Waiting Until the Last Minute to Get Home Insurance

With home-buying season in full swing, I wanted to re-emphasize how important it is to not wait until the last minute to get your home insurance in place.  Some realtors, some mortgage lenders, and some title companies may have you believe that home insurance is easy to get.  In many cases, they are correct.  But if any of these things are true for your situation, then please give yourself as much time as possible to obtain home insurance:

–          You have had claims on home/renters insurance in the past 5 yrs.  You may think to yourself “I’ve had XYZ Insurance for years and had one claim…it won’t be a problem getting my new house covered.”  Then you find out two days before closing that their underwriters don’t want to insure you anymore with your new home.

–          You have dogs, especially certain breeds (Akita, Doberman, German Shepherd, Rottweiler, Pit Bull, Shar-Pei, Husky, etc…).

–          The home you’re buying is over 20 yrs old.  Insurance companies don’t always like old roofs, HVAC systems, and plumbing systems.

–          You work from home or run a business from home.

–          The new home has a wood-burning stove.

–          New house has a swimming pool.

This list is not complete, so just save yourself the headache…and don’t wait until the last minute.