Homeowners Insurance in NJ

There’s no place like home. Which is why it’s so important to make sure your home is covered by the right insurance policy.

What is Home Insurance?

Home insurance (or homeowners insurance) is a policy that protects your home and contents from fire, windstorm, lightning, and other types of damage. The cost for a homeowner’s policy varies by insurance company and is based upon a multitude of factors including the type of home you have, the age of your home, the location of your home, and your credit score.

Every insurance company charges different rates. Since we represent more than 20 different insurance companies, we can do the hard work to find the best policy that meets your unique needs.

For affluent individuals with multiple properties, vehicles, and watercraft, we can help design a comprehensive portfolio to ensure you have the coverage you need.

What Does Home Insurance Cover?

Most Home insurance policies in NJ include the following coverages:

Dwelling coverage – protects the structure, walls, foundations, etc. of the building itself
Other Structures – protects other structures such as a fence, detached garage, or shed
Personal Property – protects personal belongings including furniture and clothing.
Loss of Use – covers additional living expenses when the home becomes uninhabitable
Personal Liability – protects you if somebody is injured in an accident on your property

Every Homeowners Policy includes a standard property deductible which is deducted from the claim settlement. Some policies also have a separate hurricane or wind deductible. The higher the property deductible you choose, the lower your premium will be.

What Doesn’t Home Insurance Cover?

It is important to note that the standard homeowner’s policy “does not” include coverage for the perils of Flood or Earthquake.

Flood coverage is available from the Federal Government (FEMA) and some Private Insurance Companies and Earthquake coverage is available as an endorsement to the homeowner’s policy.

If you live in an area that’s prone to either or both, we recommend that you take out a separate Flood Policy and also have your Homeowners Policy endorsed to include coverage for Earthquakes.

It’s also worth knowing that every Home Policy has other exclusions and limitations that apply. However, most policies can be customized to suit your needs.

To avoid gaps in your protection, consider these Homeowners Insurance Coverage Recommendations...

Review the amount of fire insurance coverage that you carry on your home. The amount of coverage you carry, (The Replacement Cost), should reflect the total cost to rebuild your home at today’s labor and materials costs. It should not be based upon the Market Value, Mortgage Value, or Assessed Value. Since building costs have increased dramatically over the past 10 years, now is a good time to update your coverage. (We can help you establish this limit).
A Personal Property Replacement Cost rider is recommended on all homeowners policies. With this type of rider, the insurance company will pay a personal property claim based upon today’s replacement cost of an item instead of on a “depreciated” basis.
Personal Liability coverage is a very important coverage on your policy. We recommend that you carry at least $500,000 of Personal Liability Coverage and $5,000 of Premises Medical Payments coverage.
A $2,000,000 Personal Umbrella/Excess Liability Policy is also strongly recommended. Higher limits are available and recommended.

All homeowner policies provide very limited coverage for certain types of property such as jewelry, silverware, furs, antiques, fine arts, guns, collectibles, etc… A special rider is available to provide coverage for these items. Recent appraisals are required in order to obtain coverage and to establish proper valuation. Appraisals should be updated every few years. Coverage for money, securities, trees, shrubs, and landscaping is also very limited.
The standard homeowners policy “does not” provide coverage for the perils of Flood or Earthquake. Flood coverage is available from the National Flood Plan and Earthquake coverage is available as an endorsement to the homeowners policy. Damage caused by Flooding, Water Seepage, and Surface Waters has been a major problem across the country. If your home is susceptible to flooding, we strongly urge you to consider purchasing Flood Insurance. A 30-Day waiting period applies.
Underground water which seeps through foundations into basements “is not” covered under a Homeowners Policy or a Flood Policy. However, some companies offer a limited “Water Back Up / Sump Overflow” endorsement which affords coverage in the event that a sump pump fails to remove water from the basement. If you have a Sump Pump or French Drain in your basement, you will want this important coverage especially if your basement is finished. Not all companies offer this type of endorsement. Available limits can vary from $5,000, $10,000, $25,000 and more.
Coverage for Fungi, Mold, or Mildew is also very limited and restrictive under a standard homeowners policy. Most policies include basic limits of $10,000 for property and $50,000 for liability. We recommend that you consider raising these limits to higher amounts.
The standard homeowners policy “does not” provide coverage for the additional costs required to comply with the enforcement of building codes or ordinances affecting the construction, demolition or repair of a home damaged by fire. Ordinance and Law coverage can be added by endorsement to a homeowners policy. This additional coverage is strongly recommended, especially for older homes.

The standard homeowners policy has many other exclusions and limitations you need to be aware of.

It was not designed to cover everything that can happen and it was not designed to cover every type of property that you own. For example, no property or liability coverage is provided by the standard homeowners policy for the ownership or use of automobiles, recreational vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft (except small rowboats and canoes). Also, the homeowners policy was not designed to provide coverage for business activities, business property, rental properties, or secondary residences. Other types of policies are available for these exposures. If you operate a business from your home, a separate business policy should be obtained.

For Condominium/Townhouse Unit Owners

Review the amount of fire insurance coverage that you carry on your condominium unit. The amount of coverage you carry, (The Replacement Cost), should reflect the total cost to rebuild your unit at today’s labor and materials costs. It is very important that you determine what your insurance responsibilities are as outlined in your condominium by-laws or master deed. A representative at your condominium association should be able to advise you of what you are responsible for insuring.
Unfortunately, not all condominium by-laws are the same. Often there is very little uniformity among condominium associations. You need to determine if you are responsible for insuring interior walls, ceilings, kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, fixtures, doors, windows, etc… and arrange your coverage accordingly.
Review the amount of fire insurance coverage that you carry for personal property. The amount of coverage you carry should reflect the total cost to replace “ALL” of your personal belongings including clothing, furniture, televisions, radios, computers, dishes, etc…. The personal property limit you choose should be adequate to replace everything you owned before a fire damaged your unit.
As a condominium unit owner, be sure to carry at least $25,000 of Loss Assessment coverage.

For Renters...

Review the amount of fire insurance coverage that you carry for personal property.

The amount of coverage you carry should reflect the total cost to replace “ALL” of your personal belongings including clothing, furniture, televisions, radios, computers, dishes, etc….

The personal property limit you choose should be adequate to replace everything you owned before a fire damaged your apartment.