Home owner insurance is a policy covering your home (the structure) and its contents (personal belongings). It can save you from severe financial loss if your home is damaged or destroyed. It covers your family's possessions and can provide you with compensation for liability claims, medical expenses, and other amounts that result from property damage and personal injury suffered by others.

Home owner insurance usually boils down to two crucial concerns - protection and price. The proper home insurance coverage consists of buying the right type of policy, having the proper levels of protection within that policy - including special provisions for jewelry, your computer stuff, and other particularly valuable possessions - and supplementing this coverage with special protection against natural disasters that are not covered in your basic policy.

Homeowners with mortgages are required by their lenders to have home insurance. Many people may think that the policy terms required by their lenders represent suitable levels of insurance, but this may not be true. Lenders want to make sure their exposure is covered, but that can happen without your being fully protected. Thus, it's important that you calculate your needs as well and make sure they are reflected in your coverage.

A homeowners insurance policy can protect you against the following scenarios:

• A tornado shattering your home's windows and storm doors
• A burglar breaking into your home to steal the figurine you inherited from your great aunt
• Your dog biting the neighborhood kid
• Physical therapy costs for a guest injured by a fall in your home
• A successful personal injury lawsuit brought by a neighbor the last time you practiced your chip shot in the backyard
• Damage from a vehicle crashing into your house

For more information about home owner insurance please consult home owner insurance professionals. Our Q&A page contains many answers to frequently asked questions.