Home Insurance in the Mountains
You’ve heard the rumors. And unfortunately they are true. Getting your home insured in the mountains, a place where wild fires are a high risk, can be difficult. But not impossible! As insurance is required in home-ownership, it’s essential. Follow these steps to ensure your house is property insured.
When buying a home or moving
When moving to, or within, the mountains, start with your current home insurance agent to determine if the house you are wanting to buy is insurable.
Connect with the seller’s agent to determine what insurance is currently insuring the home.
Connect with the local fire department to see if you can obtain a free home wildfire risk assessment by entering your address and contacting your local fire authorities. They will provide a report that may be helpful to provide to your home insurance provider.
Based on your assessment, or the priorities of your insurance provider, you may need to do fire mitigation on your property either on your own (with guidance from local fire authorities or your insurance company) or by hiring a fire mitigation company such as Clear Creek Fire Mitigation.
Insurance for your home should be tailored to your specific property and area: location, elevation, population density, proximity to water, surrounding traffic, flood risk, etc.
Basic plans often don’t account for wildfires, risk of snow, ice and sleet, and risk of landslides, so ask your agent to ensure you are getting the right coverage.
If your property struggles to be insured by standard providers (StateFarm and the like) your agent or broker can go through “secondary markets” to find insurance companies that may insure high-risk homes or areas. This is what I had to do at first in order to get insurance. It is often “bare-bones” coverage until you can find a better solution long-term.
Insurance Broker
If you are struggling to find insurance on a property in the mountains, I recommend contacting an insurance broker who can shop your home around to various providers. Here is someone I use and trust:
Legacy Insurance Partners
Kristen Delacerda
720-295-3884
KDelacerda@InsuredByLIP.com
TheLegacyInsurancePartners.com
Roofing
If needing help with evaluating, fixing or replacing a roof, I recommend:
BONHARDT Roof & Trade Co
Andrew LaBonte, owner
www.bonhardtroofs.com
C: (804) 814-5167
O: (720) 419-4369
