Changes Coming To Your Next NC Homeowners Insurance Policy Renewal

Effective April 1, 2014, every homeowners insurance policy in NC is changing as it renews.  No, this isn’t an April Fools joke, but for a few unwary homeowners, this will be no joking matter.  And while most of these changes are minor, there is at least one big reduction in coverage that could affect many people.  Here’s a summary of the changes to this form but as always, my advice is that everyone read their policy carefully and consult with their agent for any questions they may have.   

·         A sublimit of 10% of your personal property coverage amount will now apply to any personal property located in a storage facility.  This is the most significant change and could catch some homeowners by surprise should they have valuable items stored in a storage unit.  If you have personal property stored in off premises storage units, then you should contact your insurance agent before your next renewal and make arrangements to protect that property.

·         The new NC homeowners form has a new sublimit of $250 that applies to antennas, tapes, wires, records, disks, and other media in or upon a motor vehicle.  For those of you with valuable CD collections traveling around in your car with you each day, just know that you are now going to be unprotected.  Might I suggest you convert them to mp3 files and put them on a jump drive or perhaps subscribe to a streaming service? 

·         For business personal property located away from your residence premises the sublimit  is increasing from $500 to $1500.

·         The theft peril as regards Personal Property located in student housing  is being modified to allow coverage to apply as long as the student has been there in the past 90 days instead of the previous 60 days.

·         The incidental low power recreational vehicle liability coverage has been modified to expressly exclude motorized scooters used off of your residence premises.  If you are one of the many intrepid souls saving gas by driving your scooter to work take note; you will now need to purchase liability coverage for your scooters.

At Clinard Insurance Group, we want every insurance buyer to be an informed consumer.   We insure thousands of families all across North Carolina, helping them with their homeowners insurance, auto insurance as well as business insurance and life insurance.   If you would like help with any of your insurance needs, please give us a call at 877-687-7557.