Insuring Historical Homes – Don’t Get Stuck With the Wrong Coverage
Insurance for Historical Homes
If you own an historical home, finding the right coverage at the right price can seem challenging. Some insurance companies are hesitant to cover older homes due to their sometimes unsafe electrical wiring and heating systems. Some companies even refuse to insure homes built before a specific year or time period.
Another big challenge to obtaining coverage for your historical home is that the insurance company may only offer to insure it for its market value instead of its replacement cost.
Remember: the market value of a home is the amount of money that its worth on the market if it were sold today. The replacement cost of the home is the amount of money it would cost to rebuild the home using the exact same quality craftsmanship and construction materials, but at today’s cost of materials and labor.
Older homes, especially ones built during the Victorian area, are difficult to rebuild or replace today because they typically feature authentic hand-made windows and doors and ornate hand-carved wood molding, which was common for homes built in the late 19th century. Historical homes also usually contain original hardware like hinges and doorknobs which are hard to find replacement parts for.
The cost to rebuild or replace all those authentic parts today would end up being a lot greater than the actual market value of the home.
If you own an historical home, find out if your home insurance policy offers coverage on a replacement cost basis or on a market value basis, because these two types of coverages should never be confused.
If you would like to quickly find out how much a replacement cost policy would be for your home, click here to get rates online.
