Most people designate insurance into two categories: insurance you are required by law to have and insurance you can live without. For instance, car insurance will always take precedent over homeowners insurance, since lack of car insurance can result in heavy fine, jail time or loss of driver’s license. If you own a home, a plan to protect it is not something you are lawfully obligated to have; it’s a luxury. However, even though it is not mandatory, homeowners insurance can protect your home wrong a range of damages that can be expensive.
By process of elimination, many homeowners decide to bypass the additional bill. Yet, the relative affordability of homeowners insurance should be reason enough to at least do some research. In comparison to the average cost of a family health insurance plan, the policies available for homeowners are actually pretty reasonable.
Families can pay as much as $15,000 annually on healthcare, and even then the stipulations regarding pre-existing conditions can escalate your expenses further. Considering the average cost of homeowners insurance on a three-bedroom, two-bath house is between $500-$600 for the year, the idea of not having insurance, given the benefits, becomes impractical. Most insurance providers have a homeowner policy that covers the entire cost of the house, even if your house burns down or is severely damaged in a storm. Declining to pay a nominal fee for something as vital as homeowner’s insurance means you could potentially lose everything in one clean sweep. Some policies even protect against personal property damage. In the event of home devastation, starting over is a daunting task. As an uninsured victim, it’s a nightmare.
Having homeowner’s insurance is a luxury many are not fortunate enough to have. However, if $500-$600 a year is not an exorbitant amount of money to you, finding peace of mind by providing a safety net for you and your family is a worthy investment. In fact, when you look at the potential cost of starting from scratch, it’s almost a no-brainer.
