Home insurance for the home you actually live in.

The spring of 2019 was a hard one in Galena. Snow melted fast and the storm sewer system in the old downtown could not keep up. We had four clients call within the same week with water in their basements — three from the floor drain, one from a back-yard sump that gave out under the pressure. Two of them had the water-backup endorsement on their HO-3 policy. They were paid quickly. The other two did not have it, and they paid out of pocket. We added the endorsement to every personal-lines policy in our book the following month.

A working home policy isn't about checking the box on what a mortgage lender requires. It's about reading what your policy excludes, deciding which exclusions matter to your house, and adding endorsements for the ones that do. Galena's housing stock — 1860s brick row houses, 1920s craftsman bungalows, 1990s ranches, and the occasional new-build — needs a different conversation per house. We have that conversation with every client.

Replacement cost goes on every policy we write unless the client specifically says they want actual-cash-value for the lower premium. Underinsurance — having a 250K rebuild limit on a 410K rebuild house — is the single most common problem we find when we take on a new client from another agency.

What does a standard homeowners policy actually cover?

An HO-3 covers the dwelling and other structures on an open-peril basis for the dwelling and a named-peril basis for the contents, plus personal property, loss of use, personal liability, and medical payments to others. An HO-5 upgrades personal-property coverage to open-peril and is what we write for most clients with newer homes and reasonable contents valuations. Flood and earthquake are excluded — flood is quoted separately through the NFIP.

What's included

Dwelling

Coverage A — the cost to rebuild your house. Set this to replacement cost, not market value. We use carrier reconstruction estimators every renewal.

Other Structures

Coverage B — detached garages, sheds, fences, gazebos. Typically 10% of Coverage A; we'll increase it for properties with outbuildings.

Personal Property

Coverage C — your contents. HO-3 is named-peril, HO-5 is open-peril. Schedule jewelry, firearms, and fine art over a few thousand dollars.

Loss of Use

Coverage D — hotel, restaurant, and rental costs while your house is uninhabitable. Typically 20–30% of Coverage A.

Personal Liability

Coverage E — defends you if someone is injured on your property or you injure someone elsewhere. We recommend 500K minimum, with an umbrella over it.

Medical to Others

Coverage F — pays small medical bills for guests injured at your home regardless of fault. Defuses small disputes before they become claims.

What's optional but worth considering

Replacement-cost endorsement

On contents — pays what it costs to buy new, not the depreciated value. Default on every Cornerstone policy.

Water-backup of sewer or drains

The most common claim in Galena's older homes. Covers backup through floor drains and sump-pump failure. Usually $50–$120/year.

Service-line coverage

The underground water, sewer, and gas lines from the street to your house. We have filed seven of these claims in the last five years.

Scheduled personal property

For jewelry, firearms, fine art, or musical instruments above the policy's per-item sublimit.

Flood (separately, NFIP)

Standard homeowners policies exclude flood. If your mortgage lender requires it, we write NFIP. We recommend it for any property within a half-mile of the Galena River.

Replacement cost pays what it costs to put a new roof on after hail. Actual cash value pays what your fifteen-year-old roof was worth the moment before the hail hit it. The premium difference is small. The claim difference will keep you out of court with your mortgage company.

Carriers we use for home

Erie is our default carrier for HO-3 in northwest Illinois. Underwriting is strong on older Galena homes, replacement-cost endorsements are standard, and the claims service stands out.

Auto-Owners handles homes that don't fit Erie's appetite — typically older homes with knob-and-tube wiring, older roofs, or a recent claim history. Underwriting is forgiving.

Foremost writes the homes the standard market won't — vacant homes during a renovation, rental homes, mobile homes, and the occasional non-standard risk.

West Bend is a strong choice for higher-value homes ($400K+) and for clients who want a Wisconsin-based mutual carrier with a long claims-service reputation.

Replacement cost vs actual cash value — which one do I want?

Replacement cost. Always. Actual cash value pays you what your roof was worth at the moment hail hit it — which after fifteen years of depreciation may be a fraction of what a new roof costs. Replacement cost pays what it costs to put a new roof on. The premium difference is small. The claim difference is enormous.

Do I need separate flood insurance in Galena?

Standard homeowners policies exclude flood damage. If you are in a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area, your mortgage lender will require it. If you are not, it is still worth quoting — flood insurance is dramatically cheaper outside the high-risk zone, and one in four flood claims comes from outside it. We quote flood through the NFIP.