Is it necessary or wise to have theft insurance during construction of a home? This may seem like an esoteric question, but it did come up recently for one of my clients. What we’re talking about here is whether insurance is important to protect the supplies delivered to a house site during construction.
Once the house has doors and windows and the doors have locks, you won’t need a separate theft insurance policy, because you would be covered by your new homeowner’s policy. First, theft insurance for personal property (not attached or affixed to the house yet) for lumber or other supplies is a good idea where thefts occur.
Do theft occurs in your area? They don't in my area. I asked a long time builder, Rick Anderson, who has built over 400 homes in the Sequim, Washington area since 1981. He remembered a small theft about 15 years ago, but that was the only one in all these years. Theft has not been a serious problem here.
Second, a good contractor doesn’t have expensive lumber and supplies sitting out in the open for long periods of time where it can be easily stolen. A good project manager coordinates the delivery of supplies with the construction crew, and expensive lumber, like hardwood flooring, is never left outside and only delivered when the house is secured and doors have locks. Precious items like custom made countertops and kitchen cabinets are never dropped off and left outside where rain could destroy and theft could occur. Deliveries are coordinated with installers.
Suppose a homeowner wanted to buy a theft policy that went above and beyond the homeowner’s policy coverage, just in case some plywood or some other lumber was stolen before it was installed? You could. I asked local State Farm agent Ray Gruver how much such a policy would cost. He said a $20,000 policy (about twice what you would need) with a $100 deductible was in the ballpark of $250. The bottom line is that contractors and homeowners don’t usually bother with theft insurance in Sequim or Port Angeles. Now if you were building in Phoenix right now, the answer might be different.
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