Neighbor News
Be Better! with Building Ordinance and Law (Got An Older Home?)
The building ordinance and law endorsement is often standard on most home insurance policies. The major issue is that its often not enough
Truth be told, as an Insurance professional, I rarely meet people that understand their insurance policy. After all they probably purchased it five years ago and never read it. And it is a contract. If there is one way to ensure people not read something - it is to simply call it a contract.
But that contract that covers your home from a wildfire (among other things) is actually really important. Many of the details can be the difference between you paying hundreds of thousands of dollars or your insurer paying it.
One of the details is an Endorsement by the name of the Building Ordinance and Law. Also called Ordinance and Law and other various versions of this, this important endorsement changes your typical HO3 policy. Nationwide states: "Ordinance or law insurance covers the cost to rebuild a home that has been destroyed, as well as the cost to upgrade a home so that it meets the most up-to-date building codes after a covered loss. "
Find out what's happening in Mill Valleyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
This is a very valuable coverage that you need on your policy. Basically the BOR endorsement extends the coverage, after a covered peril, to meet current building codes, with restrictions. If you have an older home, chances are your home is nowhere near up to code. If a small kitchen fire creates a payable claim and the inspector comes back and says you might need to replace all the plumbing in your house to copper, the insurance carrier might be forced to pay for this. Does this sound valuable now?
There are other reasons to purchase Ordinance and Law. According to Esurance, "In many places there are also laws that require buildings with at least 50 percent damage to be demolished and rebuilt to satisfy local building codes. Florida and South Carolina are prominent examples of states that have stringent regulations in place that significantly affect the rebuilding process of damaged homes." Wow, that is one potentially useful endorsement!
Find out what's happening in Mill Valleyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
So how do you get proper coverage with Building Ordinance and Law in Marin County? Simple you find an independent agent that shops your insurance policy around. Get out of the standard insurer and check out your options.
Scott W Johnson is the owner of an independent insurance agency: Marindependent Insurance Services LLC, based out of Mill Valley CA. CA Lic 0K10734.
