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Do I Need Home Insurance If I Own or Rent My Home?

Do I need home insurance

Every homeowner needs basic insurance to protect their home and its contents from financial loss due to a covered loss. In most cases, you don’t need additional coverage if you own or rent your home.

However, homeowners with significant investments, such as home equity, may want to consider supplemental insurance to protect these assets. For more inquiries in Colorado, visit Aspen Gold Insurance Brokers.

What to Know about Home Insurance

Your home insurance policy can cover your belongings if they are stolen or damaged by unexpected events such as floods or fires. Some even cover you for liability claims if someone is injured in your home, while others provide additional living expenses in case you need to live somewhere else. At the same time, your house is being rebuilt after a disaster.

If you are renting your home, you may want to consider switching to a landlord’s policy or adding a renter’s insurance policy to cover your belongings in case of a disaster. To understand which option is right for you, consult a qualified insurance agent or review your current coverage with a checklist to help you choose the best coverage for your situation.

Certain risks might not be covered depending on your financial situation, such as if your home is at high risk of damage or a major claim is likely to occur. For example, if your home is prone to flooding or is located in a high-risk area such as a wildfire zone, it might not be worth the cost to protect it.

When you buy a home, a few things usually come with the house, such as the roof and appliances. It’s important to understand that some items, such as the house itself, aren’t covered by your home policy.

You can choose from various home insurance options, such as fire, flood, or wind coverage. The policy can also cover the repairs after a fire or other major disaster.

Final Words

Homeowners insurance would cover the value of your home and liability if someone were to sue due to an accident in your house. You may want to talk to your landlord about renter’s insurance if you’re renting.

If you have questions about insurance for renting out your home, get in touch with Aspen Gold Insurance Brokers.

Tips to Keep In Mind When Getting Home Insurance

Getting Home Insurance

Numerous first-time homebuyers forget to budget for their home insurance, waiting until the last minute to get coverage. If you are in the process of buying a house within Broomfield, CO, make it a point to prioritize your home insurance to get the proper protection for your property. Below, Aspen Gold Insurance Brokers takes you through various tips to keep in mind when getting your home insurance.

Understand What Your Policy Covers and What Its Exclusions

Home insurance can often seem like it primarily benefits the structure of your home, while in reality, it also offers other protection mechanisms. Some of these include paying for your personal belongings when covered perils arise and providing additional living expenses when your home is no longer habitable due to damages caused. Unfortunately, not every emergency will be covered. Flooding and earthquakes are some exclusions you will encounter, instances that will require extra coverage.

Bundle Your Policies Where Possible

If you need multiple policies to cover your home and vehicles, bundling your policies will be an ideal alternative to purchasing them separately. When bundled, you are likely to receive comprehensive coverage for multiple items on your property, helping you get sufficient compensation to cater to damage costs when disasters occur.

Review Your Insurance Frequently

Your home insurance needs to factor in your life and property adjustments as the years go by to ensure you get the right coverage for your needs. Due to this, make it a point to review your insurance frequently, with various changes likely to affect your policy. Aspects such as home renovations call for an adjusted policy, while others, such as the addition of a family member, mean getting updated coverage to cater to the changing needs of your family.

If you reside within Broomfield, CO, and are looking for customized insurance to protect your investment, call Aspen Gold Insurance Brokers today for home insurance designed with your specific needs in mind.

What are the benefits of home insurance in Colorado?

benefits of home insurance

The Broomfield, CO area can be a great place to live. When you are here, there are plenty of great job opportunities and fun outdoor recreational options. If you do decide to move to this area, owning a property is a great option. If you are going to purchase a home in this area of Colorado, you should consider getting a home insurance policy. There are several benefits that are received when you get home insurance here.

Covers Dwelling

One of the main reasons to get a home insurance policy here is that it can provide you with protection for your home and other important assets. One of the biggest investments that you will ever own is your property. With a home insurance property, you are going to receive coverage if your home is damaged by a fire, weather, or other casualties. You can also receive coverage for your personal belongings and assets.

