Before purchasing property insurance for your condo or home you should familiarize yourself with the elements that are embedded into these types of programs.

First of all an insurance policy is a contract between you and the insurance company. You agree to pay a specified fixed premium for a stated amount of time, and the insurance company agrees to pay for any damages that may occur throughout the policy period as stated in your policy contract, subject to terms and conditions.

The reason why everyone needs to buy Condo & Home insurance is to protect your assets and future way of living from disaster while maintaining a lifestyle you have grown accustomed to.

Tragedies do happen and as often we see others who have been devastated by weather and fire losses’. Losing your valuable possessions then forced to rebuild and start over is not a simple task. Insurance is the key factor that can help people recover when unpredictable tragedies occur.

Condo & Home insurance programs come in bundled packages listed as forms. There are HO3, HO4, HO6, HO8, DP1, DP2, and DP3 forms which are used for specific type of properties and usage.

Residential homes are typically insured under the HO3 form, while condominium policies that are owner occupied or rented out are on the HO6 form. Rental dwellings (non-owner occupied) are placed with DP policies and insure the property with different conditions and exclusions.

It’s all about the condition and exclusions that a buyer needs to look at when purchasing a policy for their property.

With a policy package all the necessary coverage’s are included, such as coverage A dwelling. This is for the building structure or with condos the interior construction like the walls, floors, cabinets etc.

Coverage C is for personal property items that are not permanently attached to the building or unit.

There is also loss of use which covers the expenses of not being able to live inside the property when it’s damaged. Liability covers legal expenses of being sued by others if you or your property causes damage or harm to others, and there are more included coverage’s for medical expenses, mold, rentals, theft etc.

The policy packaged form makes it simple for homeowners to purchase a 1 stop plan that will cover all the property and individual elements to secure your future when tragedy occurs. Please note any of these included items cannot be excluded from the policy.

Here are some common tips to look for when purchasing a policy in Florida State.

1. The company you choose is an important factor when considering for which causes you will be covered for. Like Citizens, a company that was created by Florida State to provide coverage when a private carrier is not available or will not accept you should always be avoided when possible. Citizens may not have enough money in reserves to pay for claims when a major hurricane decides to devastate the State. If this should occur they can assess ALL Citizens policyholders as much as 45% of your total premium. For Condo owners there have been many recently added exclusions such as redefining water damage losses. Water damage in Condo units happens to be one of the biggest contributors to most losses. Here Citizens labeled "Accidental Discharge Or Overflow Of Water Or Steam from", to exclude "Within a household appliance".

This would mean if a dishwasher or washing machine or refrigerator leaks and damages your expensive flooring you would not be covered. An important exclusion to consider as it limits any amount you can receive for any water damage.

2. It’s important to read the policy pages before purchasing one. The reason most people complain about insurance companies and not getting paid for losses is due to the inability to read what and how the policy covers your property.

3. Forget about the big & famous insurance companies, they don’t exist in Florida. Many have stopped looking for business in Florida due to the high amount of hurricane losses in the past decade. Companies like Lloyds of London are well known but not admitted by Florida State. Which means if they default on paying claims the Florida State Insurance Dept. won’t help. Look for an A whatever rating and check with the writing agent what is this companies renewal increase rate. You may get a nice rate today but will it keep increasing more than 3 to 5% each year to an absurd amount?

4. The replacement cost for your property is not the same as the market or tax rate and needs to be at 100% full replacement to avoid coinsurance penalties. You can easily estimate the cost by multiplying your square footage living area by around $60 per square foot to achieve coverage A dwelling amount. Your agent will use a more accurate calculator if you do not have a recent home appraisal.

5. Your Coverage C personal property should be catalogued on an inventory form with pictures. Forget about priceless antiques, expensive jewelry, or rare art. These polices only cover these items at minimal cost. Get a real value of what all your contents would cost to replace them.

These are some of the main points to look for when purchasing a plan. Paying a little extra for these features will save you money and frustrations if a catastrophe should occur. And isn’t this what insurance was intended for? To make you whole again & let you continue enjoying a lifestyle you have worked so hard and long to create.

To learn more about Florida Condo or Home Insurances visit: http://www.FLCondoInsurance.com or http://www.FLHomeInsuranceS.com