When you bought your house, your mortgage lender probably required you to take out homeowners insurance. Even if you didn't need a mortgage, you probably decided that homeowners insurance was a good idea anyway. But is your homeowners insurance police enough? Do you need a special type of insurance called floater coverage?

What Homeowners Insurance Covers

As its name suggests, home insurance covers the value of your home. This includes the structure, your appliances, your furniture, and other personal belongings.

Homeowners insurance typically also includes extra coverage such as personal liability protection and protection for household goods that are in transit while you're moving.

What Homeowners Insurance Doesn't Cover

Homeowners insurance has strict policy limits. If your home has increased in value or you have acquired more personal belongings than covered, you will only be paid up to the policy limit, no matter what your real losses were.

Your homeowners insurance policy limits are typically divided into different categories. Your home's structure and your personal belongings are typically subject to two separate limits.

Additionally, there may be a limit on the amount paid related to a single incident or on the maximum amount paid for a specific item. Certain items may be excluded entirely.

Items with stricter limits typically include cash, coins, stamps, collectibles, firearms, silverware, and electronics.

What is Floater Coverage?

Floater coverage is a special type of coverage designed to fill the gaps in your main insurance policy. It is called floater coverage because it "floats" on top of your main policy.

Floater coverage may be tied to individual items or a category items. It may also provide blanket coverage for a set dollar amount over your main insurance policy.

How to Get Floater Coverage

Floater coverage may be offered as an add on to your main insurance policy or may be sold separately. In addition to traditional insurance companies, special interest groups often make deals to get their members floater coverage on things like collectibles and hobby equipment.

When you purchase floater coverage, you will need to pay close attention to the policy limits. To avoid unnecessarily increasing your costs, you want to add as much coverage as possible without duplicating your existing homeowners insurance coverage. Depending on your insurance needs, you may find it more economical to get multiple floater policies than a single blanket policy.

To learn more about making sure your property is properly ensured, contact a local homeowners insurance agent today.