What You Should Know about Insuring a Luxury Home
In the current marketplace, the houses selling the fastest in 2021 are luxury homes. According to real estate website Zillow, luxury home sales rose by 41 percent in the first quarter of 2021. Meanwhile, mid prized house sales rose 5.9 percent. Affordable house sales rose 7 percent.
Larger homes that can accommodate extended family and provide space for working from home have proved themselves to be a good investment during the pandemic. The low interest rates on mortgages have made real estate purchases more affordable for everyone.
Homeowner’s Insurance Provides Important Protection
Homeowner’s insurance covers all kinds of things from covering the cost of rebuilding and repairs in the event of a fire to providing liability coverage in the event someone is injured tripping on your stairs. If you decide to buy a new home and you are coming up with a budget of what you can afford, you’ll want to make certain to put insurance into your calculations.
Higher value homes need more insurance because they are more expensive to replace and often have accessory buildings and recreational areas where accidents can happen—such as a swimming pool or a shooting range.
The Cost of Insuring a Luxury Home
At the Crilly Insurance Agency we offer homeowner’s coverage for homes, both large and small, from a number of different carriers. If you are trying to save money, you’ll want to get multiple insurance quotes with various size deductibles to make certain your insurance coverage is competitive. For luxury homes, we have some very attractive products that provide excellent coverage at a substantial savings.
But first, it is important to understand what is the definition of a luxury home in today’s marketplace. A home can be large and comfortable for your needs; but it may not be a luxury home. Here is a helpful list of features that can help define a home as being a luxury home in today’s marketplace.
LOCATION
Where a house is located can make a big difference in value. Water access, water view, a scenic view or a prestigious neighborhood that is composed of larger lots and expensive homes; all increase the worth of a piece of property. But also important is the property’s location in relationship to the larger geography of the region. You’ve heard the term, Location location, location. The term refers to convenient access to everything from an international airport or major city, to desirable areas for shopping and recreation such as a golf course or theater district.
GREATER SQUARE FOOTAGE
A luxury home is generally a larger home. Although a luxury city dwelling for two is going to be physically smaller than a country estate for a family of eight, a luxury home is generous in size. A larger size will mean more amenities such as bathrooms and the bathrooms themselves will have multiple sinks, tubs and showers. Storage space and rooms to accommodate guests are features of a house with a larger footprint.
PREMIUM MATERIALS
A luxury house chooses its materials for comfort, durability and appearance rather than on the basis of suitability and price; thus materials such as marble, granite, exotic woods, custom-made tile, stone, and brick are prevalent in luxury building.
UNIQUE DESIGN
A luxury home will seek to be unique in design. While the exterior architecture of the structure in itself may not be remarkably different, it might have other design features such as a geothermal heating system, engineered floating staircase, or a wall of glass with built in blinds that close by motor when privacy is desired.
SPECIAL AMENITIES
As a showplace, a luxury home often has special amenities for entertaining and recreation. These amenities might include: a wine cellar, a private home entertainment theater, yoga studio, a swimming pool, a sauna, a tennis court, or a shooting range.
PRESTIGE
Provenance add value. Maybe the house was designed by a renowned architect or owned by someone famous. If a house has a story that goes with it, it gives the property history and thereby increases the property’s value.
HIGHER PRICE
The six aforementioned items: location, square footage, premium materials, unique design, special amenities, and prestige all combine to increase the value of a home—making it a luxury home.
When you have questions about insurance, it is a good idea to talk directly to an insurance agent. At the Crilly Insurance Agency we seek to provide good reference information about insurance on our website, Crillyinsurance.com. and you can contact individual agents by email, but we are also available to speak by phone at 410-571-1771 or in person. Contact us to set up an appointment to review your coverage. Insurance, particularly homeowner’s insurance has many components including: property coverage, liability coverage, and temporary housing coverage in the event of a catastrophic loss. Make certain, whether you own a luxury home or a mid-size home that suits you and your family— everything is protected.
