Your home is filled with furniture, appliances, and artwork. Perhaps, you also own valuable jewelry or instruments. Personal property insurance is built to compensate you for the loss or damage of these items if something were to happen to them—for example, if they were lost due to a fire or theft. If you have questions about this coverage—and whether you need more of it—the following guide provides some answers.

What to Know About Personal Property Insurance

How does this coverage work?

With personal property insurance, you will either be given the replacement cost or actual cash value of your belongings. The former means that your provider will give you enough money to buy a new version of the item you lost.

In the latter case, they will give you the value of the item, factoring in how much it depreciated since the time of purchase. Sometimes, the actual cash value will be the estimated cost of fixing the item.

Do I already have it included in my existing policies?

Typical homeowners insurance includes not only protection for the structure of the building, but for the belongings inside of it. However, some limits do apply. For example, while personal property coverage is applicable in a wide range of scenarios, it does not cover items lost to floods or earthquakes. For this, you will need a specific rider.

Additionally, if you rent an apartment, renters insurance does not always include personal property protection.

What is scheduled personal property coverage?

While homeowners insurance extends its coverage to your belongings, limits apply—meaning that you might only be covered for $100,000 worth of personal property damages. If your house were to catch on fire, destroying most of your possessions, this coverage would not be enough.

There also might be limits on individual items. For example, compensation for jewelry may be capped at $25,000 when you have $50,000 worth at home. Therefore, if you own expensive pieces, talk to your agent about upping this amount. Coverage for specific, highly-valuable items is known as “scheduled” personal property coverage.

How do I file a claim?

After contacting your insurance company about the missing or damaged item, they will likely ask you to fill out forms about the incident. They will then either send over an adjuster to inspect the item themselves—or may ask for photographic evidence.

Learn more about personal property insurance by consulting the experts at Accredited Insurance Group, Inc. As a trusted full-service insurance agency in Omaha, NE, they’ve helped countless clients find a way to protect their investments at affordable rates. Call (402) 334-1780 to receive a no-obligation quote today. Learn more about their capabilities online.