Insuring Park Model Homes, Village Homes and Traditional Manufactured Homes
What should I Look for in Mobile Home Insurance?
Mobile Home insurance is a very specialized type of home policy that protects your property. Since mobile homes depreciate over time, it is very important that they are covered with the proper endorsements to replace your home in the event of a total loss. This valuable endorsement is not on every policy, but it can be added to most policies. This is more or less similar to home insurance, with one major difference. While most home’s values appreciate (increase) over time, a mobile home’s value depreciates, or decreases. This can be a problem because if your mobile home were to be damaged or destroyed, your policy might only pay you what it’s worth, not what it will cost you to repair or replace such. That’s why it is very important that your mobile home is covered with the proper endorsements to pay for replacement in the event of a total loss. In some cases, location and age of the mobile home may make it impossible to insure with this type of endorsement, so be sure to talk to your agent about other options.
How will my mobile home insurance policy protect my home?
A mobile home policy protects your property, your belongings and your liability in case
someone sustains an injury on your property.
Physical Damage: Physical damage coverage typically covers any damage to your mobile
home and other structures on the same piece of land, such as a garage, shed or patio. Fire,
wind, theft, explosions and vandalism are some examples of incidents that are covered
under most mobile home insurance policies. It’s important to keep in mind that this type
doesn’t cover damage to your home while you are transporting it. Flood insurance, just
like those for non-mobile homes, has to be purchased separately. It is not standard with a
mobile home policy.
Personal Liability: Personal liability coverage can cover damage or injury caused by you
or someone else in your household to someone else who doesn’t live with you. For
example, if a guest trips on a step on your patio and breaks his or her arm, your personal
liability coverage will cover their medical expenses. However, this type of coverage can’t
be used to cover medical expenses for you or any other person who lives in your
household. The minimum amount of coverage you are required to carry by law in
Colorado is $100,000 per incident.
What is the difference between “Replacement” and “Actual Cash Value”?
When looking to protect your mobile home it is important to understand the difference between Replacement and Actual Cash Value policies. Replacement value should be your first choice when considering a policy to protect your mobile home. With Replacement value, your manufactured home and personal property will be replaced for what they cost at the time of loss and no greater than your policy limits. This is a huge advantage and is the optimal coverage. Actual Cash Value affords coverage to your home and personal property at market value. Since market value and replacement value can be significantly different, you may have to produce extra cash out of your copy to replace your belongings and home. For example: Your Park Model Home cost you $40,000 five years ago. It suffered a fire today causing it to be completely destroyed. Your home was insured for $40,000 as well. A Replacement Value Policy would pay the full $40,000 to replace your Park Model while an Actual Cash Value policy would pay the depreciated value of your 5-year-old Park Model, which might only be valued at $25,000. This means that you would have to pay for the remaining $15,000 to replace your Park Model.
Can I add my golf cart to my mobile home policy?
Yes, golf carts can be added to most mobile home policies as long as the golf cart is used inside the community only and not driven on public roads. Once added to the policy, the golf cart will covered for theft, vandalism, and a range of other things. Most importantly, liability coverage will also be extended to the golf cart. This means that if you have an accident that is your fault, coverage can be afforded to the property damaged or the people injured.
At American Capital Insurance Group in Denver, Colorado, we shop more than 40 respected insurance carriers to find you the best value for your mobile home insurance policy. Call us today or get a free quote online so we can start helping you protect your home, belongings and liability.
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