Buying your first home comes with plenty of questions. Homeowners insurance should not make the process harder.
When should you start shopping? What does your lender need? What coverage should you have? Does the roof matter? Should you bundle your home and auto insurance?
Chastain Insurance Group helps first-time homebuyers compare homeowners insurance from 25+ insurance companies and understand the differences before closing.
If you are shopping for home insurance for your first home in Springfield, Southwest Missouri, or the Lake of the Ozarks, we can help you compare available rates, coverage, deductibles, and bundle opportunities without calling insurance companies one at a time.
Local Help for Your First Home
Start shopping once you are under contract and have information about the home. Do not wait until the day before closing.
If you are financing your first home, your mortgage lender will generally require proof of homeowners insurance before the loan closes.
You do not need to understand every insurance term before calling us. If you have the property address, estimated closing date, and information from your lender, we can help you determine what else is needed.
If your homeowners insurance is escrowed, part of your mortgage payment is typically collected by your lender and placed into an escrow account. The lender then uses those funds to pay the homeowners insurance bill when it comes due.
The exact setup depends on your mortgage and lender.
Generally, your lender can establish insurance requirements for the property, but you can still compare eligible insurance options that meet those requirements.
If your mortgage lender or realtor gives you an insurance deadline, property information, or documentation request, send it to us.
We can help you determine what is needed to keep the insurance side of your closing moving.
Send us what you have. We can help you determine what information is still needed for your homeowners insurance quote.
There is no single homeowners insurance policy that is right for every first-time buyer.
The coverage that makes sense depends on the home, your belongings, lender requirements, deductibles, available carrier options, and the risks you want to protect against.
Here are some of the major pieces we help new homeowners understand.
| Coverage or Policy Detail | What It Means | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
|
Dwelling Coverage
|
Helps insure the structure of your home against covered losses. | The insurance amount is not necessarily the same as your purchase price. |
|
Replacement Cost
|
Coverage designed to repair or replace covered property without deducting depreciation, subject to policy terms. | Two quotes with similar premiums can handle losses differently. |
|
Personal Property
|
Helps cover belongings such as furniture, clothing, electronics, and other personal items after a covered loss. | You are protecting more than the structure itself. |
|
Personal Liability
|
Provides protection for certain covered injury or property-damage claims for which you may be legally responsible. | Homeownership can create liability exposures you should understand. |
|
Additional Living Expenses
|
May help with certain additional living costs if a covered loss makes the home temporarily uninhabitable. | It is important to know what may happen if you temporarily cannot live in your home. |
|
Deductible
|
The amount or portion of a covered loss you are responsible for under the policy terms. | A lower premium may come with a deductible you would not want to handle after a claim. |
|
Roof / Wind / Hail Terms
|
Policies may handle roof losses and weather-related deductibles differently. | Roof age, condition, deductibles, and carrier requirements can affect your options. |
Helps insure the structure of your home against covered losses.
Why it matters: The insurance amount is not necessarily the same as your purchase price.
Coverage designed to repair or replace covered property without deducting depreciation, subject to policy terms.
Why it matters: Two quotes with similar premiums can handle losses differently.
Helps cover belongings such as furniture, clothing, electronics, and other personal items after a covered loss.
Why it matters: You are protecting more than the structure itself.
Provides protection for certain covered injury or property-damage claims for which you may be legally responsible.
Why it matters: Homeownership can create liability exposures you should understand.
May help with certain additional living costs if a covered loss makes the home temporarily uninhabitable.
Why it matters: It is important to know what may happen if you temporarily cannot live in your home.
The amount or portion of a covered loss you are responsible for under the policy terms.
Why it matters: A lower premium may come with a deductible you would not want to handle after a claim.
Policies may handle roof losses and weather-related deductibles differently.
Why it matters: Roof age, condition, deductibles, and carrier requirements can affect your options.
Roof age, condition, material, settlement terms, wind or hail deductibles, and carrier underwriting requirements can affect your options.
An older roof does not automatically mean there is a problem. You should understand how it is treated under the policy.
The lowest premium is not necessarily the strongest choice.
The amount you pay for a home is not necessarily the amount it would cost to rebuild after a covered total loss.
Land value, construction costs, materials, labor, home characteristics, and policy provisions can affect the calculation.
If the dwelling coverage looks different from your purchase price, we can help explain what you are seeing.
A cheaper quote may have different deductibles, limits, roof settlement terms, or optional protections.
We help you look at the rate and the coverage so you understand what you are buying before you decide.
We can help you compare the important differences in coverage, deductibles, and policy details for your first home.
Buying a home is a natural time to review your auto insurance too.
Many insurance companies offer multi-policy discounts when eligible home and auto policies are placed together. But the biggest advertised discount does not automatically mean you are getting the best overall value.
The better question is:
What does the home + auto combination cost, and what coverage am I getting for that price?
Chastain Insurance Group works with more than 25 insurance companies. During a home + auto review, available options may involve familiar brands and carriers such as Progressive, GEICO, Travelers, The Hartford, Auto-Owners, National General and others, depending on the policies being quoted and your eligibility.
Carrier availability, eligibility, rates, coverage, and discounts vary by customer and are subject to underwriting requirements.
You do not have to assume your current auto company is automatically the best place to stop when you buy your first home.
We can review your current auto insurance along with the homeowners options available to you and help you compare the total picture.
Sometimes keeping policies together makes sense. Sometimes another available combination deserves a look.
We compare. You decide.We start with basic information such as the property address, closing date, year built, square footage, roof information, and any major updates you know about.
If your mortgage lender has provided insurance requirements or a deadline, send that information to us too.
We can compare eligible homeowners insurance options from multiple companies and review important differences in rates, coverage, deductibles, and available discounts.
If you already have auto insurance, we can also look at available bundle options and compare the total home + auto picture. Having your current auto declarations page available can make that comparison easier.
We help explain the important differences so you can choose the option that makes sense for your home, budget, and coverage needs.
As your first home and insurance needs change, we are here to help review your coverage and available options.
There is already a lot happening between an accepted offer and closing. Your homeowners insurance should give you answers, not another pile of questions.
Chastain Insurance Group gives first-time buyers access to a local Springfield insurance agent who can help compare available options from more than 25 insurance companies instead of limiting the conversation to one carrier.
Review eligible options from multiple carriers instead of being limited to one insurance company.
We help explain important differences in coverage so you can compare more than just the premium.
Understand deductibles, roof provisions, and other policy details that may affect your first home.
We can review potential bundle options and help you compare the total home + auto picture.
If your lender gives you insurance requirements or a deadline, send that information to us.
We help explain the options so you can make a more informed decision before closing.
We shop client policies again at renewal to see whether the current rate and coverage still make sense or whether another available option deserves consideration.
Whether your first home is in Springfield, Nixa, Ozark, Republic, Branson, or closer to the Lake of the Ozarks, you can work with a Missouri insurance agent who can help explain your options in plain language.
QUICK ANSWERS FOR MISSOURI DRIVERS
You already have enough decisions to make during the homebuying process.
You should not also have to call insurance companies one at a time trying to figure out which homeowners policy makes sense.
Tell Chastain Insurance Group about the home you are buying. We can compare available insurance options from 25+ companies, help you understand the coverage and deductibles,
and review potential home + auto bundle opportunities.
Then you can compare the options and decide what makes sense for your first home.
Serving first-time homebuyers throughout Springfield, Southwest Missouri, the 417 area, and the Lake of the Ozarks region.
Insurance Notice:
Insurance coverage cannot be bound via voicemail, email, text message, or website request. Please contact your agent for further service.
