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Holidays, good time to review Personal Property Limit

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with The Murray Group Insurance Services Inc

An important feature of every Homeowners (and Renters) insurance policy is the Personal Property Limit.  Labeled as Coverage C on your homeowners policy, this limit defines the amount of coverage you will have for all your "stuff" in the event of a loss.  "Stuff" includes clothes, toys, furniture, art (some carriers limit fine arts coverage unless specifically endorsed), appliances, tools, etc.  Computers and electronic equipment may also have a specific reduced coverage limit.  It is a very good idea to sit down with your insurance professional to discuss your Homeowners policy and the coverage limitations your specific carrier may enforce.  This way there won't be any surprises when you have a loss and certain items lost are not fully reimbursed.  If necessary you can endorse your Homeowners policy to a coverage limit that meets your needs. 

An example of this would be fine art.  Let's say you have 3 paintings on your living room room wall totaling $10,000 in value and you have a replacement cost Homeowners policy with $150,000 in personal property coverage.  There is a fire in your kitchen and the smoke ruins all three paintings to the point they can not be repaired.  You assume that with $150,000 in personal property coverage you are completely covered on a claim for $10,000.  But what you were not aware of is that the fine art coverage limit on your Homeowners policy is $5,000.  NOW YOUR PISSED. 

The majority of carriers in NYS have endorsements that will allow you to increase these specified reduced limits to meet your need.  Another option is having high value items professionally appraised and scheduled to the policy.  By scheduling a high value item to your Homeowners policy you eliminate any discrepancy from the item's value.  I specifically recommend scheduling high value jewelry and fine art.

During the Holidays many high value and unique items are exchanged.  This creates a wonderful opportunity to review your personal property and talk to your insurance professional about items that may potentially have reduced coverage limits. 

Have a safe New Year.

 

 

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