What changes when the home, the collection, and the stakes are larger.

Replacement cost for custom-built homes

The most important number on a homeowners policy is the dwelling limit, and on custom and historic homes it is the number most often wrong. Market value, purchase price, and tax assessments say little about what it would cost to rebuild a home to the same standard after a total loss: the same millwork, stone, roofing, windows, and mechanical systems, rebuilt by craftsmen who may be in short supply after a regional storm.

Where standard policies fall short

• Dwelling limits estimated from square footage and generic construction tables, which can miss architectural detail and specialty materials.
• Ordinance or law coverage, which pays for upgrades required by current building code when a damaged home is rebuilt, is commonly limited to a percentage of the dwelling limit. Some states, Florida among them, require insurers to offer this coverage, but the amount selected matters a great deal for older homes and properties near the coast.
• Settlement terms that require rebuilding at the same location before full replacement cost is paid.

What we look for

• A professional replacement-cost appraisal, with the dwelling limit set from it and reviewed as construction costs change.
• Extended or guaranteed replacement cost provisions where available, which can pay beyond the stated limit if rebuilding costs prove higher than expected. Terms differ significantly between insurers.
• The option to take a cash settlement rather than rebuild, and the flexibility to rebuild elsewhere.
• Adequate ordinance or law, additional living expense, and debris removal limits for a home that may take well over a year to rebuild.

Collections and fine art

Under a standard homeowners policy, personal property is usually covered as a pool, with low special limits for the categories that matter most to collectors. In the widely used ISO homeowners form, for example, theft of jewelry, watches, and furs is limited to $1,500 in total, and theft of silverware to $2,500, unless those items are separately scheduled. Breakage of fragile objects is often not covered at all.

What a well-built collections program considers

• Agreed value. Items scheduled at a value set in advance, supported by appraisals, receipts, or dealer documentation, so a total loss is not reopened as a negotiation.
• Breadth of cover. Protection for breakage, mysterious disappearance, and loss in transit or on loan, where the policy allows.
• Newly acquired items. Automatic coverage for a period after a purchase at auction or from a dealer, until the item is added to the schedule.
• Pairs and sets. How a loss is valued when one of a pair, or a piece of a set, is lost or damaged.
• Storage and hurricane planning. Where works are kept during the season, whether a home has climate control and backup power, and what the insurer expects before a named storm.
• Wine, watches, and jewelry each raise their own questions about documentation, storage, and how values move over time.

We also encourage clients to keep appraisals current. Values for art, jewelry, and watches can change meaningfully over a few years, and an out-of-date schedule is one of the most common sources of underinsurance.

Umbrella liability

Personal umbrella insurance sits above the liability coverage on your home, automobile, and watercraft policies, and pays once those limits are exhausted. For families with significant assets, the right amount is rarely a round number chosen once and forgotten. It should reflect what you own, how you live, and the people and property you are responsible for.

What we review

• Whether every residence, vehicle, vessel, and household driver is listed and meets the umbrella’s required underlying limits, so there is no gap between the primary policy and the umbrella.
• Exposures that commonly expand liability: pools and docks, boats and personal watercraft, young or newly licensed drivers, household staff, hosting, and rental of a second home.
• Board service for nonprofit organizations, and whether directors and officers liability is included or needs to be arranged separately.
• Excess uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. Many drivers carry low liability limits, and in some states, Florida among them, bodily injury liability is not required in most cases, so protection for your own family if they are injured by an underinsured driver deserves careful attention. Some umbrella policies offer it; many do not by default.
• Personal injury coverage for claims such as defamation, and whether defense costs are paid in addition to the limit.

Read more in The Umbrella Policy Gap.

Household and domestic staff

Housekeepers, nannies, estate managers, private chefs, drivers, and caretakers make a large household work. Employing them also creates exposures that are easy to overlook until something happens.

Questions worth answering in advance

• Injury to staff. Workers’ compensation laws in many states, including Florida, generally exclude domestic workers in a private home from mandatory coverage, but that does not remove the risk of an injury claim. Voluntary workers’ compensation, or residence employee coverage under the homeowners policy, can provide a defined response; the right choice depends on the number of employees and how they are engaged.
• Employment practices. Allegations of wrongful termination, discrimination, or harassment by a household employee are typically excluded from homeowners and umbrella policies. Some private client insurers offer employment practices liability for household employers.
• Staff who drive. Whether employees driving family vehicles, or their own vehicles on household errands, are properly covered.
• Agency or direct hire. Whether staff are employed directly or provided by a placement agency changes who carries what risk, and is worth confirming in writing.

Household employment also has payroll and tax obligations. We coordinate with your accountant or attorney rather than advise on those matters.

Flood insurance for waterfront estates

Standard homeowners policies exclude flood. For most homeowners the starting point is the National Flood Insurance Program, but NFIP residential coverage is limited to $250,000 for the building and $100,000 for contents. For a waterfront estate, that is a fraction of the exposure.

What a waterfront flood plan considers

• Excess flood coverage above the NFIP limits, or a private primary flood policy written in place of the NFIP, each with different terms, deductibles, and waiting periods.
• Additional living expense. NFIP policies do not pay for temporary housing while a home is repaired. Some private flood policies do.
• Lower levels and outdoor property. Contents below the lowest elevated floor, pools, docks, seawalls, and landscaping are limited or excluded under many flood forms.
• Elevation and mitigation. An elevation certificate, flood vents, and the height of mechanical equipment can affect both eligibility and price.
• Timing. Flood policies commonly carry a waiting period before coverage takes effect, so flood should be arranged well before closing on a purchase or before the season.

Read more in Flood Insurance for Waterfront Estates: Beyond the NFIP.

Windstorm and hurricane deductibles

In Florida and other coastal states, hurricane losses are usually subject to a separate deductible, expressed as a percentage of the dwelling limit rather than a flat dollar amount. On a home insured for $3,000,000, a 2% hurricane deductible is $60,000; a 5% deductible is $150,000. Few homeowners have done that arithmetic before a storm.

What we discuss

• Choosing a hurricane deductible deliberately, with a clear view of the out-of-pocket cost and the premium trade-off.
• Wind mitigation features, such as impact-rated openings, roof-to-wall connections, and roof covering and shape, which some states, including Florida, require insurers to recognize with premium credits when documented by a qualifying inspection.
• Roof age and condition, which can affect insurability and how a roof claim is settled.
• Generators, water-leak detection, and storm preparation, which some private client insurers support or reward.