Fire season has arrived and with it, Southern California homeowners need to ask some tough questions when it comes to fire insurance to make sure they are covered in the case of a devastating wildfire.
NBC 7 Responds has some tips on how to make sure your coverage is enough to cover you in case of catastrophe.
Chiefly among them:
- Check with your insurance agent on costs to rebuild your home.
- Ask local builders to give you a cost estimate to replace your home.
- If the cost of your policy goes up, consider increasing your deductible to keep costs down.
State Farm Insurance agent Walt Waggener said building costs can skyrocket when there is a widespread disaster.
"Houses that cost $200 per-square-foot to rebuild, all of a sudden cost more than $500 per-square-foot to rebuild because the shortage of materials and labor shortages," he explained.
Waggener also recommends documenting the contents inside your home to make it easier to file a claim. He said many people only look at the cost of an insurance policy and not the coverage.
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"When they bought the insurance policy so many people focus on premiums," added Waggener. "But when they have a major claim, they are not going to care at all what those premiums are at all and instead are far more concerned with how they will get their home rebuilt."
