You can purchase personal property floaters as supplements to your homeowners policy. Similar to endorsements, they can provide you with added coverage for your personal property . As a general category, personal property floaters, or Inland Marine forms, refer to supplements that can add these types of expanded personal property coverage. There are three specific floaters that offer the following types of expanded personal property coverage:
- Open perils, or all risk, coverage (personal property floaters)
- Worldwide coverage for your personal property (personal effects floaters)
- Higher coverage limits for particular categories of personal property (personal articles floaters)
The Personal Property Floater
Used in reference to one of the three specific types of floaters, the personal property floater expands your coverage from named perils , or specified perils, coverage to open perils, or all risk, coverage. Open perils coverage protects your property from all types of losses that aren’t specifically excluded in your policy.
The Personal Effects Floater
The personal effects floater offers coverage for your personal property worldwide. With this floater, your personal property is insured, regardless of location. If you travel or have children away at boarding school or college, you likely want your homeowners policy to protect you and your family from theft, fire, or other perils that might affect your personal property at locations outside of your home. Personal effects floaters offer you this extra protection. Without them, your homeowners policy generally covers your personal property only at home.
If you are especially concerned about coverage of property you carry with you as a tourist or traveler, you should obtain a personal effects floater. This type of floater covers the types of property you carry while traveling, such as luggage, cameras, and laptop computers. If you travel regularly, you might consider purchasing this coverage on a permanent basis. Otherwise, you have the option of purchasing it on a short-term basis to cover a specific trip.
The Personal Articles Floater
The personal articles floater expands the coverage limits for nine particular categories of personal property:
- Jewelry
- Furs
- Cameras
- Musical instruments
- Silverware
- Golf equipment
- Fine arts
- Stamps
- Coins
If you find that you need higher coverage levels for these categories, this floater can be very useful. Note, though, that these higher coverage levels still have limits.
Strengths
To summarize, personal property floaters offer you the following benefits:
- Coverage for your personal property outside of your home as it travels with you and your family
- All risk coverage, not just named perils coverage
- The possibility of increasing coverage limits for various categories of personal property
Tradeoffs
The only noteworthy tradeoff is that the purchase of a personal property floater will increase your homeowners insurance premium.
If you have questions, contact the experts at Henssler Financial:
- Experts Request Form
- Email: experts@henssler.com
- Phone: 770-429-9166
Disclosures: The following information is reprinted with permission from Forefield, a division of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. This article is meant to provide valuable background information on particular investments, NOT a recommendation to buy. The investments referenced within this article may currently be traded by Henssler Financial. All material presented is compiled from sources believed to be reliable and current, but accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The contents are intended for general information purposes only. Information provided should not be the sole basis in making any decisions and is not intended to replace the advice of a qualified professional, such as a tax consultant, insurance adviser or attorney. Although this material is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with respect to the subject matter, it may not apply in all situations. Readers are urged to consult with their adviser concerning specific situations and questions. This is not to be construed as an offer to buy or sell any financial instruments. It is not our intention to state, indicate or imply in any manner that current or past results are indicative of future profitability or expectations. As with all investments, there are associated inherent risks. Please obtain and review all financial material carefully before investing. Henssler is not licensed to offer or sell insurance products, and this overview is not to be construed as an offer to purchase any insurance products.
