Serving Wichita and the
surrounding areas since 1994.

Notes from a Remodeling & General Contractor for the Wichita, KS Area

Understanding Common Home Insurance Terms – Part II

Today we want to talk about important things that we see in our contractor business that could potentially save or cost a homeowner thousands of dollars depending on what kind of and how much coverage to maintain on a home.

With all our customers, we encourage everyone to schedule a time with their insurance agent to explore all the faucets and types of coverage’s available. We advise our homeowners to obtain insurance coverage based on managing their risk, not monthly premiums. In our practice, more often than not an insured homeowner doesn’t know the extent of coverage until a claim is filed. At this point, no changes can be made to the policy that would help them with a claim.

Below are some key areas we encourage every homeowner to explore with their insurance agent.

Deductibles

This is the amount of money is required to be paid by the insured homeowner with every claim filed. The amount of the deductible selected may decrease or increase the monthly premiums. However, many insurance carriers are starting to offer different deductibles depending on the type of loss. This meaning one could potentially have a $2,000 deductible on wind/hail claims while a fire claim may only be $500 deductible. Knowing the different deductibles will help a homeowner budget in the event of a loss or make changes to their policy as they may see fit.

Replacement Coverage vs. Actual Cash Value Coverage

With ACV (Actual Cash Value) policies, the older a roof becomes (for example) the less will be paid when the roof has sustained enough storm damage that it must be replaced. Here is how a claim might look if the roof if the was 10 years old:

Replacement Cost of Roof  $10,000.00
Non-recoverable Depreciation -$(3,333.33) [10 of 30 year roof = 33%]
Homeowner Deductible -$(1,500.00)
Total Amount from Insurance  $5,166.67

With ACV coverage, the homeowner would be looking at $4833.00 out of pocket. The larger the roof and the older the roof the more out of pocket would bed incur with this type of coverage.

With Replacement Coverage, if the roof required replacement then the out of pocket would be just the deductible no matter how large or how old the roof is.

Sump Pump Coverage

Most common coverage includes $5000 and $10000 limits for sump pump failures. However, this is total coverage for this type of loss. This in many cases won’t even cover the cost of mitigation if a large portion of a basement that has flooded requires to be cleaned and dried. We encourage homeowners to obtain additional coverage to at least $20K per type for this kind of loss.

Looking for an Insurance Certified Contractor in the Wichita, KS area?

We are an experienced contractor with storm, water, and fire damage. We’d be more than glad to discuss your insurance/contractor related questions before or after an event. If you are a homeowner in the in the Wichita, KS metro area including Newton, McPherson, and Hutchinson, call us today at (316) 262-6770 or send us an e-mail!

As always, let us know if you have any questions, other ideas, or comments!