l did some research on home owners insurance, what is covered, what is not covered. l also figured what was the dollar amount for the total square footage replacement value and that is 750 dollars. Most policies said not to include the value of the property.So , l didn't. The 750 dollar amountdoes not include any jewelry, yet they say that medical liability coverage should only be 3000 to 5000 thousand. Why is that ? Since medical bills or expenses incurred from someone getting hurt on your property could easily exceed these amounts ? Could the liability amount on the policy be more if l want more coverage for someone maybe getting hurt on my property ?
mbrcatz, 750 is dollars per square foot to replace the dwelling and contents.

Homeowners insurance contains many different ''types'' of coverage. l will try to explain the major ones:

Within a homeowners policy, u will have one limit for ''liability'' coverage. Liability insurance is insurance to protect u against a suit or claim that can be made against u by someone else. In some states ur homeowners insurance will protect u against claims that do not just arise out of home ownership, i.e. claims for libel, slander, defamation, etc. If u want a lot of ''liability'' coverage, consider buying an umbrella (on top of ur homeowners insurance). A million dollar umbrella will often cost just a couple of hundred bucks & is a cheap way to get that coverage.

Another kind of coverage in a homeowners policy is ''medical expense'' coverage. This would cover the medical expenses of people who r hurt in ur home without regard to fault (i.e. if ur mother fell on ur stairs & broke her leg, someone gotten bitten by a dog). If their bills r really high, they will be covered by their health insurance and/or if they sue u by ur liability insurance.

Another section of it will cover the cost of rebuilding ur property if there is a fire, flood, hurricane, etc. - it costs a lot less than $750 a square foot to rebuild unless u live in a mansion. There r often deductibles.

Another section or type of coverage is for contents - ur furniture, jewelry, artwork, etc. Normally there is a limit on how much u can claim for esp. valuable property - i.e. cash, jewelry, etc. - unless u purchase extra coverage for those items, i.e. a wedding ring.

Other coverages r flood, sinkhole, & loss of use. The last one pays for u to have a place to live while ur place is being fixed after a loss or damage, such as after a hurricane or fire damages ur place so that u can not live there for a while. Hope that helps.

Homeowners policies have 2 types of medical coverages.

Medical Payments & Liability.

Medical Payments is usually no more than 5000. It pays for medical bills (for non-residents of the household) that r injured on the property. This coverage pays regardless of fault. It does not pay for pain/suffering or lost wages. It is sort of a make nice coverage. For example, l am helping u build a playhouse for ur child. l miss the nail & hammer my thumb instead breaking it & requiring a trip to the ER or l trip over my own feet walking down ur steps (that have nothing wrong with them).

Liability coverage is usually seen in amounts of 100,000 or 300,000. This pays for bodily injury/property damage that happens as a result of ur negligence. This coverage will consider pain/suffering & lost wages. For example, ur dog bites me or l trip on ur loose step & fall injuring myself.

As far as the jewelry goes -- if u have valuable pieces u will want to speak to ur agent about scheduling the jewelry onto ur policy. This is done with a ''floater'' or an Inland Marine policy. The homeowners policy does provide limited coverage for jewelry, but if u have really nice pieces - its a good idea to endorse them onto ur policy.

As far as land goes -- the homeowners policy does not provide coverage for land. It is specifically excluded. So there is no reason to include the value of ur lot in the coverage amount.

How much insurance to get?

Coverage A is the amount of $ to rebuild ur home. This coverage pays for the residential structure itself. You want ur coverage A limit to be enough to rebuild ur house exactly as it is - with the same siding & finishes. You want the cost for a General Contractor to come in & completely rebuild. You can also purchase an endorsement that will automatically increase this coverage limit each year. This is a good thing to have as the cost of building materials increases each year. A house that cost 95,000 to build 5 years ago may cost 100,000+ to build now.

The other coverage limits (B,C,D) r a % of the Coverage A limit.

Coverage B- is for other structures on the property. This includes swimming pools, outbuildings, fences.

Coverage C - is for contents. Your personal property. A rule of thumb- if u would take it with u in a move -- it is contents. So ur clothing, this swing set in the yard, the lawn mower, the dishes etc.

Coverage D - Loss of Use. Should u suffer a loss & ur home be damaged to the point that u can not live in it- Coverage D kicks in to help out with ur increased expenses. For example- u have a grease fire & have to rent an apartment for a month while ur home is rebuilt. You continue to pay ur mortgage but now have the 1 month apartment rent. The rent is an increased expense. Coverage D would pay for this.

Coverage E- Liability coverage (discussed above)

Coverage F- Medical Payments coverage.

This is pretty general information & can be affected by the type of policy u purchased. Your agent can give u specific information about ur policy.

OK, u mean, do not include the value of the LAND. Which is fine, as it wo not burn down.

The homeowners rate is based on the DWELLING, which is what l assume u mean when u say $750. Although that can not be the real number - u can not build a house for $750. Heck, u can not build a shed for that.

Medical is NOT liability - it is ''medical payments to others & it is a NO FAULT coverage. If someone is injuries r over that, & they SUE you, proving that u r NEGLIGENT, then ur ''personal liability'' limit kicks in. That is the big number. So, there r TWO parts to liability section - the ''medical payments'' which can be as low as $250, & the ''personal liability'' which is the big number - it starts at $50,000 & only goes up from there.

And u REALLY need to be discussing this with ur agent. Trying to buy direct, is probably going to end up backfiring on u at claim time, as u wo not know which endorsements to add to ur policy to best suit ur risk factors.

First off contents have nothing to do with the per square foot cost to build a home. What is put inside a house has next to nothing to do with how one constructs a home, unless u r building a wing of ur home to house a 100 year old Steinway grand piano & u want perfect acoustics, even then u would not include the cost of the Steinway in the cost to rebuild the wing. The average person is constantly adding, removing & replacing contents in their home, however this does not change the square footage, the quality or quantity of building materials used to construct the actual home. Placing a 60'' plasma TV in a house does not change the fact that the walls r made of cheap drywall & silly string is being used as wiring.
As for the liability limit you'd be amazed how even a minor injury can turn into a long saga of rehabilitation, lost wages, pain & suffering, medical bills, loss of future earnings, etc. Keep in mind this limit also includes the cost to defend u if the case is brought to court.