A home inspection is common practice in the insurance industry and is generally initiated by an insurance company in order to verify the condition of your home. A home inspection helps the insurance company better understand the unique features of your home in the event you suffer a loss and the home needs to be repaired. It also helps the insurance company understand the risks to which your home might be exposed.

Your home is probably the single largest investment you'll ever make. By insuring your home, you are helping to protect your investment. Estimating the cost to rebuild your home will help you decide the amount of insurance you’ll want to purchase. The primary factors that’ll determine the cost to rebuild your home include: local construction costs, the square footage of your home (and the number of bathrooms and other rooms), the type of exterior wall construction – frame, masonry (brick or stone) or veneer, the type of roof, the number of floors (one to four stories, bi-level or split level), special features like attached garages, fireplaces, exterior trim and arched windows, and the quality of materials and finishes throughout the home.

Nothing is worse than the feeling you get when you are responsible for damage to someone else's property or for someone else's injuries. This coverage is part of your Better Insurance home policy. It can help you protect yourself and your family against property damage or bodily injury claims for which you are legally responsible. Liability insurance can provide coverage, for example, if someone slips and falls on your property or if your dog bites someone.

For Better Insurance home policies, there are three common deductible options: a flat deductible (for example, $2,500), a percent deductible (a percentage of a home’s dwelling coverage - for example, a 1% deductible on a home with $150,000 dwelling coverage is $1,500; note: if your home’s dwelling coverage increase, the calculated amount of your deductible will also increase), and a split deductible (different deductible options depending on the cause of loss; for example, a percent deductible that applies to wind and hail losses and a flat deductible that applies to all other causes of loss.) There are also different deductibles based on the cause of loss. An All Peril deductible applies to all causes of loss, unless a separate deductible for a certain cause of loss is selected. A Wind-Hail deductible specifically applies to covered damage or loss caused by wind or hail. Your chosen deductible will show on your Declarations and shown online in your Better Insurance account.

With your Better Insurance home policy, you may be eligible for one or more of the following discounts: Better Discount, Claims Free Discount, Early Shopping Discount, Fire Protection Discount, Good Payer Discount, Home Buyer Discount, Loyalty Discount, Multi-Policy Discount, Preferred Payment Plan Discount, Theft Protection Discount, Water Protection Discount, and Welcome Discount. For more details on these discounts and their eligibility requirements, please contact our agents at betterinsurance@better.com. (Oregon Customers: Better Insurance does not offer discounts related to wildfire risk mitigation.)

Typically, homeowners insurance can provide coverage for accidental discharge of water from a plumbing system. You should check your plumbing and heating systems once a year. You can have coverage for this type of damage, but really, who needs the mess and hassle?

Yes. Your Better Insurance home policy can help you pay for damages, if the accident is the result of your negligence. It can also help pay for the legal costs of defending you against a claim. Also, the medical payments part of your Better Insurance home policy can help you with medical expenses arising from an injury to a neighbor or guest.

If your home becomes uninhabitable due to a covered loss, your Better Insurance home policy pays for those extra costs of housing, eating expenses, etc. up to the applicable limit.

If the unexpected happens, losing your home contents could be distressing as well as financially devastating. Your Better Insurance home policy provides coverage for the loss of your personal belongings, subject to the policy limits and conditions. There are two distinct ways to insure your personal possessions: Replacement Cost Coverage or RCV (This coverage pays you the dollar amount needed to replace personal property without any deduction for depreciation, but it is limited to a maximum dollar amount.) Actual Cash Value or ACV (This coverage pays you an amount equal to the replacement value of damaged property minus depreciation. Unless a homeowners policy specifies that property is covered for its replacement value, the coverage is for actual cash value.)

Your Better Insurance home policy will pay for pet costs like veterinary or boarding expenses, after a covered loss. And for injury caused by your pets to a person other than you. Note: Pets with a history of biting may not be eligible for certain coverages.

Your Better Insurance home policy does not initially cover earthquake damage. But you can add it as a separate coverage to your policy by contacting our customer support team at betterinsurance@better.com or (646) 603-1942 (available only to Better Insurance customers in Illinois).