When calculating your homeowners insurance cost, you may not have taken the time to find out if your policy protects some items in your home.
Clothing is often included in the household content part of your insurance policy. However, if you own costly designer clothes, shoes, or purses, the full worth of those items may not be covered.
We’ll address how personal property coverage works with homeowners insurance and how you can get additional protection for your expensive property.
What personal items does homeowners insurance protect?
Handbags and purses are included under homeowners insurance plans as personal possessions. Personal assets include things like a designer bag, clothing, and jewelry, dresses, hats. It also includes sustainable commerce items in your home such as drapes, bed linens, blankets, and towels.
Personal property insurance is cheaply priced, but the final sum is decided by the replacement value of the products purchased. An insurance provider can cover up to 70% of the total worth of the belongings in your home.
Personal property coverage is provided by a basic home insurance policy and covers all your possessions. This coverage will pay up to the policy maximum to replace your items if they are destroyed or stolen and a claim is submitted.
Scheduled Personal Property (SPP) Insurance
Certain personal possessions have limited coverage under the homeowners policy, which may not be enough to replace them if you have to file a claim. For exceptionally valuable items such as diamonds, antiques, or luxury designer bags, you may need to insure them with a scheduled personal property, also known as SPP coverage.
SPP insurance is a type of additional insurance policy that goes above and beyond the basic coverage given by a homeowners’ insurance policy. Owners can assure complete coverage of valuable goods such as a designer bag or jewels by getting a scheduled personal property insurance supplement.
In this case, you can add a rider or endorsement for scheduled personal property coverage for specific goods. You must submit a comprehensive receipt, appraisal, or other certified document verifying the item’s worth and describing the precise features of the item, including serial numbers and other identifying data, to do so.
Pictures of the items, including identifying marks, may be requested. Even if it is not requested, it is a good idea to offer as much detail about the item as possible in case it is stolen or lost.
There are home insurance companies that provide a basic plan with greater blanket coverage that does not need an appraisal. For example, if the basic insurance plan covers items up to $2,000, you can potentially expand the coverage to $6,000 or more to protect the whole value of your designer’s bag.
The scheduled personal property endorsement and extended blanket coverage option is an additional cost on top of your regular insurance premium.
What does SPP insurance cover?
Most standard homeowners insurance policies limit particular items despite restrictions and exclusions varying by insurance provider and policy type.
For instance, if the policy’s replacement cost is limited to $1,000, you won’t be reimbursed entirely for an expensive possession. Plus, you may also have to pay the homeowners policy deductible amount.
If, on the other hand, you schedule your personal property, you are insured for its full value both on and off your premises. So if your hired commercial cleaning company damages your designer bag while cleaning at your business, it will still be covered.
Another advantage of a scheduled personal property endorsement is the additional coverage that a regular personal property policy does not provide. You usually acquire accidental loss coverage (also known as mysterious disappearance coverage) and accidental physical damage coverage with scheduled personal property.
For scheduled personal property claims, accidental physical damage coverage can have a $0 deductible.
As a final example, you would not have received coverage under a standard homeowners policy if you had just lost or misplaced your family heirloom ring. However, because you added an SPP, you could recoup the expense without having to pay a deductible.
When to Use Scheduled Personal Property Insurance
When you have high-value possessions such as jewelry, a designer bag, or antiques that have been passed down through your family, you should consider purchasing scheduled personal property coverage.
Most people assume that they don’t need extra coverage on their personal items, but anything can happen. For example, if you have plumbing issues, your designer bags can be damaged by indoor flooding. Instances as such are unexpected and unpredictable, but an SPP could make the process of replacing the bag inexpensive.
To be sure you actually need this coverage, you can thoroughly examine the policy limits for items in your homeowners insurance policy to discover whether any of your high-value items are worth more than the limits.
Buying Blanket Insurance
As an alternative, you might also think about purchasing blanket insurance with a greater coverage limit. Blanket coverage may be less expensive than scheduling each item individually. Nevertheless, you should verify with your insurer to see if the objects you wish to insure are covered by blanket insurance.
If you don’t schedule your personal property or insure it with blanket coverage, claims will be restricted to the same limits covered by your standard homeowners insurance. If you make a claim, you will also have to pay your deductible, which will influence the amount of money you receive to replace or repair the item.
If you don’t have costly items or if the limits on your homeowners policy provide adequate coverage, it may not be worth the extra expense for additional coverage. The cost of scheduled personal property depends on the carrier, the item, and the value.
Fortunately, it is typically low when compared to the cost of replacing an item.
Consider Scheduled Personal Property Insurance
In general, scheduling an expensive item that is not entirely covered by a basic homeowners policy is a good idea. A homeowners policy will not protect you if you lose a diamond in an expensive ring or necklace, but it will be under an SPP. Scheduling your ring or necklace will give you the coverage you need to replace that pricey item.
Ultimately, though, it is up to you and your insurance agent to decide what of your personal possessions are most advantageous to schedule.
Imani Francies writes and researches for the insurance comparison site, ExpertInsuranceReviews.com. She enjoys helping people find the best homeowners insurance policy and rates that meet their specific needs.