Home Insurance

Estimate how much it would cost to rebuild your house completely. At MetLife Auto & Home^®, we use sophisticated national construction cost data to calculate your home's replacement cost. Call us at
1-866-482-5546 for a free, no-obligation home insurance quote and we'll help you do the calculations so you choose the right amount of protection.

Probably not. Your mortgage probably reflects most of the price you paid for your property, including both the cost of your house and the value of your land. Home insurance covers your house and additional structures, not the land.*

*See policy for restrictions.

It's the amount of the loss for which you are financially responsible. Your home insurance will only pay for the amount of your loss minus the deductible. The higher your deductible, the lower your premium because you're taking on more shared responsibility for any possible loss.Some coverages have no deductible. See policy for terms, conditions, and restrictions.

Definitely. In fact, most companies require you to notify them within 90 days of the start of any additions or other physical changes if these increase the replacement value of your residence by whichever is greater: $5,000 or 10% of your Coverage A limit (check your policy).

Basic homeowners insurance policies don't cover damage resulting from earthquakes. If you are concerned about your house being damaged by an earthquake, call MetLife Auto & Home for more information.

Most standard home insurance policies exclude water damage caused by floods. If you think flooding is a possibility in your area, consider purchasing a separate flood insurance policy from MetLife Auto & Home as part of the National Flood Insurance Program, which is administered by the federal government. For more information, and to get a flood insurance quote, go to www.metlifeflood.com.

For certain homeowners, flood insurance is required. For example, if you have a federally-backed mortgage on a home in a high risk flood zone, federal law requires you to purchase flood insurance. Also, if you’ve received a federal grant for previous flood losses, you must have a flood insurance policy to qualify for future aid. Flood insurance may also be required by your mortgage company, if your property is in a flood zone.

Yes*. Most home insurance policies protect you in case a person is injured while at your house or if someone else's property is damaged by you. Coverage includes*:

• Personal Liability. Protects you and relatives who are part of your household from legal liability for injuries to other people either on or off your property, or for damage you cause to anyone else's property. MetLife Auto & Home^®'s policies also cover defense costs if lawsuits are brought against you.

• Medical Payments to Others. If you injure someone who's not in your household, or if a person gets hurt on your property, this coverage typically pays reasonable medical expenses, regardless of fault, up to the limit purchased for each injured person.

• Damage to Property of Others. MetLife Auto & Home pays up to $500 for damage to property of others.

See policy for restrictions.

Yes, up to your specified policy limits. See policy for restrictions.

Basic homeowners insurance policies protect your assets under the liability limits on your policy. If you have significant assets, you should consider a Personal Excess Liability policy.

Personal property coverage reimburses you for losses of the things you own that are not considered a permanent part of your home’s structure—things like furniture, clothes, bikes, and television sets. In insurance lingo, they're also referred to as your home's "contents" and are referenced in your policy under "Coverage C — Personal Property."

Yes, but how much you recover depends on how much it's worth and whether you purchased additional coverage. It also depends on the cause of loss. All basic homeowners, condo, and renter’s insurance policies have limits and restrictions on certain types of personal property, including:

• Jewelry
• Furs
• Fine art
• Collections, such as rare coins
• Money
• Securities

See policy for restrictions.

The good news is that it's easy to increase the coverage limit for such items under your homeowners insurance coverage by adding a Scheduled Personal Property (SSP) endorsement to your home, condo, or renters insurance policy. Check your policy or contact a MetLife Auto & Home representative for limits.

Certain valuable items, such as antiques and fine art, may have limited coverage under basic home insurance policies. To insure them more broadly, you should add a Scheduled Personal Property (SPP) endorsement to your home, condo, or renter’s insurance policy.

You would be asked to provide a list of all items that were destroyed or damaged. MetLife Auto & Home recommends that you take the time now to make a room-by-room list of everything you own, including when you bought the items and how much they cost. If you prefer, you can go high-tech and videotape the contents in your home. We also suggest keeping receipts or credit card statements for higher value items, such as furniture, appliances, rugs, and expensive clothing.

Download a Personal Property Inventory.

In most cases, no. Clothing is covered under your personal property. The limit for your personal property—which includes all your furniture, TV, stereo equipment, linens, and clothing—is listed on your policy under Coverage C. If you're concerned that your Coverage C personal property limit is not enough, you should calculate the value of what you own. If you determine that the value of your personal property exceeds your Coverage C limit, you should increase your limit. In the event of a covered loss, you will receive the actual cash value of your damaged personal property*. This may not be enough to replace the property. To ensure that you can replace any damaged property, consider purchasing the replacement cost settlement option for your personal property. The replacement cost settlement method provides the opportunity to recover the depreciation of your personal property following the purchase of the new items.

Yes*. So you can rest assured that when you're globetrotting, the items in your suitcase are protected from theft and loss. We also provide complimentary Identity Protection Services to keep your greatest asset, your identity, safe; not available in NC, nor to NH auto customers, nor with all policy forms.

