Choosing Better Insurance

It can be exciting to improve on your home. In fact, it can be almost as exciting as initially purchasing your home. When it comes to improving your home, there are a number of decisions that you have to make on top of many factors that need to take into consideration. One of these factors that you should take into consideration is how much your home insurance premium will increase with the improvements that you are making. Keep reading to learn a few home improvements that will increase your premium and why.

Increased Square Footage

When you first purchased your home, it probably fit your family's needs exactly. However, now that you have lived in it for several years, it may no longer do so. As you grow your family, you will need more room in your home. You can do this in a couple of different ways, such as finishing unfinished spaces already in the home or building an addition onto the home.

In other words, you may finish an unfinished basement, add on a bedroom, build a covered patio, or do something else entirely. Whatever type of addition you are considering, it will increase the replacement cost of your house, which means that your dwelling coverage needs to increase. You may also need to increase your personal property coverage since you will be adding more personal property to the space.

Bathroom and Kitchen Upgrades

Bathroom and kitchen upgrades tend to be some of the more popular updates in the home, as they have the highest return on investment. Due to the fact that your home insurance is based solely on replacement cost as opposed to appraised value, any updates that you make to your bathrooms and kitchens mean that it is going to cost more to replace these spaces if you suffer a loss. Therefore, it is imperative that you increase your insurance coverage when you make these upgrades.

Swimming Pool Installation

An in-ground swimming pool can be fun for the entire family. However, they can be an expensive addition with increased liability risk. Under most circumstances, insurance companies will require that there are risk reduction measures taken, such as the installation of a fence around the pool. In any event, you will likely need to speak with your insurance company about a personal liability umbrella policy to increase your liability protection in case an accident takes place on your property as a result of the swimming pool.

There are a number of home improvements that may increase your home insurance premiums, but this should not deter you from improving your home. For more information, contact a homeowner's insurance service near you.