Make Sure Your Belongings Are Insured When Traveling
Posted on: 6 May 2016
Home insurance insures your home, but it also protects more than that. Most home insurance policies also include personal property coverage. Personal property coverage is designed to insure your personal property, that is your belongings and possessions, against any covered perils, which may include theft, fire or other risks. If you travel, it's this insurance coverage that will protect your belongings that you take with you -- if you have the right type of coverage. If you ever travel out of town, here's how to find a home insurance policy that will insure the belongings you bring with you.
Look for "Worldwide Coverage" or "Off-Premises Coverage"
As with any insurance coverage, your home insurance's personal property coverage will be governed by your policy's terms and conditions. Some policies restrict coverage only to possessions inside your home or on your property, while other policies extend protection beyond your property's borders. If you travel and want the belongings you take with you insured, you'll want the latter form of coverage -- the one that extends protection outside of your home.
In insurance parlance, the type of personal property coverage that insures belongings when they aren't on your property is called either "worldwide coverage" or "off-premises coverage." There's a subtle difference between the two. Worldwide coverage generally insures belongings anywhere they are in the world, although this coverage may have a few limits or exclusions. Off-premises coverage extends coverage beyond your property's borders, but it may not offer coverage everywhere in the world.
You'll find these terms in the personal property coverage section of home insurance policies that include the coverage. Any policy that includes either worldwide coverage or off-premises coverage may meet your needs, depending on where you travel.
Check for Exclusions and Limitations
Regardless of whether you find a home insurance policy with worldwide coverage or off-premises coverage, you should read through the coverage's fine print carefully. Almost every insurance policy has some exclusions and limitations, and you'll want to make sure the policy you're looking at doesn't have any that would impact your coverage. Specifically, you should make sure the policy doesn't:
- limit coverage of specific items that you bring with you while traveling (e.g. fine jewelry)
- exclude coverage where you're traveling (e.g. if you travel to a war zone)
- have different deductibles for claims from off-premise theft or loss
Once you find a home insurance policy that has either worldwide coverage or off-premises coverage, and that doesn't have any exclusions or limits that would impact you, sign up for the policy. Your belongings will be insured when you're at home and when you're traveling. Contact a company like Callis & Associates for more information.
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