Gives Liability Coverage

You should also get a home insurance policy because you will receive liability coverage. When you own a property and have a guest over, you are going to be taking on some personal liability risk. When you get a home insurance policy, you are going to receive coverage to mitigate this risk. If you are sued for liability, this insurance will prove to be incredibly valuable.

As you are shopping for home insurance in the Broomfield, CO area, you should contact the team at Aspen Gold Insurance Brokers. With Aspen Gold Insurance Brokers, you can be assured that all of your questions and concerns that come with buying a home and getting insurance are addressed. This will help you to choose a policy that provides you and your property with the appropriate level of insurance coverage. Aspen Gold Insurance Brokers can also bundle your home and auto insurance, saving you money.

How to Prevent An Electrical Fire At Home

Homeowners insurance

Electrical fires aren’t a pleasant topic to think about. However, if you don’t give this possible tragedy even a little bit of thought, your home in Broomfield, CO can be in danger. Approximately 51 thousand home electrical fires occur each year in the United States. According to Aspen Gold Insurance Brokers and other home safety experts, these fires are largely preventable. Here’s how you can avoid losing your home or your loved ones to an electrical house fire.

1. Practice Outlet And Cable Safety To Prevent an Electrical Fire

Are all of the electrical outlets in your home tight and sealed?

If you have small kids in the home, are the outlets properly capped?

If not, these are essential safety precautions. Not only are unsafe outlets a fire hazard, but they can also cause fatal electrical shocks, especially if covered in water.

When plugging in appliances, remember the following safety tips:

  • Always ensure that cables are fully plugged into an outlet.
  • Don’t overload an extension or electrical adapter with too many appliances.
  • Don’t use extension cords as a permanent electrical solution.
  • Don’t run electrical cords under rugs or through the floor.

Also, if your cable is frayed or broken, retire that cord immediately.

2. Check Circuit Breakers Regularly To Prevent an Electrical Fire

You should have your circuit breakers and ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI’s) checked on a monthly basis. If you don’t have a GFCI installed in each common area of your home (kitchen, bathroom, or anywhere else where you have large appliances), have them installed as soon as possible.

If you ever have to change a circuit fuse, make sure it’s being replaced by one that fits the circuit properly. Each type of circuit has a fuse of a certain size. Fuses that are too large or too small are certainly a fire hazard.

3. Replace Lighting And Appliances As Needed

It can be a pain to have to replace light bulbs or light switches; after all, they’re supposed to last a long time. However, malfunctioning light fixtures are one of the main causes of electrical fires.

When you change a light bulb, make sure to replace it with one that has the appropriate wattage. If you install a light bulb that has a higher wattage than recommended for a particular fixture, your bulb can overheat and start a fire.

4. Only Hire Licensed Electricians

This should be a given, but not every homeowner takes the following advice to heart: Always hire licensed electricians to fix or maintain your electricity. If you disregard this advice, not only may your home be in danger, but this can also void your home insurance policy from Aspen Gold Insurance Brokers.

If you need to upgrade your home’s electrical capacity, fix an outlet, or fix a ground circuit, call an electrician that’s licensed to work in Colorado.

Does Your Home’s Electricity Satisfy Your Home Insurance Brokers?

Is your home in Colorado safe from all preventable electrical house fires? If you’re not sure, talk to an Aspen Gold Insurance Brokers agent to verify that all home insurance requirements are met. If you’re looking for a new policy or to upgrade your existing one, visit our site for a quote today.

Typical Reasons for Filing a Homeowners Insurance Claim in Colorado

Homeowners Insurance Claim

Making sure you have homeowners insurance if you live in Broomfield, CO is very important. A home insurance policy is super important and when it comes time to file a homeowners insurance claim for damages that need repair, you will realize why. Make sure you are covered and if you have any questions about what coverage options you need, contact Aspen Gold Insurance Brokers to discuss specific details further. Find out what typical reasons for filing claims are in this post.

