Our Insurance

Homeowner #3

This policy is designed for either primary residences or people with second homes that are also in the rental program. If your house is rented most companies have a cap of how many weeks’ rental is allowed without the company wanting off the policy. Presently 36 weeks is the longest rental period through one company and others having shorter terms.

Under this plan the house is insured for replacement cost up to the policy limit. With most companies, an additional 25% of dwelling coverage can be purchased in case it costs more to rebuild after a total loss. Personal property can also be either at actual cash value (replacement cost less age and condition) or you can upgrade to replacement cost. Contents/personal property is anything you can pick up and take out of the house, ordinary in purpose. Items such as antiques, original art, collectibles, etc. are not considered ordinary. The peril sheet below shows you the main perils insured against under this policy. Unless something is excluded a homeowner covers anything that happens that is sudden and accidental. It is not a maintenance policy so issues such as rot, old heat pumps, appliances that need replacing, etc. are not covered. There are many different options under this policy including multiple deductibles, increased liability limits and increased values. The policy also includes theft, liability and wind driven rain (rainwater that seeps in around and under doors and windows, blows in through roof vents, etc. with no visible sign of exterior damage), other structures coverage such as a pool or detached shed and additional living/loss of rents coverage.

On the coast, normally the perils of wind and hail are excluded under this policy and a separate policy must be written with limits that mirror the homeowner policy when available.

There are several issues that come up when pricing homeowner’s insurance. On older homes, we will need to know the updates of the main systems such as heating, electric, plumbing and roof replacement. A plumbing note, most companies will not write coverage on houses that still have polybutylene pipes (Quest piping was the name for the class action suit) this is always a question that needs an answer and one you should ask when purchasing an older home. Also, there can be no old knob and tube wiring and in most cases we will need to know how many amps your breaker box carries.
We have several homeowner companies and always try to get the best fit for the lowest cost to our clients.

wind and hail insurance

Wind & Hail Policy

The wind and hail policy coverage those two perils only. The policy is written to accompany the homeowner’s policy. It also covers for replacement cost on the dwelling and contents up to the policy limits. There is an endorsement that provides an additional 25% replacement cost coverage for the dwelling. This policy is written through North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association, affectionately called the Beach Plan.

Home insurance

Homeowner #4

This coverage is designed for a person renting a house or apartment and would like to insure their ordinary personal property for replacement cost and premises for general liability. Please refer to the homeowner peril sheet for the perils that are covered under this policy. It is very like the HO#3 other than the building coverage is not included.

hazard insurance

Condo

The condo policy is designed to protect the contents belonging to the unit owner or renter. In most cases additions and alterations coverage is also included in these policies. This includes those items attached to or part of the condo for which the owner is responsible (i.e. carpet, wallpaper, fixtures, cabinets, etc.). It is best to check with your condo association to find out exactly what you are responsible for insuring inside the unit. This policy covers the ordinary contents for full replacement cost. The perils insured against are: fire, lightning, smoke, water damage from plumbing (other than sewer back-up), wind, wind-driven rain, theft, freezing, in some cases flood, earthquake, liability, loss of use, and loss assessment coverage

Hazard policy insurance

Hazard
(DP #1, #2 or #3)

A hazard policy comes in two forms, DP#1 and DP#2 (this is the broader form). These are very basic policies and don’t have nearly the restrictions of a homeowner. It does protect against the main perils and you can see them in the perils shown below but it does not include replacement cost on contents, wind driven rain, theft, general liability just to name a few.

Normally these policies are written to keep costs down or on properties that do not qualify for a homeowner, either because of age or previous claims.

If your roof/siding shingles come off, or portions of your roof are gone then the peril of wind automatically covers this because there has been exterior damage to your dwelling. Wind driven rain is not a covered peril under this policy which is when rain, sand and snow is forced in and around closed doors, windows, through attic and roof vents and sometimes straight through the siding. For wind to be covered there must be signs of exterior damage. The only way to get this coverage is to buy the homeowner product. These policies also have a flat deductible until hurricane season. During June through November there is a named storm deductible (wind only) of 1% of your dwelling limit (or higher) are used on each claim for each storm. For example, if you have a $350,000 house you could have a flat deductible of $2,500 and then during hurricane season it would increase to $3,500 if there is wind damage during a named storm.

These policies do include loss of rents/additional living expense at 10% of your dwelling limit. This limit cannot be increase. The house must be deemed unrentable from a covered peril and proof of booking for this year or the same timeframe previous years for this to be paid. Evacuation is not a covered loss under this policy.

theft insurance policy

Theft

Theft insurance covers for contents stolen from inside your dwelling, if the dwelling is broken into, not for tenant theft or mysterious disappearance. The maximum coverage available is $10,000 and the contents are insured for actual cash value. This coverage is also written through NCIUA. They do require that all exterior doors, excluding sliding glass doors, have dead bolt locks.

Liability insurance

Liability

Liability protection is a must. This will protect you if someone is injured on your property due to your negligence. The least expensive way to obtain liability coverage is to contact your primary homeowner agent and have them add this property to your policy as a second home or second home rented to others. If they are unable to do this for you we have a few different options ranging from $100,000 to $2,000,000 in coverage.

flood insurance

Flood Insurance (Personal and Commercial)

Flood insurance covers against rising surface water, tidal waves and ocean or sound flooding. The coverage is through the federal program. This policy covers on an actual cash value basis, not replacement cost, for the dwelling and the contents up to the policy limits. Replacement cost is not available unless this is your primary residence. There is no rental reimbursement under this policy. Flood insurance only applies to the dwelling and the contents – bulkheads, pools, fencing, hot tubs, ramps to the ocean, septic tanks, driveways, etc. are not covered.

excess flood insurance

Excess Flood (Personal and Commercial)

The federal flood program will only insure dwellings up to $250,000 and contents to $100,000. If your house is a higher value, additional coverage must be placed with an excess carrier. This policy provides identical protection to the federal program. The only deductible under this program is the $250,000/$100,000 limit on your federal policy.

commercial uses insurance

Commercial Uses

Commercial Property (building or contents), General Liability (premises, contractors, etc), Worker’s Compensation, Bonds, Vehicle Coverage, Inns, B&B’s. We have markets and will offer you the least expensive option we have available.

auto insurance

Personal Auto, Non-owned Auto, Boat, Camper, Scooter

We have several companies that we can quote any of the above items.

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