SoCal Fires Strike Those Who Often Reject Insurance
Mobile home owners and renters often choose to go without property insurance, potentially exposing them to catastrophic losses such as those suffered in Southern California’s weekend firestorms.
Most homeowners are required by their mortgage lenders to purchase property insurance, but those who either own their residence outright or rent may choose to go without insurance. In the event of this week’s firestorms, the decision can have tragic consequences.
“Going without property insurance is like gambling on your future — you could lose everything,” said Candysse Miller, executive director of the Insurance Information Network of California. Renters should not mistake their landlord’s insurance policy on the apartment structure for insurance that will replace their belongings. Renter’s insurance policies will cover the destruction or theft of property, as well as additional living expenses if you are displaced by a covered peril. It also provides liability coverage up to the limit of the policy.
There are two basic types of renter’s insurance Actual Cash Value, which pays to replace possessions minus a deduction for depreciation up to the limit of the policy and Replacement Cost, which pays the actual cost of replacing possessions, up to the limit of the policy.
Owners of factory-built housing have different insurance options available, depending on their residence’s construction. Mobile or manufactured homes typically are pre-built structures that are joined as a unit once on site, and not attached to a permanent foundation. Basic mobile home insurance is often written on an actual cash value platform, with upgrades to replacement cost with inflationary protections available.
Owners of modular homes, where pre-built panels are joined to a foundation, are typically insured by a form of the traditional homeowner’s insurance policy.
IINC offers a number of free Web-based tools to help consumers track and evaluate their insurance and finances, including software to create a home inventory, track financial goals and create a wallet-sized insurance information card.
Tags: catastrophic losses, could lose everything, home inventory, insurance information network, insurance options, insurance policies, Insurance Policy, liability coverage, living expenses, manufactured homes, mobile home insurance, mobile home owners, modular homes, mortgage lenders, property insurance, renter, tragic consequences, value platform
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