Storm Damage

Heavy winds, hail, sleet, snow, ice, rain, wildfires, floods, and other hazardous weather events can really do a lot of damage to homes in Colorado. That is why it is ultra important to stay covered with a homeowners policy. These events represent a major reason homeowner’s file a homeowners insurance claim. Be sure to assess damages and contact an agent right away if damages from weather destroy parts of your home (or the entire home).

Water Damage

Many homeowners get flood insurance protection if they live in a vulnerable area prone to flooding but others might find their home has been damaged by water without a flood. This can include things like burst pipes, backups in plumbing or leaks. These events can cause major damage to property. Find out why these typical claims are important by talking with an agent at Aspen Gold Insurance Brokers.

Fire Damage

Another major reason for filing a homeowners insurance claim is fire and smoke damages to homes. Homeowners can be devastated by the damage and destruction left behind after a fire has engulfed their home or parts of it. The fire and the smoke can damage any kind of property within or outside the home. Be sure to discuss the fire damage coverage options available on select policies in Broomfield, CO.

3 Tips for Understanding Personal Property Coverage

home owners insurance quote

Our team at Aspen Gold Insurance Brokers has put together this easy-to-understand guide regarding personal property coverage and your Colorado homeowner’s insurance policy.

Tip #1: Understand What It Covers

Personal property coverage refers to the items that you own—i.e. your clothes, shoes, furniture, electronics, toothbrush, and even your dog are all considered personal property items. For the most part, these belongings are covered under a blanket figure on your policy. However, certain larger cost items—like guns, jewelry, artwork, computers, and furs—might need special consideration and a discussion with your agent.

Tip #2: Know Your Policy Limits & Details

Another important tip regarding personal property coverage is to understand your limits and the different types of coverage listed. As mentioned above, most homeowner’s policies have a cap limit on how much all of your belongings together would cost to replace. However, the policy also usually dictates how an adjuster would come up with values for each of those individual items.

Actual cash value (ACV) refers to items that will only be reimbursed for what they were worth at the time of the loss. Replacement cost value (RCV) refers to what it would cost to buy the modern version of an item at a store today.

Tip #3: Document Anything Excessive or Out of the Ordinary

Should a claim occur, the onus is on you and not your insurance company to prove the items you claim were actually owned by you. In most cases, household belongings considered reasonable and necessary won’t need definitive proof, but anything excessive or out of the ordinary will likely need photos, receipts, or a combination thereof for reimbursement. Keep a record of these items and store it in a safe place, like a fireproof box or digitally.

Interested in learning more? Contact Aspen Gold Insurance Brokers today for your no-obligation Colorado homeowner’s insurance quote.

How Home Insurance Can Help Keep You Safe in Colorado

home insurance companies

Westminster, CO is not a dangerous town by any stretch of the imagination, but it does have certain things happen in it that people would rather not occur. Criminals, weather and lawsuits happen every once in a while, and many people don’t realize just how much home insurance can help in these types of nasty situations. Aspen Gold Insurance Brokers wants to bring you more information on how it all works.

Safety on the Streets 

When a person sees a broken window, there are a number of things that may run through their head. If they see a whole street of broken windows, they may think that no one is paying attention to what’s happening there. Home insurance gives every person on block the means to fix whatever has happened to their property. Whether it’s a branch crashing on a roof after a bad storm or repainting over graffiti that was left by teenagers with too much time on their hands, it may be of more assistance than you think. There’s a lot of power in responsibility to provide safety for the whole neighborhood rather than just one house.

Home Insurance Safety for You

If your foundation is unsteady, then you may be risking the lives of the people inside of it. When structures fail, it can hurt other people. Don’t leave that kind of danger to chance when you have home insurance that helps you make the repairs prior to a catastrophe occurring. Call Aspen Gold Insurance Brokers today if you live in Westminster, CO and want to have the best coverage available. We believe that taking pride means taking ownership, so we work to get you the best possible policies. Call us today for more information on how our agents can help.

