Buildings insurance is more than financial protection for buildings. It protects the people that dwell and work and play in those buildings. It covers building contents. Most importantly, it gives you the peace and satisfaction from knowing that the building or buildings in your life are adequately insured against theft, vandalism, floods, fire, earthquakes and a host of other catastrophic occurrences.
Hopefully your home or office building will never be in any danger. Wouldn’t the newspapers be filled with nothing but good news every day if life were completely safe? But life is actually quite dangerous, and we all need insurance to protect us and our families and co-workers against financial losses. The wise will seek protection that will cover all of the things that they could not pay for otherwise.Good building insurance will pay for repairs to an existing building as well as for total replacement if the building is destroyed or rendered uninhabitable due to fire, flood or any other kind of damage. While you probably shouldn’t expect your building insurer to pay for your new dream home to be built over the ashes of your old cottage, you can reasonably demand that the value of the new dwelling or business be at least equal to that of the previous building.
Here are some other considerations you should have in mind as you shop around for building coverage:
- Broken glass coverage. This could include doors, windows and even skylights.
- Coverage to pay for a hotel room or other temporary dwelling while your home is replaced. If you’re a business owner, the same principle applies; this coverage could help you pay for temporary new office space while construction and repairs are completed.
- Coverage for the cost of having professionals (carpenters, architects, engineers, etc.) appraise or perform work on your building.
- Personal injury protection in case someone is hurt in your building.