Homeowners

At the Brown Insurance Group, we analyze your specific homeowner insurance needs prior to recommending the best policy for you. Protection rather than price should be your most important consideration. And, unlike direct writers, we have many options and choices. We look out for your interests and put together a comprehensive policy that covers your needs – providing the right product at the right price.

Areas we focus on include:

• Insuring the dwelling to value. Using industry replacement cost formulas, we estimate the cost of rebuilding your home. With building material prices and labor costs constantly etching upward, the cost of rebuilding changes rapidly. Many companies cap replacement cost of your home at 125% of the dwelling coverage. Many of the companies we represent offer unlimited replacement cost on the building.
  
• Personal property. Coverage can vary from 50% of the dwelling coverage to 70% on up. In most cases this coverage limitation should be reviewed carefully to be sure that you could purchase all of your contents at today’s replacement cost value in the event of a total loss. We will provide you with an inventory workbook to assist you in determining how much coverage you need. For valuable possessions such as fine arts or antiques, you may want to contact a professional appraiser to determine the replacement cost of these items. Some items, such as jewelry, have limited coverage under the general contents, and need to be scheduled in order to obtain additional coverage (see our Valuable Items section).

• Liability. Liability provides worldwide coverage if someone is injured as a result of the owner’s negligence as relates to a covered peril. For example, if a visitor trips over your dog and injures himself, or if your toilet overflows and damages belongings of your downstairs neighbor, you are protected by the homeowners policy’s liability coverage. Importantly, liability coverage follows the owner worldwide for actions or inactions causing bodily injury or property damage.
  
• Coverage Forms.
  • Named and broad perils coverage forms provide for building and named peril contents. Your loss must fit the description of one of 17 named perils in order for this coverage to apply.
  • Special Perils Form provides for near ‘all risk’ coverage on the building and contents. This means all risks of loss are covered unless specifically excluded in the policy. The exclusions are far less than a Named or Broad Perils form – it is not limited to the Special form’s 17 named perils for the contents.
    
• Loss Assessment. If you are part of a homeowner association, you will need increased loss assessment coverage as you could be assessed for a loss the Association incurs for which you have no direct negligence. Loss Assessment is the only way to protect you from these assessments.
  
• Deductibles. Choose sensible deductibles. Claiming losses can hurt your chances for renewal in a preferred rating tier. Choose deductibles that you can handle but that will not promote putting in small losses. If you can save a fair portion of the difference between two deductibles, it makes sense to move to the next highest deductible. Deductibles do not apply to 3rd party liability coverage.

Landlord Dwelling

Investment properties are an important area to have proper insurance coverage and it can be the trickiest. Why? Because the landlord often has little or no control with what happens on the premise. What pets does the tenant own? Is the tenant properly deicing the sidewalk in front of the house? Does the tenant keep stairwells clear to avoid unnecessary spills? Are the smoke detector batteries current?

All of these questions have important implications for the landlord.

We have access to single and multi-family landlord dwelling policies to make sure that your assets are appropriately protected. Talk to the Brown Insurance Group to analyze your tenant situation and to develop the coverage that is right for you.

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Condo/Coop

There are four parts to insuring a condo or coop:

• Interior structure
• Personal belongings
• Loss Assessment
• Liability

Interior Structure. In order to properly insure the interior structure of a condo, the Brown Insurance Group agents review:

• Bylaws of the condo association, and
• Property Lease section regarding damage to your building.

Only by careful examination of these can Brown Insurance Group design the proper interior structure coverage for the condo or coop owner. At Brown Insurance Group we have 55 years of experience in condo insurance and will help you to understand your condo’s bylaws and property lease terms, and determine the insurance implications.

Personal Belongings. Insurance on contents (personal belongings) is an amount you need to determine based on the replacements as purchased today, not on the original purchase value. At the Brown Insurance Group, we provide you with the tools (inventory book, etc.) to help you better determine the proper level of coverage on your belongings.

Loss assessment. If the condo association has a loss and the association’s insurance is inadequate to cover the loss, the association is permitted to assess each unit owner in proportional shares of ownership for the association’s shortfall. However, without negligence on the unit owner’s part, loss assessments are generally not covered by the owner’s unendorsed policy. We recommend unit owners consider purchasing additional loss assessment coverage to protect against loss assessments.

Liability. Liability provides worldwide coverage if someone is injured as a result of the owner’s negligence as relates to a covered peril. For example, if a visitor trips over your dog and injures himself, or if your toilet overflows and damages belongings of your downstairs neighbor, you are protected by the homeowners policy’s liability coverage. Importantly, liability coverage follows the owner worldwide for actions or inactions causing bodily injury or property damage.

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Renters

For renters, there are 2 parts to insurance coverage:

• Personal belongings
• Liability

Personal Belongings. Insurance on contents (personal belongings) is an amount the renter needs to determine based on the replacements as purchased today, not on the original purchase value. At Brown Insurance Group, we provide you with the tools (inventory book, etc.) to help you better determine the proper level of coverage on your belongings.

Liability. Liability provides worldwide coverage if someone is injured as a result of the owner’s negligence as relates to a covered peril. For example, if a visitor trips over your dog and injures himself, or if your toilet overflows and damages belongings of your downstairs neighbor, you are protected by the homeowners policy’s liability coverage. Importantly, liability coverage follows the owner worldwide for actions or inactions causing bodily injury or property damage.

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