Tag Archives for " ordinace and law coverage "

Ordinance of Law Coverage

January 4, 2014
/ Home Insurance
/ By Don

Florida-Homesmall Why most of our customers have a general idea of what there Home insurance covers most don’t understand covered perils and how the claim is handled. Just like I don’t understand a lot of things under the hood of my car that the mechanic does. Ordinance and law coverage is one of them.

One of our clients in Winter Haven Florida had a kitchen fire recently they deemed the house was over 40% damaged because it was not built to code the county is requiring to be removed and rebuilt from ground up. The undamaged portion of the structure has to be tore down and rebuilt due to a change in municipal codes. This is where ordinance of law coverage comes into play.

Normally your policy comes with a percentage a lot of times it is 10% of the structure value, in some cases you can increase the percentage for a fee.

Ordinance of law coverage is designed to pay for:

Cost of the demolition and removal of the debris of undamaged portions the structure that must be torn down of modified.
Increased cost of reconstruction, that is the added cost to repair or rebuild in accordance with the current code. This may included upgraded electrical system sprinkler systems redesigning to meet hurricane resistant standards
Loss of Value of the undamaged portion of a building when it must be torn down to meet code requirements.

I would suggest becoming familiar with local and state zoning laws. You can contact zoning board and ask the questions such as:

Since the building has been constructed has there been any changes in code that could effect my property?
Does existing code prohibit from rebuilding, location or size, and what percentage has to be damaged to rebuild?

At Lock insurance we always recommend this coverage and really stress on older homes, contact us today so we can review your current policy to make sure you have the correct information so you can make a wise decision. Once the claim happens its to late to review your policy and implement the changes.