Even if you never end up using it, purchasing insurance should be a priority. Whether you live in Austin or other areas of Texas, home insurance, auto insurance and insurance to cover other items you own, such as boats, recreational vehicles or motorcycles, can be important in case you are involved in an accident or circumstances beyond your control damage your property. No one knows if or when these issues might happen, so it is best to protect yourself.
Homeowners’ insurance in Austin provides you with the peace of mind that your home and its contents are covered if you lose your home through a fire, flood, tornado or other disaster. However, you need to pay attention to the costs the policy covers. Some policies require you to add riders for specific items that may be worth more than what your policy covers or for specific types of damage. For instance, not all policies automatically cover sewer backups or flooding.
If you don’t own your own home in Austin, but rather rent, you still need to purchase insurance. The owner of the property already has insurance on the actual building, which reduces the amount of money you need to pay for the policy. Instead, a renters’ policy covers only your personal belongings stored on the property. Like homeowners’ insurance, you may need to purchase additional coverage for higher ticket items and certain damages.
The state of Texas requires all drivers to carry automobile insurance to drive. An Austin automotive insurance policy must meet the state standards for coverage. As of January 2011, the minimum required coverage for drivers is up to $35,000 per person for bodily injury, up to $60,000 total for bodily injury per accident and up to $25,000 for property damage. In addition to these areas, you may want to consider purchasing uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage to protect yourself if the other person doesn’t have insurance or doesn’t have enough coverage for your damages.
Other property may also require insurance to protect it from damage from natural disasters and accidents. If you own property, such as recreational vehicles, motorcycles, boats, all-terrain vehicles and other large-ticket items. Your homeowners’ policy doesn’t cover many of these items. You may be able to add some of them as a rider to your homeowners’ policy, but others require a policy of their own. Therefore, it is important that you ask for more information on additional policies when you purchase policies for your home and car to ensure that you are fully covered.
