Minnesota Homeowners' Insurance

The I-word! No one likes setting up, or dealing with insurance-companies (or at least that I know of). They can seem like just another "blood-sucking" business cousin to used car salesmen - and evil stepchild of lawyers. But the fact remains they are a necessary company to deal with when purchasing a new home.

If you are currently renting, you may already have "renters insurance" to cover the cost of your belongings in the case of a disaster. If you own your own home, you'll have "homeowners insurance". In either of these cases you'll probably already have someone you know and trust to handle the insurance on your new place. My only caution in that case is: make sure you're getting good rates. One call to a competitor will answer that question!

If you are purchasing a home for the first time, at a minimum you will need "hazard insurance" as required by whatever lender you use - this is standard. At a bare minimum, the mortgage loan amount must be covered by your policy, but you may want to consider additional including homeowners protection. But talk to your favorite agent to be sure!

You will have to consider how much coverage you want - if you have lots of valuables laying around, it could be a considerable amount. Also what your "deductible" will be. That is, in the event of a catastrophe, how much money will come out of your pocket first, before insurance kicks in. And your agent will ask you some specific questions about what types of coverage you want, for example in Florida, coverage against hurricanes is wise!

In any event, be prepared to have insurance in place before you close to be sure that you are covered from day 1 in your new place!