If you choose our replacement cost option,¹ we will pay you the dollar amount it costs to replace your possessions today, without any deduction for depreciation. Actual cash value, by contrast, deducts for depreciation. Depreciation is the decrease in value of an object due to the wear-and-tear that comes with age. The policy requires you to replace the item with a like-kind quality item to recover the depreciation associated with your property.

Your insurance company may or may not provide adequate coverage for your computer and related equipment. MetLife Auto & Home's standard homeowners insurance policy provides up to $5,000 coverage for computers, plus any peripherals and software, up to their retail value. See policy for restrictions. However, you may have much more than $5,000 worth of equipment. With our Home Computer Endorsement, you can purchase limits up to $15,000, and the deductible is only $50. (not available in all states.)

Yes. Memorabilia and collectibles are covered subject to a limit, which is listed on your policy. See policy for restrictions. You can purchase higher limits by adding a Scheduled Personal Property (SPP) endorsement to your home, condo, or renter's policy.

Yes, MetLife Auto & Home's home insurance policy contains coverage for personal property, which would include your tools. Certain limits may apply, if the tools are stolen or used at your job. See policy for restrictions.

Your home insurance policy is intended to cover your house, personal property, and personal liability. It provides a very small amount of coverage for home-based businesses. See policy for restrictions. We recommend contracting your agent or MetLife Auto & Home to secure coverage for business items or inventory.

Your home insurance policy covers your possessions when they are temporarily away from home. This means your skis and other personal items are covered under your home insurance policy. See policy for restrictions.

Contact your agent or call MetLife Auto & Home's claim service team:

• By phone: 1-800-854-6011
• By fax: 1-866-743-1546

Please be proactive. Protect yourself and your property from further damage by following some simple tips:

• Complete temporary repairs to your property immediately—for example, patching walls or roofs, or covering shattered windows with plywood and/or heavy-duty plastic
• Save receipts and invoices associated with any emergency repairs to give to your claim adjuster
• File a report with the police department and keep a copy for your adjuster if you’ve been robbed, making sure to include a detailed list of the items damaged or stolen
• Make a room-by-room, written assessment of all damaged property, including descriptions, original costs, and approximate ages of all items

Once you've reported your claim to us, we will have a claim specialist contact you within 24 hours. The claim specialist will review your damages, help organize temporary repairs, or emergency services, if needed, and establish a date for inspecting the damages.

You’ll receive a settlement check from MetLife Auto & Home, as soon as we've confirmed coverage and completed an investigation and comprehensive damage estimate. We will make every effort to issue payment on the claim as quickly as possible. If necessary, you will receive other authorized supplemental checks once proper reinspections are performed or when your claim adjuster prepares a supplemental estimate.

We may be required by state laws and policy language to include any mortgagees/ lien holders on your settlement check(s). If a mortgagee/lien holder’s name appears on your settlement check(s), the mortgagee/lien holder must sign off on the check before it can be cashed. You should contact your mortgagee/lien holder directly to determine the process for co-signing/cashing settlement checks.

In the event of a covered loss, we first pay you the Actual Cash Value (ACV) for the damage to your property. When you replace the item or complete the specified repairs, we pay you the difference between the replacement cost and the actual cash value amount previously paid. The total amount you will be reimbursed is subject to the terms and conditions of your particular policy, including deductible and limits.

MetLife Auto & Home will give you a complete damage estimate after a loss. This estimate will show the total dollar amount of your covered loss, less your deductible and depreciation (if applicable), and the net amount we will pay toward the loss.

MetLife Auto & Home has arranged with Crawford Contractor Connection network to provide construction repairs following a property loss. Your claim service associate would be glad to assist you in verifying that this service is available in your area, as well as scheduling an inspection of your property. This network of professional contractors provides:

• Over 2,200 certified General/Specialty contractors nationally
• Two-year warranty on materials and labor provided
• Continuous contractor credentialing process
• Financial stability of the firm
• Proper licensing
• Worker's comp. insurance protection for the contractors
• Strict performance standards that are monitored and measured

Even if you’ve never had a claim, your insurance costs can still rise over time, although it's likely that they're rising slower than for those who submit claims. That's because premiums are based on a number of factors in addition to loss history, including:

• Your home's age and type of construction
• How much it will cost to rebuild your home from scratch (both the cost of materials and regional labor costs are taken into consideration)
• The risks of loss associated with where you live. Is there a high risk of wildfires? Hurricanes? Is it a high crime area? Insurance companies monitor weather patterns, how quickly a fire department can get to a home, how close the nearest hydrant is to a property, as well as loss statistics in your area, among other factors which bear on past and prospective loss experience and expenses.
• Fraud. Sadly, increased lawsuits and fraud contribute to rising insurance costs

You may qualify for premium discounts by taking the following preventive measures:

• Installing fire prevention systems, such as automatic sprinkler systems, smoke detectors, and fire extinguishers
• Installing theft prevention systems, such as central burglar/fire alarms and deadbolt locks

Discounts are available in most states to those who qualify.

Consider purchasing a home policy with an auto policy from MetLife Auto & Home—it could save you up to 10%²

Consider choosing a higher deductible. The higher your deductible, the lower your premium. But always make sure that, you will be financially prepared to pay the deductible, if you have a loss.