10 May Can Veterans Buy Home Insurance Online?
Getting appropriate coverage for your homes is equally important as getting coverage for health and life. And, when we talk about Veterans, getting homeowners insurance helps you protect your homes from damages incurred by covered perils.
Factually speaking, homeowner’s insurance is a type of property insurance that protects the physical structure of your home along with furniture against the damages incurred by covered perils.
What have covered perils?
A peril is an event that can cause possible damage to your property. Covered perils are events that are covered by your insurance. In short, if a peril that is covered by your insurance destroys your property, you’ll be eligible for the claim.
What Does Homeowner’s Insurance Covers?
A standard homeowner’s insurance covers the following things-
Coverage for the interior and exterior of the property
If your property is left uninhabitable by a covered peril like fire, theft, hurricane, lightning and vandalism, this insurance will provide coverage for that. However, if your house is damaged by an act of god-like an earthquake or an act of war, you might not get coverage for that. For this, you would have to purchase additional riders. Moreover, any detached surfaces like sheds or freestanding garages will also not be covered by traditional homeowners’ insurance.
Personal liability damage
To make it simple for you, homeowners’ insurance will also protect you from a lawsuit filed against you by someone else. For instance, if your dog bit your neighbor or your kid destroyed their property, this coverage would cover that so that you can pay their medical bills or replace their furniture.
The policy will also cover the cost of a lawsuit and lost wages if your neighbor is admitted to a hospital because of you or your family.
Additional living expenses
In case your house is destroyed and left inhabitable by a covered peril, homeowner’s insurance would provide you with funds so that you could live somewhere else till your home is being rebuilt.
It’s vital to get a policy that offers coverage at a replacement cost and not the actual cost, as the claim you would receive with a replacement cost coverage would be enough to rebuild your home.
Where To Get Homeowner’s Insurance?
For Veterans and active military members, the go-to spot for claiming their military benefits is the VA- US Department of Veterans Affairs.
You can manage your health benefits through TRICARE and keep a check on your mortgage payments by qualifying for VA home loans that come with a $0 downpayment and the lowest interest rates.
However, when it comes to homeowners’ insurance, you can not get it from VA. You can qualify for VMLI, a coverage offered explicitly to disabled Veterans and serviced members to help the family cover mortgage debt after the beneficiary’s death. But, you can not get home insurance from the VA.
Regardless, there are a million other options you can get when going for home insurance. In fact, you can even qualify for military discounts with companies like USAA and Armed Forces Insurance (AFI).
Can you get it online?
Yes, absolutely! You can even qualify for free online quotes that would give you an idea of how much coverage you can qualify for.
Here’s a brief on some of the best insurance providers for home insurance-
USAA
USAA is one of the largest insurance providers in the US, providing everything from homeowners’ insurance to condo insurance and financial services like checking accounts, credit cards and mortgages, including VA home loans.
However, the company does not extend its benefits to civilians. The services are only available to the following groups-
- Active service members
- Veterans
- National Guards and reservists
- Qualifying family members of military members, cadets and midshipman
- Children of USAA members
- Pre-commissioned officers
Armed Forces Insurance (AFI)
Like USAA, civilians can not take advantage of the services offered by AFI. Moreover, the coverage options and benefits available to military members and Veterans are much better than those provided by USAA.
Getting Military Discounts
If you’re thinking of getting in touch with a company that could provide you with military discounts, you can get your quote from the following organizations-
What Happens To The Insurance If You Get Deployed?
Military deployment can affect your home insurance policies. While getting the insurance, it’s important to look out for the following two clauses related to deployment-
- Occupancy Clause
- War zone exemption
The Takeaway
In addition to the coverage listed above, you can also apply for additional riders like flood insurance, earthquake insurance etc., that will provide extra coverage to you and your family. On average, a homeowners’ insurance would cost you around $1,477 per year with a coverage of $250k.
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