While sleeping peacefully with your most loved ones, have you ever awaken with a nightmare that just like the fire incident of Northern California in 2017, you have lost everything in a fire accident? According to the analysis done by the LA Times, approximately 550,000 homes in Southern California are prone to the risk of fire damage. Though as a home owner you must be carrying insurance policy that gives coverage for damage due to fire, but if there is a mass fire affecting the entire building or your community, then the home replacement amount would be so stretched that the costs toward everything right from the labor charge to the materials would soar.

Prior to going to an insurance agency in Los Angeles or California, you should first know in details about fire insurance policy and what types of coverage you would get under this scheme.

FAQ#1: What is fire insurance?

Fire insurance is a type of property insurance that covers the losses and damages caused due to fire. Along with property or homeowner’s insurance, purchasing this policy helps you to cover the cost of repair, replacement, and re-construction of property, even above the limit set by the usual property insurance policy. However, this policy typically excludes the general causes as nuclear risks, war or such other similar perils.

FAQ#2: What do you mean by the term ‘breaking down’ in fire insurance?

A typical fire insurance policy includes financial coverage for additional living expenses or loss of property due to uninhabitable situations, like fire. This is also applicable if the personal property gets damaged or any nearby structure also faces similar kind of harm. As a home owner, you need to document your property with all the belongings, in order to simplify the assessment of items lost or damage due to a fire.

A fire insurance policy also includes additional coverage against damage done due to water or smoke because of a fire incident, and this policy is effective for one year. After the expiration of the policy, you can renew it according to the updated conditions mentioned.

Some standard insurance policies for homeowners also include coverage for fire. If that is excluded, you need to purchase fire insurance separately, especially if your property contains valuable items including electronic appliances, gadgets, furniture, antique show pieces, clothes, books, and such other things. Generally, the liability of the insurance company is limited by the value of the policy and not by the extent of loss or damage sustained due to fire.

FAQ#3: How do I know about the deductibles?

According to the state insurance law, a California insurance agency needs to calculate its own premium amount, subject to the approval of the California Department of Insurance (CDI). However, you should ask for quotes from at least three such insurers and then compare all the quotes and coverage given by them. Then you need to determine the coverage, deductibles, and the limits to give your property and the belongings complete financial protection, in an event of fire.