Relocating to Las Vegas | Relocation Resources for Moving to Las Vegas

Protecting Your Family and Property
In this chapter, you’ll find information on different types of insurance, including homeowners, auto, medical, dental and life insurance as well as practical tips on reading policies and shopping for coverage. As you organize your relocation to the Las Vegas area, it’s also a good idea to review your family’s insurance needs. For your home, you’re probably planning to purchase new furnishings, appliances and other equipment that should be noted in your updated home inventory. If you’ll be commuting to and from the office each day, you’ll need to know how many miles you’ll be driving. Keep handy copies of previous auto, home and health policies for easy reference when completing new insurance applications. It will save you time and aggravation.

The Nevada Division of Insurance protects the rights of Nevada consumers dealing with the insurance industry, and it ensures the financial solvency of insurers. To fulfill its mission, the division advances a sound regulatory environment that is responsive to the insurance needs in Nevada. More information is available at www.doi.nv.gov. Following are some common and important types of insurance.

HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE
There are different packages of home insurance offered to protect your home and belongings. Each package protects against a specified number of perils, which are events that cause damage to property. Three examples of named perils are fire, windstorm and theft. In addition to coverage for named perils, each package policy usually contains four additional types of coverage: property damage, additional living expenses, personal liability and medical payments. Home insurance policies apply to most owner-occupied single-family homes and are modified slightly for apartments and condominiums.

The five homeowners package forms for single-family owner-occupied homes are Basic Form HO-1, Broad Form HO-2, Special Form HO-3, Comprehensive Form HO-3 with HO-15 and Modified Coverage Form HO-8. These policy forms insure your home and belongings against at least 10 named perils. Note that the more perils your policy covers, the more you will pay for the policy.

Basic Form HO-1 insures your property against the 10 basic perils: fire or lightning, windstorm or hail, explosion, riot or civil commotion, aircraft, vehicles, smoke, vandalism or malicious mischief, theft and breakage of glass.
Broad Form HO-2 covers the 10 perils in HO-1, plus building collapse; freezing or discharge of water from internal plumbing, systems or appliances; falling objects; snow, ice or sleet; rupture of steam or hot water systems; and damage from electrical appliances or wiring.
Special Form HO-3, the most popular of all homeowners forms, offers a broad range of coverage. This form provides comprehensive coverage on your home and broad-named peril coverage on its contents.
Comprehensive Form HO-3 with HO-15 covers your home and personal property for everything that is not specifically excluded. This policy generally provides the broadest coverage available, but is not offered by all companies. It usually costs more.
Modified Coverage Form HO-8 is designed to provide package coverage to the owner occupants of homes that do not meet all the requirements applicable to other homeowners forms. HO-8 provides building and personal property coverage that is slightly more restrictive than that of other homeowners forms for owner occupants that include a replacement-cost clause. HO-8 is particularly well suited for residences that have suffered extensive depreciation.

Your home may not qualify for one of the five homeowners package policies; therefore, a company may offer you limited coverage on your house. This coverage may be fire and extended coverage. Your home and only your home would be covered for damage due to very specific perils or losses.

KEEP IN MIND

For more complete coverage, you will pay less out of your own pocket if disaster strikes. You also will need enough liability coverage to protect yourself from lawsuits resulting from your negligence.
Your mortgage lender may require you to cover the house for at least the amount of the mortgage. This may be either too little or too much coverage for your individual circumstances. You are not required to purchase insurance from the insurer recommended by your lender.
Insurers may impose coverage requirements for replacement-cost protection.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT YOUR PREMIUM

Type of Construction: Frame houses usually cost more to insure than brick.
Age of House: New homes may qualify for discounts in some states. Some insurance companies either may not insure very old homes or offer a limited form of coverage.
Local Fire Protection: Your home’s distance from a fire hydrant and the quality of your local fire division determine your fire protection class.
Amount of Coverage: The amount of coverage you buy for your house, contents and personal liability will affect the price you pay.
Deductible Amount: Your choice of a higher deductible will reduce the price for home insurance.
Discounts: In some states, insurers offer lower prices for certain things, such as insuring your home and car with the same company and installing deadbolt locks or alarm systems.

— Basic Coverages Available
Property damage coverage helps pay for damage to your home and personal property. Other structures, such as tool sheds, detached garages, houses and their contents also are covered. Check with your agent or your insurance company to determine whether the amount of coverage on other structures is sufficient.