damaged items are evidence. List what was lost with brands, ages and estimated values while it's fresh.
Report and follow through
Notify the carrier promptly, keep a log of every call with names, dates and reference numbers, and don't sign a repair contract or an assignment of benefits before you understand what you're signing.
Two cautions worth remembering. First, be careful with anyone who shows up unsolicited after a storm offering to handle your claim, waive your deductible or take an assignment of your benefits — storm-chasing contractors follow weather events, and waiving a deductible is illegal in many states. Second, if you disagree with a settlement, you have options: request a re-inspection, provide independent repair estimates, invoke the appraisal clause in your policy, or contact your state department of insurance. A claim decision is a starting position, not always a final one.
Homeowners Insurance FAQ
Is homeowners insurance required by law?
No state legally requires homeowners insurance. However, virtually every mortgage lender requires it as a condition of the loan, and will keep requiring it for the life of the mortgage. If your policy lapses, the lender can purchase force-placed coverage on your behalf — which is typically far more expensive, protects only the lender's interest, and covers none of your belongings or liability. Even after the mortgage is paid off, going uninsured means putting your largest asset entirely at risk.
Does home insurance cover roof replacement?
It depends on the cause and on how your policy is written. Sudden damage from a covered peril — a hailstorm, a windstorm, a falling tree — is generally covered. A roof that has simply reached the end of its service life is not; that's maintenance. Also check whether your policy pays roof claims on a replacement cost or actual cash value basis, since many carriers now depreciate older roofs. That single provision can be the difference between a fully funded new roof and a check for a third of the cost.
Am I covered if a tree falls on my house?
Generally yes. Damage to the structure from a fallen tree is a covered peril under most policies, and removal of the tree is usually covered up to a modest sub-limit when it strikes an insured structure. If a tree falls in your yard without hitting anything, removal is often not covered. If your neighbor's tree falls on your house, your own policy typically responds first, and your insurer may pursue your neighbor if the tree was visibly dead or dangerous and they were on notice.
Does my policy cover my belongings when I'm away from home?
Usually yes. Personal property coverage typically follows you worldwide, so a laptop stolen from a hotel room or luggage taken from a rental car may be covered subject to your deductible and any category sub-limits. Belongings a student keeps at college are also commonly covered under a parent's policy at a reduced percentage.
What's the difference between HO-1, HO-2, HO-3, HO-5 and HO-6?
These are standardized policy forms. HO-1 and HO-2 are basic and broad named-perils forms covering only listed causes of loss. HO-3 is the most common form for single-family homes, covering the dwelling on an open-perils basis (everything except stated exclusions) and personal property on a named-perils basis. HO-5 is a premium form that extends open-perils coverage to personal property as well. HO-6 is the condominium unit owner's form. HO-4 is renters insurance, and HO-8 is designed for older homes where market value falls well below replacement cost.
Can I switch home insurance companies mid-policy?
Yes. You can cancel a homeowners policy at any time and receive a pro-rated refund of unused premium. Line up the new policy first so there's no gap in coverage, and notify your mortgage servicer so escrow payments are redirected to the new carrier. Reviewing your coverage against the market every couple of years is normal and sensible, especially after a renovation, a roof replacement, a significant purchase or a change in your household.
How fast can I get a policy in place?
In many cases a quote can be produced and coverage bound the same day once the property details are confirmed. If you're closing on a home and the lender needs proof of insurance, a binder can often be issued quickly. Call (833) 652-9459 and a licensed agent will tell you exactly what's needed.
Make the Move to Protect Your Home and Family
Speak with a licensed local agent, review every discount you qualify for, and find out in minutes whether your current coverage would actually rebuild your home. No forms to fill out. No obligation.
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