This is the first part of several in our series regarding your home insurance policies. Our goal is to increase your knowledge of home insurance policies. We want to educate you on the coverage and in some cases coverage gaps so that you won’t have to find out the hard way, after a loss. Please check back for updates regarding common questions and concerns regarding your home insurance policy.
This section will discuss certain items that may not be covered or may have limitations on their coverage under the contents or personal property section of your home insurance policies. In certain cases where the values of certain contents are in excess of the limits provided in your policy, you will want to add the Scheduled Personal Property Endorsment (HO 0461).
The following list shows some common items that carry certain coverage limitations on your home insurance policy. Check your policy to see the limits for each item under your personal property coverage. If the values of the items you own in each category are greater than the policy limit then you would need to schedule the additional coverage onto your policy. Recent appraisals are sometimes needed to schedule these items especially when their values are over $5,000.
- Jewelry
- Fine Arts
- Furs
- Cameras
- Golf Equipment
- Musical Instruments
- Silverware
- Stamps
- Coins
Different policies offer different maximum limits for each category. The most common item that may need to be scheduled though is jewelry coverage. Most of the time your home insurance policy will be written on an HO-3 form. These forms only carry a per item and per policy limit of $1000 for jewelry coverage for loss by theft. Any jewelry over $1000 would need to be scheduled on your policy in order for you to be covered for these items. In most cases, scheduled items will carry a lesser deductible or no deductible. Sometimes you have the option to go with a HE-7 homeowners policy which covers jewelry up to $5000 without having to schedule the items. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us at (704) 494-9495.