There's no place like home, so it makes sense to protect it. Whether you live in a house, condo, mobile home or rental apartment, here are a few things to consider in order to make an informed decision about home dwelling coverage. First determine if you are a home or condo owner, a renter, or a landlord. As a home or condo owner, you want to make sure you’re protecting your home, your possessions, yourself, family and guests in the event of damage and/or injury. The amount you pay for your homeowners insurance depends on many factors. Think of your personal housing situation, and the assets you want to protect. Do you have collections of art or other valuables? Your homeowners insurance generally covers the contents of your house. However, there are often limits on items like jewelry, paintings, or other collectibles. Adding a scheduled personal property endorsement can provide coverage for your special belongings. Are you concerned about out-of-pocket expenses if your home or property becomes unlivable? You may find yourself with extra, unforeseen expenses, for repairs, replacements, or living costs. How much will it cost to rebuild my house and replace my belongings if they are damaged or destroyed? If you are still paying for your home, your lender will require insurance. Renters will want to protect their possessions, which will not be covered by a landlord’s insurance. And landlords want to protect their properties, while protecting themselves from liability. As a landlord, you want insurance that's tailored specifically to protect your rental properties. It's really about protecting your investment. Knowing and having the correct policy type and coverage endorsements is key to protecting your assets.

There are two major reasons for homeowners to buy insurance:

1. as one of -- if not the -- most important assets that a person has, you need to protect your home from damage and destruction
2. mortgage lenders require homeowners to carry insurance to protect the lender's investment from damage or loss

Just like homeowner's insurance, renters face risks of loss. Sure, since a renter does not own the dwelling unit, she does not risk the residence itself. As a renter, the greatest risk is damage to or loss of personal property. Renters can also be liable to third parties that are injured while at the residence.

If you rent, insurance acts as a risk transfer device to protect you against a catastrophic loss. In exchange for payment of a premium, you transfer the risk of property loss and liability to third parties to an insurance company.

The major risks covered by homeowner's insurance are:

1. damage or loss to the home itself, as well as other structures on the land;
2. damage or loss to the items of personal property in the home and other structures; and
3. injury or harm to third parties (typically guests and others who come to your home).

The major risks covered by renter's insurance are damage or loss to items of personal property contained in the residence and liability to third parties who are injured while in the residence.

A homeowner's policy is a package which covers loss not only to the dwelling structure, but other structures on the land, personal property contained in the dwelling, and liability to third parties who come onto the dwelling and surrounding land. In its purest form, a dwelling policy covers only the dwelling structure itself -- providing a much smaller amount of coverage. Though not very common, dwelling policies are used in some areas of the country to insure seasonal homes that are unoccupied for part of the year.

The property damage portion of a homeowner's policy covers loss or damage to the home and other structures on the property. In the event of a total loss, the amount paid depends upon the dwelling policy limit of the insurance contract as well as the type of coverage provided under the contract.

On some policies, other structures (such as detached garages, tool sheds, fences, guesthouses, and gazebos) are typically covered at the rate of 10% of the limit set for the dwelling itself. For example, an insurance contract that provides $100,000 coverage for a dwelling typically will provide up to $10,000 coverage for other structures. Trees, shrubbery and other landscape are typically covered for 5% of the dwelling limit.

Yes, but most home policies place specific dollar limits on coverages for cash, securities, coin collections, jewelry, furs, guns, silverware, antiques, and art. Make certain you check your policy to determine if there are special limitations for certain kinds of personal property. Check what the categories are, and the special limit for each category. If your personal property falls into a listed, limited coverage category and is worth more, you can increase coverage by adding a "rider" to the policy. Insurance policy riders are available at nominal cost.

Maybe. Most folks don't know that their contents coverage usually includes loss or damage to personal property, regardless of where it was at the time of the loss. You may then be covered under your homeowner's or renter's insurance in the event of theft of personal property while staying at a hotel. Such coverage is typically as much as 10% of the dwelling policy limit.

“Additional living expense” coverage (also called “loss-of-use”) is one of the most important features in a standard policy. This coverage picks up the tab for your hotel costs, restaurant bills, and other additional living expenses when your home is too damaged to live in during repairs. Don’t plan on checking into the Ritz and dining at The Four Seasons, though; chances are that your policy will only pay the difference between your normal living expenses and any additional costs. The limit of coverage varies by company. It may be based on a percentage of total coverage or limited by a specified length of time.

Airlines are subject to legislation that allows them to limit their liability for loss. This type of loss is covered under most insurance policies. As with other categories of personal property, however, there may be limits on the amount of coverage.

If you have a laptop computer or cell phone that you bring with you while you travel, consider the purchase of a rider to your homeowner's or renter's insurance to cover the item’s full value. Also, remember that purchasing the computer with a credit card can sometimes provides coverage for theft of items purchased with the card. Just be aware that theft coverage for items purchased by a credit card are likewise subject to certain exclusions. If your laptop or phone is from your business, your employer’s business insurance should cover it.

Your insurance policy contained a provision that limits the amount of loss for items of personal property that were used in your business. If you operate a home-based business, find out what limitations your insurance company puts on insuring property used in for business. Also find out if a business operation rider is available as optional coverage for your homeowner’s or renter’s policy.

The amount of coverage that you need depends on what it would cost to replace your home and land in the event of a total loss. While you may be able to get by with only 80% coverage, will you be able to take the other 20% out of your pocket in the event of a total loss? The incremental cost to insure a property to full "replacement cost value" is so low it would be fool-hearty not to fully insure your property at full value.

Some policies include coverage for children away from home until they reach the age of 25; other policies are not so generous. Refer to your particular insurance policy to see what coverage is available. If there is any question, you may find that renter's insurance for your daughter is a good, relatively low-cost option.

In the event of a loss, the first thing you must do is protect the rest of your property from further loss. For example, if you are able to put sand bags around your property during a flood, you should do so. Another example may be to fence off damaged property, prohibiting “wanderers” from strolling onto the property and getting injured. Take photographs or videos of damaged areas, if possible.

The next step is to notify your insurance company of the loss. Almost all insurance companies have toll-free telephone numbers for their claims departments. Be aware that most conversations with the claims department of an insurance company will be recorded.

Once your claim has been presented to the insurance company, the next step is to have the claims adjuster come to the property and assess the loss. Some companies have claims adjusters on staff and others employ independent adjusters.

You can either hire your own independent insurance appraiser to determine the value or contact an attorney to represent your interests in the claim process.