if(requestedWidth > 0){ document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.width = requestedWidth + "px"; document.getElementById('articleViewerGroup').style.margin = "0px 0px 10px 10px"; } Homeowners insurance is a safety net to everyone invested in a property. For the lender, it guarantees the value of the collateral; for the owner, it provides for the repairing of a damaged home, or replacement of a destroyed one.

It is not one size fits all.

"There are a lot of what ifs in insurance. A lot of companies have different rules," said Scott Pierce of Arroyo Insurance in Redlands. "If the house is 40, 50 years and older, you get in some trouble. Insurance companies want to see updates. It costs more to rebuild an old home than a newer one.

"If you lose a home completely, they have to make it whole again. Insuring a Victorian home is different from a tract home."

Pierce has to understand the different companies' rules, because his company is a brokerage.

"I work for Arroyo and have access to more than 15 companies. We also have relationships with specialty companies," he said. "I look at the home in general. For a high-end home I look at a company better suited for servicing properties with high replacement values and owners with greater assets."

Lorenzo Perez, the office manager of Century 21 Showcase in Highland, recommends lining up a commitment at the beginning of escrow.

A homebuyer may not realize there is something about the purchase that will make it hard to insure. If this is discovered at the last minute, it can cancel the buyer's eligibility with that company, or raise the rates and make him ineligible for the loan.

Sometimes $5 a month can make the difference in a financing qualification, and unlike other closing expenses (lender, title, escrow), insurance estimates may be off by any percentage at settlement with no penalty.

Any of these problems will delay close of escrow, if not cancel the sale.

"If you don't close on time and the rate is locked, somebody's going to have to pay to extend the rate lock." Perez said. He has seen a buyer near closing day realize the home is 299 feet from a fire zone, and struggle to find a company that would write a policy.

"There are certain types of risks insurance companies don't want to have," said Mike Moses, sales manager of Allstate Insurance in Apple Valley, which is not a brokerage, rather a company that writes policies in-house.

Among the things insurance companies shy away from are trampolines, diving boards, trees with branches that touch roofs, threatening dogs, bars on windows, disrepair and properties within 300 feet of a fire zone.

Pierce said he's seen a million-dollar home denied coverage because of a diving board.

When an insurance agent considers insuring a home, he asks for the year, make, model, size, roof type, kind of garage, fireplaces, pools and whether there are dogs. Companies have different lists of dog breeds they will not write coverage for.

"The main one is the square footage," Moses said, but age is a big factor too. "Pre-1972 you're looking at lathe and plaster versus drywall. There are specialty types of insurance policies you have to write for 100-year-old homes. These will be different prices."

"They will want to know if the house has been updated in the past 15 years in terms of roofing, electrical, plumbing, heating units and water heaters," said Pierce. "If these things are old, it affects the cost and eligibility with the majority of the less expensive carriers."

Homeowners insurance usually refers to an `all perils' policy, which will basically cover wind, hail, rain, fire, theft and unexpected damage. It does not cover earthquakes or flooding that comes from outside of the home's walls.

Coverage includes the primary dwelling, plus other structures on the property, personal belongings, temporary living expenses during repairs, liability (for example, you're sued because your dog bit someone or a visitor tripped on your son's skateboard), and medical payments to others.

There is a deductible - an amount to be paid by the homeowner before the insurance will pay, which is generally about $500, but will vary according to the cost of the policy. The higher the premium, the lower the deductible.

The premium increases over time, because inflation makes rebuilding more expensive, and because as a home ages, the risk of problems with the roof or plumbing increases.

A lender may require more than the all-perils policy.

"There are flood zones in this area," said Pierce. "When you buy a home the financial institution that you are getting your mortgage through runs a flood risk analysis map. The mortgage provider will require flood insurance if you are in certain zones. The wash area in Highland and a small pocket near State Street are flood zones, for instance. In this area, that means a small chance of flooding at a depth of 1 to 3 feet deep."

Flood areas are specified at fema.gov.

Flood insurance is sold through the federal government. People who are not required to have it may purchase it, but may not opt out. A flood insurance policy is canceled only when the insured property is sold.

Earthquake insurance is not required, even though this area is near the San Andreas and San Jacinto fault lines. This coverage is optional, and may be canceled at will.

"The (earthquake) policies here are bare bones compared to what you'd get in San Diego or Orange County," said Pierce. "Statistics show there'd be greater damage here - in my opinion, too much to justify the difference in coverage. Deductibles are 10 to 15 percent of the coverage on the house. Not many people have an extra $50,000 to $85,000 hanging around to pay that high a deductible."

Wildfires are also a problem in this area.

"Over the past seven years insurance companies have been hit hard by wildfires in California. The Insurance Service Organization came up with a regulation for footage from fire zones and what they call umbrella trees about four years ago," said Moses.

With rules' changing, a person whose insurance lapses may find himself ineligible to reinstate a policy he's had for decades.

Another cause for rejection: multiple claims.

"When people start making claims in abundance, it raises red flags. If there are little as two claims in a short time period, they'll send a cancelation out at your next renewal," said Pierce. "If you've been canceled, you may have to go to a direct writer. It may be quite a bit more expensive than what you are used too."

People's and a houses' claim histories go into a data base, called a Loss Info Service.

"If you turn in a water claim or theft of a bike stolen from the garage, when you want to sell the house, LIS comes up under your Social Security number and your address. It could make us not want to insure you or the house," Moses said.

This information follows both an owner and a house for five years.

This helps the insurance company weigh a potential risk.

"Right now it's cheaper to buy a house than it is to rebuild one," said Pierce. "You can buy for $60 to $110 a square foot, but it costs $150 and upwards per square foot to build a basic to a high-end home." He added that if you are under $150 a square foot, challenge your agent and ask why.

So can you just sell the land, take the cash and buy a different house?

A home has three values: the fair market value, or how much it will sell for; the value the property tax assessor places on it; and the replacement cost. It's the replacement cost the insurance company usually looks at, but when you take cash, you get the amount comps say the house was worth, not the home's replacement cost.

"And you must own a house free and clear to take cash instead of rebuilding," Moses said.