What is a Home Insurance Adjuster

home insurance comparison

Home insurance and everything that has to do with it can be difficult if you do not have some basic knowledge on the subject. There are a wide range of people that work for an insurance agency and one that you might come in contact with is the home insurance adjuster. The agents with Aspen Gold Insurance Brokers in the Westminster, CO area can help you learn more.

An insurance adjuster is someone that is versed both in the insurance laws and regulations for their area and for the country and is also versed in basic repairs and what it might cost to have something repaired. They can also spot fraud and are obligated to report is back to the agency. An adjuster will visit your home when a claim is made.

The adjuster will work to document and evaluate what has happened to your home and will ultimately tell your insurance agency if they think a payout should be made or not and will tell them specifically what they found. An adjuster is out to make sure that claims are not fraudulent and that they are based in fact.

They are also there to help document claims and help the process along. When you file a claim an adjuster will visit the home or property to hear what happened and to see for themselves and take notes and photos so that they can document what has happened and help move the claim to completion. Adjusters are there to help work as a proxy between those that are being insured and the insurance agency. These agents might also come to your home to help you raise or lower your coverage and in order to help establish your policy. For those in the Westminster, CO area, the agents with Aspen Gold Insurance Brokers can help explain.

Tips for Making A Kid-friendly Home

homeowners insurance costs

If you have children, it is of the utmost importance that you have a kid-friendly home. Fortunately, there are several tips you can follow to make sure your home is friendly for children of all ages. Here is a quick look at three of these tips.

Kid-Friendly Home Tip #1: Add ample storage space for toys

One of the biggest problems families with kids face is having toys everywhere and tripping over them. Whether it be the mom or the child tripping over the toys, this can be very dangerous. A great way to get past this problem is by having ample storage for all toys. Thankfully, today’s furniture is often versatile in that it serves as storage containers in addition to furniture pieces. Take for example an ottoman in your living room. If you invest in an ottoman that opens up, this is a great place to store some of your kid’s toys.

Tip #2: Add towel hooks that are easy to reach

You do not want your kids jumping up to reach their towels in the bathroom; this can easily lead to an injury. A great way to avoid this issue is by adding towel hooks that are in the reach of your children. This also creates the kids to be responsible to clean up their towels.

Tip #3: Create a play space

If you do not have an area in your home that is specifically designated for play, you should really consider adding one. This does not mean you have to add an extra addition onto your home, rather you can simply transform a current area in your home into a play area.

To learn more about creating a kid-friendly home, contact Aspen Gold Insurance Brokers serving the Broomfield, CO area.

See our Home Insurance Blogs for more information regarding homeowners insurance policies.

Fall Home Checklist

homeowners Insurance companies

Whether you know it or not, you do need to make sure that you winterize your home on a yearly basis.  Fall is the perfect time to do that.  Here is a look at some of the things that you might want to do on our fall home checklist.

  • You are probably used to hearing the phrase “get your mind out of the gutter”.  Forget that and get it IN the gutter instead.  You need to inspect all of the downspouts and gutters on your home.
  • Button up your house.  Make sure that all of the cracks and gaps around your doors and windows are sealed with caulk and weather stripping.
  • Take care of any roof issues.  Get on the roof and inspect it for curled and/or damaged shingles, leaky vents and flashing that might be corroded.
  • Walk your drive and walkways.  If you have any damaged steps, driveways or sidewalks, take the necessary steps to repair them.
  • Winterize and drain your outdoor irrigation systems and faucets.
  • Make sure that you have your heating system inspected by professionals.
  • If you have a fireplace, hire a chimney sweep to clean any creosote or soot buildup from your chimney.
  • Clean the pads and/or plates on your humidifier to ensure that it operates efficiently.
  • Take care of any gas problems before they start.  If you have heat provided by gas, make sure to get it inspected by a professional.  You also need to make sure that any manufacturer specified maintenance needs to be performed.
  • If you have a wood stove, get it inspected before using it.

For more information on our fall home checklist and to make sure that your homeowners policy is up to date, contact Aspen Gold Insurance Brokers in Broomfield, CO today.  They are standing by to answer any and all of your questions regarding your insurance and winterizing your home.