Buying the ideal lake house insurance to ensure that your waterfront investment is properly protected requires some research and information. Reading the “fine print” in your lake house insurance policy will answer many of your questions and help to relieve confusion in case of a catastrophe. Since a lake cabin is not a normal residential property, it requires a separate type of insurance besides the typical homeowner’s insurance. A lake house is more susceptible to damage because the owners are often gone for weeks or months at a time and unable to maintain it properly. Buying a good lake house insurance policy is an ideal way to keep peace of mind when you are away.

Many people who buy lake front for sale do so with the plan of renting it out during the times when they are not going to use it. As a result, water front real estate owners need a particular type of lake house insurance. Normally, you do not need a policy that covers the contents of the lake house unless you things within the property. The two main concerns for a decent lake house insurance policy deals with liability issues and protection against the loss of your rental income. This includes insuring the physical structure as well as any other structures on the property. If something catastrophic happens to your lake house as the result of a renter’s actions, you should have a lake house insurance policy in place for such an event. Your policy also needs have coverage in the event that a renter or visitor is hurt or injured on your lake front property.

Another common catastrophe that occurs with water front property is flood damage. Many policies include water damage coverage, but the specifics are often misunderstood. Typically, an insurance policy will cover water damage from wind-borne water. This refers to water that is blown into the home resulting from high winds, such as hurricanes. To cover actual flood damage, you will need a separate policy that covers this. These types of policies are generally offered through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and they cover damage caused by normal flooding catastrophes in which the water rises from the surface. When considering this as a separate lake house insurance policy, keep in mind that over a quarter of all reported flood claims were considered areas that had a very low risk of flooding.

Fires can also cause a great deal of damage to your water front real estate. When purchasing a lake house insurance policy, remember that typical insurance policies only pay for the damaged area after a fire. To ensure that you get the best lake house insurance policy in the event of a fire, find a policy that has law or ordinance coverage. This will pay for the damage and bring the damaged area up to current safety codes. Without this type of coverage, the repairs to the area might not pass inspection and you will need to pay the repairs to be brought up to code.

When you’re away from your lake front property for months at a time, your pipes may have a tendency to freeze. This can wreak havoc on your lake cabin especially if you do not notice this for a long time. Some lake house insurance policies have occupancy requirements in order to cover this occurrence, meaning that somebody must occupy the premises for a certain amount of time during the year in order to cover damage from freezing pipes. Your insurance adjustor will also take into the consideration the condition of your pipes to determine if you were negligent in maintaining proper standards to prevent them from freezing. Remember, it is your responsibility to maintain your water front real estate rather than depending on your lake house insurance to cover poorly maintained facilities.

Finally, know the difference between “actual cash value” and “replacement cost.” This can help prevent a disappointment following a catastrophe. Actual cash value means that the insurance company will reimburse you the cost of your property and contents, but it will take into consideration the amount of depreciation. Replacement cost, on the other hand, means that your lake house insurance company will reimburse you the amount of money it will take to go out and purchase the lost contents today without any deduction for depreciation. Read your policy carefully, though. Some consider the materials that are used to build a cabin as depreciable materials. If you have any questions, you agent can give you more detailed information about this concern.