You’ve worked long and hard to save for your vacation home. It’s a home you’ve dreamed of buying for quite some time. When the time finally arrives, don’t neglect to protect that investment with adequate insurance coverage.

What Does Vacation Home Insurance Generally Cover?

Plans will vary greatly depending on the location, size, and style of your vacation property. Vacation properties, though, face specific risks that the home you live in does not face, including:

• Long periods of vacancy
• Guests and/or tenants
• Isolation (in the event of cabins in the woods or mountains and sometimes for homes on the lake)
• Winterization needs

The combination of these risks make it more important than you realize to get adequate insurance coverage and to consider umbrella liability insurance coverage as well.

What Kind of Insurance do You Need for Your Vacation Home?

Whether you have a cabin in the woods, a beach home, a ski chalet, or simply a seasonal home on the lake, there are specific insurance needs your vacation property has that must be addressed. The following types of insurance are ideally suited to help you protect your vacation property or second home from many common problems life may throw your way.

Flood Insurance – While especially useful for lake or beach homes, flood insurance should not be ignored by people who have cabins in the woods or vacation properties in other locations. Floods can happen anywhere. Flood insurance is something standard insurance policies do not offer. It must be a separate purchase. In New Jersey, backed up storm drains or a fast snow melt situation can cause major flooding issues in areas far removed from bodies of water.

Optional Replacement Cost – This protection allows you the convenience of insurance coverage that allows you to replace damaged items with new items of comparable material and quality without accounting for depreciation.

Umbrella Liability Insurance – Because vacation homes and properties are vacant for a large part of each year, it’s wise to consider investing in umbrella liability coverage. This coverage insulates you from lawsuits if a tree on your property falls onto a neighbor’s home or automobile while you’re away. If you were at your vacation home more often you may have seen that the tree was damaged and had it removed before it fell onto your neighboring property.

Agreed Loss Settlement – In the event of a total loss of your vacation property, this policy establishes an agreed upon settlement amount (minus applicable deductions). This is only available for specific policies though and is certainly something you should discuss with one of Phoenix Insurance Group’s agents before you decide to buy so that you can be sure that the amount you agree upon is in your best interest.

Why Buy Insurance for Your Beach Home or Other Vacation Property?

Your vacation home is one you’ve probably dreamed about for many years before making it a reality. Whether it’s on the beach, around the corner, or far away from civilization, it represents the hopes and dreams you used with which to build it.

Fire. Rain. Storms. Wind. Lightning. And more. All of these things can lead to devastation for your vacation property if you’re there every day. Unfortunately, it may take days, weeks, or even months before you realize damage has been done to your vacation property. Without adequate vacation homes insurance coverage you could be left on your own to repair the damage and replace lost, damaged, or stolen items.

Phoenix Insurance Group has a unique understanding of the needs of Central and North New Jersey vacation home owners. It’s our home too. Let us help you get the coverage you need at a price you can smile about. Call today: 908-879-6500 to learn more about how we can help.