When you are seeking a home quote for insurance you will be asked many questions.  The insurance agent will enter the information into a replacement cost estimator to determine the amount of insurance needed to rebuild your home.  The home must be insured to 100% full replacement cost.

A lot of people get confused when asking for a home insurance quote. 

  • Consumers may think the home should be insured to market value, (the cost to buy the home today).   But, we don’t factor the land in when quoting a home policy because insurance companies don’t insure land, just the property on top of it. 
  • Consumers may think the home should be insured for the loan amount, which may be higher than the amount to replace the home.  Again, we can’t do that, as the home insurance is based on replacing the home, not the loan money or land value.
  • Consumers may think an agent or insurance company uses a dollar amount per square foot to determine home replacement cost.  While square footage is a factor, it’s certainly not the only factor as you will see below.  Again, if we calculated the replacement cost solely on the square footage the home would not be accurate.

There are many factors that determine replacement cost.  I will list some below.

  • What year was the home built?
  • Does the home have central heating and air?
  • How many stories is the home?
  • What type of home do you have?
  • What is the  square footage of the home?
  • Was the home built on a slab, a raised foundation or other?
  • Siding of the house, is it wood, stucco or other?
  • What type of roof do you have?  When was it last replaced?
  • Porches, breezeways or decks? Dimensions?
  • Interior of the home, walls and ceilings; are they stucco, dry wall, wood or T&G.
  • What type of flooring is in the home?  Wood, carpet, tile or ?
  • Does the home have skylights?
  • Is there a pool or spa?
  • Is there a fireplace or wood burning stove?
  • How many bathrooms does the home have?
  • Has there been any upgrades to the home?
  • Is there a garage?  Attached or detached?
  • Are there any other structures separate from the house?
  • Are there dogs or animals?

If your agent is not asking these questions then you are not being insured properly. 

If you have any questions contact your agent or this author.