Friday, July 24, 2020

Home Buyers Insurance

There are many different kinds of insurance out there.

Eg. Mortgage Life Insurance and Homeowners Insurance

Home Buyers Insurance is literally another term for Mortgage Life Insurance. It is insurance aimed usually at married couples who are worried one of them might die and then they could lose their home due to the loss of income within the family.

It makes sense, especially for couples where one of them doesn't work or is unable to work due to disability. If the breadwinner dies and they were responsible for paying off the mortgage, the Mortgage Life Insurance (aka Home Buyers Insurance) kicks in and pays off the mortgage. Due to the variable value of the home the insurance typically starts off more expensive and then as the value of the mortgage is paid off the insurance gets cheaper over time*.

* This and the exact amount may vary on the insurance provider.

However I think there is room in the market for a different kind of Home Buyers Insurance. Namely a new type of insurance which is specifically about buying a new home which might have something wrong with it and the previous owners or their real estate broker/lawyer did not reveal anything wrong with the property.

  1. There could be a leaky sub-basement they failed to mention.
  2. There could be something wrong with the plumbing or wiring.
  3. There could be a lien on the property that wasn't disclosed.
  4. The property could have some legal matter that is unresolved involving neighbours or the city and that was the reason the previous owners were eager to sell.
  5. Other unknown factors. Eg. Fraud, misrepresentation, stolen identity, etc.
Basically the idea is that you buy the insurance at the time of the purchase of your new home in the event the previous owners tried to pull a fast one on you. The property would still need to be inspected and assessed, but in the event they missed something that the previous owners failed to mention and the issue turns out to be expensive the insurance would kick in and cover the costs (including any legal costs).

As far as I can tell nobody has invented such insurance yet, and it certainly should not be confused with "Home Buyers Insurance" because although the name certainly sounds apt for the type of insurance I am describing, it doesn't cover the same thing.

See Also

Homeowners Insurance Scams

Average Homeowners Insurance Losses

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