High Value Homes & Estates
What You Need to Know
Owning a high value home can be one of your largest financial investments, so it’s important that you get the right coverage to protect your property and contents against any unforeseen risks with your home insurance. This is the goal of our high value insurance brokers who are experts at keeping you and your home protected. No matter what type of house you live in, our insurance brokers will make sure that you have a high value policy to protect your high value residence and lifestyle.
What does high value homeowners insurance cover?
Home insurance protects your estate from needing to pay out a huge amount at one time, which is often during a very difficult and emotional time. High value home insurance protects your home’s replacement cost or replacement value, which represents the amount of money insurance companies would pay to replace it.
Although this coverage is optional, insuring your high value house will give you peace of mind that things will be okay should something happen. With severe climate change and inclement weather events on the rise, an important step is to know your home’s accurate replacement value and keeping a current home inventory. If you also have high value contents in your home, there are separate endorsements available for those as well.
What is considered a high value home?
The definition of a high value home can differ between high value home insurance companies. But in general, these are usually homes or condos that are worth at least $750,000 in replacement costs. A high value property in a certain geographic location can also differ from each other. So, it’s important to understand how insurance companies will “value” your property. Here are some examples of factors that they might look at:
- What you originally paid for your property;
- The assessed value of your property;
- The price you will list the property for when you sell it; or
- The price that a potential buyer is willing to pay for the property in comparison to other houses on sale at the same time.
Types of High Value Home Insurance
There are a few different types of home insurance policies that will be available to you, such as comprehensive, named perils, broad and basic.
Comprehensive
Comprehensive insurance policies are the most inclusive home insurance policies available and they will typically cover both the building and its contents for all risk, except for those that are specifically excluded. There are two types of risk that are not usually included in any type of home insurance policy. These are:
- Uninsurable Perils – Predictable events that are not covered.
- Optional Coverage – Extended coverage that you can purchase, such as earthquake or sewer backup.
Insured perils that are included in a comprehensive policy will include coverage for aircraft or vehicle impact, fire, lightning, theft and window breakage.
Basic or Named Perils
If you are looking to save money and are willing to carry some financial risk of some losses yourself, you can consider looking into a basic or named perils policy. This type of policy will only cover those perils that are specifically stated.
Broad
If a comprehensive insurance policy is a little out of budget and a basic or named perils policy is not enough coverage for you, then the mid-priced compromise is the broad insurance policy. This policy will give you comprehensive coverage on bigger ticket items like the structure of your home, as well as some named perils coverage on your contents.
How is high value home insurance different from traditional home insurance?
The difference between traditional home insurance and high value home insurance is that the high value home insurance will come with extras and enhancements that will meet the needs of higher net worth homes, condos and rental property residences.
For example, higher policy limits are available in high value home insurance for money, jewellery, landscaping, personal contents and items used for business. There is also broader coverage for items like fine arts, antiques or even wine collections.
Coverage is also available for increased costs of construction after a claim because of bylaw compliance requirements if an insured is rebuilding after a loss. Plus, additional living expenses on high value home policies are unlimited which allows you to live in a place up to your standard of living as long as it takes for your home to be rebuilt or while repairs are being done. Compared to a standard home insurance policy which typically limits additional living expenses.
Trust James Campbell Insurance for Your High Value Insurance Needs
At James Campbell, we put you first. Our clients are our top priority and the backbone behind everything we do.
We can help provide you with protection from insuring your first car, your first home or business or even giving you protection during your retirement travels. Whatever you need coverage for, we’ve got your back. We will make sure that you are ready to live a life free of stress or worry so you can focus on life’s important moments each and every day.
James Campbell Insurance Brokers have been taking care of our members for over 40 years. This is why we are able to make insurance easy by offering you the right solutions at the right times. Our solutions are tailored to fit your individual needs, no matter what they may be.
