Your Homeowners' Insurance Coverage Limits Might Be Inadequate

**Your homeowners' insurance coverage limits might be inadequate. Here's

why.**

I am a dog person.

I have a 70 lb. Weimaraner named "Banksy" and she needs all the running

room she can get. Last November, I got a quote for a wooden fence to

enclose the yard. I wasn't quite ready yet, so I waited. What a mistake

that was.

Lumber prices, as well as other raw building materials, have skyrocketed

in recent months. Lumber actually hit an all-time price record. It's so

valuable that there are increasing reports of wooden boards, beams, and

planks being stolen from construction sites. Wood is the new copper.

*So, how does this factor into your homeowners' insurance coverage

limits?* Let's say Florida is hit by a hurricane this year (we've

already had our first tropical system in the Atlantic and it's not even

hurricane season). Tragically, your house is severely damaged by fallen

trees. You opted for a policy with \$200,000 in replacement coverage

because it was a lower premium. This time last year, it would've cost

\$150,000 to repair the home. However, due to the lumber price increases

of late, that cost is now \$250,000, or \$50,000 more than you have in

coverage. This leaves you---the homeowner---with a gap in coverage that

you must come out of pocket to cover.

How can you avoid this? **Talk to your insurance agent or your

insurance company about raising your replacement cost coverage limits on

your Coverage A (dwelling) and Coverage B (other structures).** The

additional premium is likely trivial compared to the risk exposure in

the event of a loss.

As always, I am happy to discuss this issue or any others you may have

related to homeowner's insurance. [Contact Clint & Company, P.A. by text

or call to (407) 212-7598 or by email at

office@clintco.legal.]