HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE · SOUTH HILL AND THE COUNTIES AROUND IT
Homeowners insurance for the house you have, not the one on the form.
Brick ranches from the seventies, farmhouses with three outbuildings, the place at the end of a gravel road on well and septic. Renters, condo, flood and farm property are written here too, from the same desk.
THE FIRST THING TO KNOW
Coverage should match what it costs to rebuild, not what you paid.
Do you have guaranteed or extended replacement coverage? The most common gap in a homeowners policy around here is not a missing coverage. It is a dwelling limit that made sense when the policy was written and has not been looked at since. Material and labor costs in Southside Virginia have moved a long way in a few years, and a house insured for what it sold for in 2012 is a house insured for less than it costs to put back.
The second most common gap is the roof. Wind and hail are the claims we see most, carriers ask the age of the roof, and how a policy pays for an older roof varies. Both are worth a conversation before renewal rather than after a storm.
WHAT THE POLICY COVERS
Four parts, plus somewhere to live while it is fixed.
Dwelling
The house itself and everything attached to it. The limit should be what a contractor would charge to rebuild it today.
Other structures
Detached garages, sheds, barns, fences, the dock. Usually a percentage of the dwelling limit, which is not always enough.
Contents
What is inside: furniture, clothes, tools, the freezer full of deer. Ask for replacement cost rather than depreciated value.
Liability
Someone hurt on your property, or damage you cause away from it. The part that pays for the lawyer.
Loss of use pays for somewhere to stay while the house is uninhabitable. It is built into most policies and forgotten until the week it matters.
ALSO WRITTEN HERE
Renters, condo, flood, farm, and two things about older houses.
Renters
Your belongings and your liability when the building is someone else's. Landlords increasingly require it, and it costs less than almost anything else on this page.
Condo
Covers from the walls in, and whatever the association's master policy leaves out. Reading that master policy is the first step, and we do.
Flood
A separate policy. Homeowners insurance does not cover flooding, and a new flood policy takes 30 days to start unless it is tied to a closing. Worth a look near either lake or a creek.
Farm
A few acres, some animals and a barn can usually be added to a homeowners policy. A working operation needs a farm policy, and the line between the two is where we earn our keep.
Older homes
Houses with original wiring, plumbing or a fuse box. Some carriers want updates documented. Bring the receipts.
Outbuildings, docks and lifts
Detached structures are covered, but at a limit that a boathouse on Gaston can pass in a hurry. It can be raised.
WHO WE WRITE IT FOR
Who we write it for
● Owner-occupied houses in Virginia and North Carolina
● Brick ranches and farmhouses
● Houses on well and septic at the end of a gravel road
● Mobile and manufactured homes
● Houses with a pool, a trampoline, a wood stove or a big dog
● Houses with a shop, a barn or a boathouse out back
● Renters and condo owners
About the roof
Wind and hail are the claims this office sees most. Carriers ask the age of the roof at quote and at renewal, and how a policy pays on an older roof varies from replacement cost to a depreciated schedule. Keep the invoice from the last roof, and tell us when you replace it. It changes the premium.
TWO THINGS TO KNOW
Flood is separate, and rebuilding is not market value
Flood is its own policy
Standard homeowners and renters policies do not cover flood damage. A National Flood Insurance Program policy takes 30 days to go into effect, with exceptions for a policy bought at closing or when a property is newly mapped into a high-risk zone. Kerr Lake is a flood control reservoir, and the water level is managed to rise.
Rebuilding cost is not market value
The dwelling limit should be what a contractor would charge to rebuild the house today, which has nothing to do with what it would sell for or what the county assesses it at. Most policies carry a requirement to insure to a percentage of that figure, and falling under it reduces what a partial claim pays.
Flood rules are FEMA's and change. Confirm the current waiting period and exceptions at floodsmart.gov or with the office.
QUESTIONS WE GET
Before you call
Does my homeowners policy cover flood?
No. Flooding, including water rising from a lake, a creek or heavy rain, is excluded from standard homeowners policies. Flood insurance is a separate policy with a 30 day waiting period in most cases.
How much dwelling coverage do I need?
Enough to rebuild the house today at local labor and material prices. We run a replacement cost estimate on the house, not the tax assessment, and update it at renewal.
Is my dock or boathouse covered?
Under other structures, up to that limit. A good dock with a lift on Gaston can cost more than the default limit, and the limit can be raised. The boat itself is a boat policy.
I run a small business from the house. Is that covered?
A little. Homeowners policies carry a small limit for business property and usually none for business liability. Depending on what the business does, that is an endorsement or a separate policy.
Can I add a shed or raise a limit through the form?
Call the office. Those are changes in coverage, and coverage is not bound through the form or by email until somebody here has confirmed it.
Changing your coverage
For adding or deleting coverage, please call the office during business hours. Coverage is not bound through sending a request by email or using the contact form without explicit confirmation from an authorized agent or carrier.