What Instagram doesn’t tell you about when purchasing your first home.

Purchasing your first home is one of the most exciting, rewarding and stressful processes of your adult life. And Instagram is only showing you the cutesy stuff. 
We’ve all seen the “Just Got the Keys” posts on our feeds. It’s you all dressed up, keys in hand, with a perfectly landscaped yard in the background, dogs running in the background and an interior that replicates Joanna Gaines' Magnolia Homes line. Granted, we love seeing these snapshots of your forever home, but what happens before you actually get the keys? Homeowners insurance. It’s not nearly as cute, but quality homeowner’s coverage is essential. 
To start, it’s actually a necessity because home insurance is required by your mortgage lender. They are working alongside you to protect your investment so that for the life of your mortgage, you’re both protected. 
What we often see is that while mortgage lenders are great at helping you secure that mortgage for your dream home, it’s your insurance agent that is far better versed at helping you protect it. We want to do more than make sure your premium fits the needs of the loan because a low premium doesn’t mean much by way of actual protection if the proper coverage isn’t there. 
It is crucial to understand your needs when it comes to your homeowner’s policy before finalizing it for your lender. 
Those Instagram-worthy furniture hauls, exciting new electronics and shiny appliances? They’re part of your policy, too, under a line item called “Personal Property Coverage.” Shockingly enough, we’ve actually seen this excluded from a policy before, and the ramifications of removing any coverage from your policy are expensive. Do a thorough review of all the parts of your policy with your insurance agent to make sure your investment is protected, even considering things like antique silver from your grandmother and the beautiful wedding set that your husband just upgraded. 
No one posts about a guest tripping on the front steps or a dog bite incident at a birthday party, but these things do happen. Liability coverage is yet another line item that can protect you if someone is injured on your property.
Instagram captures the joy of homeownership (and we love to see it), but not the fine print. A strong homeowners insurance policy won’t get likes, but it will protect your dream home when it matters most.

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