A quick check of most homeowner's insurance policies will reveal the coverage is cumulative and normally includes liability for accidents and medical coverage for those injured on the premises.
Indeed most of the time house and contents insurance are combined.
Occasionally though, a perspective customer will be offered separate policies for house and contents insurance.
Separating the policies may result in an overall lower combined price.
Particulars of a specific content policy may seem more appealing than that offered by the home owner policy.
One may even have loyalty to a company that does not offer a combined house and contents insurance policy.
Whatever the reason, think twice before separating the two as you may be opening a door to unintended aggravation.
Why is it a bad idea to separate a homeowner's policy from a contents policy? First of all, understand that insurance companies are in business to make money and they make money by limiting their liability.
If your house was to incur damage that resulted in loss or damage to its contents, you can be assured the two companies will try to minimize their responsibility in coverage while maximizing the other provider's responsibility.
This is not to say that your loss won't be covered, just that it may take longer and require more paperwork on your part if you use separate companies.
Furthermore any savings you may realize by separating the policies is often mitigated by discounts received when your house and contents insurance with the same company.
Almost all insurance companies offer a discount for holding multiple policies with them.
Find a combined policy that you feel comfortable with.
Insurance companies may all be the same but level of coverage is not.
If you are a first time home buyer your only experience with these types of policies may be renter's insurance coverage.
You may not have paid much attention to such a policy because as a renter you were only liable for and thus concerned with the contents of your dwelling.
Be advised that as a homeowner your responsibility increases significantly with regard to liability.
For instance you may need a policy that offers coverage for specific items such as jewelry and expensive art.
You may be buying a house in a neighborhood with an old sewage system.
You also may want to store a recreation vehicle or a boat on the premises in an out building that is separate from the garage.
You cannot assume that these items will be covered just because they were under a renter's policy.
Often time's homeowners must add things called "riders" to their policy to cover very expensive items or to house recreational vehicles.
Special coverage also must be added to cover the homeowner in the event of sewage backup.
The benefit of combining house and contents insurance is that this coverage's can be explained and underwritten by a single company.
One agent can answer all of your questions and design a policy that fits your needs best; thus limiting aggravation and minimizing the possibility of an unintended gap in coverage.
For homeowners, one policy is one way to make one life easier.