Oregon Home Insurance FAQ

The insurance replacement cost value assigned to your home will differ slightly between a what your home is appraised for or listed online via websites such as Zillow or RedFin. 

From an insurance perspective when looking at a home insurance policy, the goal of the policy is to make sure you have adequate coverage to replace your home as well as any attached and detached structures, were there to be a disaster. From the insurance company perspective all they care about is what would it cost to rebuild your home, from the ground back up. This is considered to be the “replacement cost” of your home.

With a home appraisal or the values you see listed online, this value includes the estimated cost to rebuild the structure and the value of any land that your home is located on. Many times the property your home is worth more than the insurance replacement cost value of the home itself.

The insurance replacement cost of the home is calculated using replacement cost estimators which calculates the current cost to rebuild homes. Some of the key considerations in the calculation includes the number of stories of the home, the square footage, the number of bathrooms, the quality and materials used in its construction. These databases are updated quarterly and address  changes in material prices, labor and other costs.

In summary the insurance replacement cost value of your home does not include the appraised value of the land because the appraised value includes the estimated cost to rebuild the structure and the value of any land that your home is located on. Many times the property your home is on may actually be worth the same amount, if not slightly more, than the insurance replacement cost value of the home itself.

In summary the insurance replacement cost value of your home does not include the appraised value of the land.

Certain types of property have specialized limits that are lower than the stated personal property limit on your policy. The items that often have what are called ‘Special Limits of Liability’ include:

 

 Money & related items

 Securities, accounts, deeds, and related items

 Watercraft, including their trailers, furnishings, equipment, and engines

 Other trailers

 Jewelry, furs, and related items

 Firearms and related items

 Silverware and related items such as China and Crystal

 Business property on the premises

 Business property away from the premises

 Electronic apparatus while on a motor vehicle

 

Personal property that you would want to consider to schedule would be:

 

 Artwork

 Jewelry, furs and leathers

 Firearms and related items

 Antiques and collectibles

 Unusual collections, hobby materials or tools

 Computer systems

 

If you find items that require more coverage than your policy provides, you can obtain coverage by increasing your property limit by scheduling items separately through the purchase of an endorsement. To get more information on the benefits of scheduling property click here.

If you operate a business in your home, even if you consider it a sideline or more hobby than business, you should not assume that it will be covered by your homeowners policy. Some companies do offer business insurance as part of the homeowners policy, this would be for incidental businesses. Most homeowner policies limit the amount of property that would be paid out due to a loss if it were for business use. If you have more than $2,500 in property that’s used for a business such as web design & marketing, photography, or selling items on Ebay, you should consider have a business insurance to provide you protection to avoid a gap in coverage.

You can purchase personal liability coverage at limits from $300,000, $500,000 & $1,000,000. The key to consider about liability is you want to consider purchasing enough to cover the value of all your financial assets — home, savings, investments, etc.–which are all vulnerable to a lawsuit. Understand your insurance company is liable only up to the limits of your policy. You would be liable for anything above that.

All home insurance policies are going to exclude coverage due to losses from earthquake, landslides and flood. You must purchase separate coverage to be protected due to losses by earthquake, flood, & landslide. Learn more about earthquake insurance, landslide insurance or flood insurance.