If you are looking for additional insurance coverage to complement your university’s all-risk property insurance, then floater insurance might be the right option for you. This insurance program provides replacement cost coverage for department property that is highly susceptible to theft and/or damage.
There is no deductible for losses under the floater insurance program, and losses are paid based on the full repair or replacement cost of the item. In this article, you will learn all that you need to know about this insurance.
What is Floater Insurance?
Floater insurance is a type of insurance policy that covers easily movable personal property and offers extra coverage that regular insurance policies do not provide. It can cover an extensive range of items, from jewelry and furs to expensive stereo equipment.
How Does It Work?
In a lot of cases, homeowners insurance may not cover some items completely. Adding a floater policy makes sure that the homeowner will get the full value of the item in the event of theft, loss, or damage. It’s important to know that these policies naturally cover one individual item, so if you have several items you want to be completely covered, you will need to get a floater for each one.
Standard homeowner’s insurance policies include coverage for all perils within your policy (like fire, windstorm, theft, and vandalism) for jewelry and other valuable items, including watches and furs. However, there are bounds to coverage for certain valuables.
What Does Floater Insurance Cover?
Floater policies cover losses of any type, including those that your homeowner’s insurance policy may not cover, such as accidental losses.
- Fine Art.
- Cameras.
- Musical Instruments.
- Collections.
- Firearms.
- Postage Stamps.
- Sporting Equipment.
If you own valuable items like fine art, cameras, musical instruments, collections, firearms, postage stamps, and/or sporting equipment, you can buy a floater policy to offer the broadest protection for your valuables.
How to Increase Insurance Coverage
If you own jewelry, furs, collectibles, or other expensive or irreplaceable items, there are two ways to increase your insurance coverage to levels more in line with the value of those items.
Floater Policy
Floater policy involves buying and scheduling your valuables. However, before you buy a floater policy, you need to get your items appraised by a professional. It’s vital to review your floater policies every two to three years to make sure that your valuations are existing and to add new purchases, especially those you may get as gifts.
Raise Liability Limits
Otherwise, you can opt for an endorsement of your homeowner’s insurance policy, which is less expensive than buying a separate floater policy but provides limited coverage for both individual items and overall losses. For instance, the coverage limits for an individual item can be about $2,000, with a total limit of about $5,000.
Cost of Coverage
You need to know that there is a premium charge of 50 cents per $100 value, based on the item’s buying price, for each item protected under the floater. The department will get a charge for this premium through a journal entry at the end of each fiscal year. You need to know that premiums are subject to change, and you will get a notification of changes in the cost of coverage in the Alert segment of the Floater Insurance website.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Difference Between a Floater and a Non-Floater Policy?
Floater policies provide coverage for the entire family under a single sum insured. On the other hand, non-floater policies offer coverage to each individual separately. With a floater policy, all the family members can share the sum insured, while in a non-floater policy, each member has their sum insured.
What Does a Floater Policy Cover?
A floater insurance policy is a type of insurance policy that offers coverage for personal property that is easily movable and provides additional coverage beyond what regular insurance policies offer. It is also referred to as a “personal property floater” and can cover anything from jewelry and furs to expensive stereo equipment.
Conclusion
Unlike the automatic coverage offered by the university’s blanket property insurance, coverage under floater insurance is only effective after a department creates an access request by adding the items they would like to insure.