If you’ve cash-bought a home, or live in a home where the mortgage has been paid off,  you don’t technically need to obtain home insurance. In the case that you’re looking for home financing or need a lender to help you get started with buying a home, this will be a requirement by loan companies. A home warranty helps provide some kind of guarantee to the lender that their investment is protected in the case of any kind of natural catastrophe or situation that could physically damage the home.

The home warranty market is crowded with hundreds of companies offering thousands of plans, and making a choice can be difficult. There are different plans for houses, apartments, agricultural properties with housing, and many other kinds of homes. Here are a few things to keep in mind when looking for a home insurance plan.

Type Of Cover

Home insurance itself comes in many forms. For instance, you can get home insurance that protects against a particular threat such as fires and floods or you can get a plan that could help you in a house renovation/rebuild. Or you might get a plan that helps protect your belongings inside the home. The kind of things you decide to get coverage for will have a big impact on the value and the specifications of the home insurance policy.  

However, even under a specific plan, you can always get add-on services if you need them. If you have a basic home insurance plan, you can get added services to cover particular belongings or even cover a home renovation you have planned.

Insurance Value

The cost of insurance depends on multiple factors and there is no one basic cost that will work for everyone. One of the major variables is the location of the property. You can look at local insurance costs in your area and make objective comparisons to understand what basic insurance will cost you. To get an accurate idea you should shortlist what you want coverage for and talk to a local professional to get an estimate.

The more detailed you can be in the information you provide, the more accurate your estimates will be. Also, your credit score, employment status, work history, and other personal financial factors will play a role in the cost of the insurance. If your credit score is making it harder to get a good deal on insurance, you can always postpone it until your credit score recovers.

Service Provider

Prices alone should not be your only concern. The kind of service provider you choose is also important. A common problem people have is coverage; they find a great home insurance policy online but when they want to buy it, they are not in an area that the company serves. Even companies that serve the entire country may not cater to your specific locality. Another thing to note is the financial strength of the company. This is especially important if you’re going with a smaller company that isn’t that well known. The policy itself might be attractive but you also want to be sure that if you ever need to claim, the company will have the capital to provide financing. Also, look into service and support options.

Ideally, you want a company that provides 24-hour support and is available through email, phone, and in-person facilitation. To get an overall idea of the quality of service you can expect, you should look at the different reviews and ratings the company has. The reviews in particular will tell you what is and isn’t good about each insurance company. This is valuable information coming directly from people who have used their services.

Policy Type

There are several types of policies you can choose from. This includes cash value policies, extended value policies, guaranteed value policies, and many others. All of these policies differ in the amount of coverage they can provide, how you pay for them, and how cost-effective they are. Buying something that closely matches your needs is the best way of getting the value you need and paying for those exact services.

When buying a policy, discuss with the agent how they can help you get a better deal. Most companies have a number of policies and discounts that can make the deal more cost-effective for you. New customer discounts and first-time homeowner discounts are a couple of policies that most insurance companies have available all the time. If you’re buying more than one policy, you might be able to get a discount on the additional policies you buy.