Documents you need to get home insurance

Have this information on hand when you’re ready to buy home insurance.

While you often only need your address and contact information to get a quote from Kin, binding your policy requires us to check a few other boxes. We automate everything we can to save you time and legwork, but we don’t have access to all the information we need about your home (and rightfully so! Privacy matters!).

So to get you insured as fast as possible, here are some key documents to have on hand when you apply for home insurance – whether it’s with us or not.

Documents existing homeowners need to apply for insurance

Proof of prior insurance

If your house isn’t a new purchase, you’ll need to have proof of prior home insurance. Your current insurance policy’s declarations page will do the trick.

The declarations page is simply the first page of your insurance policy. It lists key details about who is covered by the policy, who your mortgage lender is, policy limits, etc.

In addition to referencing this page for proof of prior coverage, it also lets us know if you have a co-mortgagee your policy should cover.

Alarm certificates

If you have a centrally monitored security alarm, you qualify for premium discount.

We’ll just need an alarm certificate that affirms your security system is monitored by an off-site company. You can request this from your monitoring company.

Wind mitigation inspection report

If you live in a coastal region, you know the damage hurricane winds can do to your home. A wind mitigation inspection tells us how wind-resistant your home is. As you might have guessed, the more fortified your home is, the lower your premiums will be.

Once a certified inspector checks out your home, they’ll offer a wind mitigation inspection report. This details what safety features your home has and offers suggestions for improvement. Whether or not you implement those suggestions is up to you.

What we need:

  • The wind mitigation inspection report to apply your wind mitigation credits if you live in Florida.
  • The report must be no older than 5 years.

New homeowner? The next section applies to you.

Documents new homeowners need to apply for insurance

Closing disclosure

This document lists the following:

  • Who your co-mortgagee is, if applicable
  • Your mortgage company
  • Loan terms
  • Closing costs

We reference this to confirm any other mortgagees and your mortgage lender’s information.

The sales contract or HUD statement are also acceptable substitutes.

Alarm certificates

To offer you an easy discount, we need proof of a centrally monitored security alarm. This means an outside company monitors the system. Self-monitoring via a smartphone app doesn’t qualify at this time.

Request an alarm certificate from the security monitoring company so you can get this discount.

Wind mitigation inspection report

A wind mitigation report offers a potentially big premium discount for new coastal homeowners. A wind mitigation inspection by a certified inspector usually costs around $100, but for Florida homeowners, the expense is typically offset substantially in premium savings.

After the inspection, the inspector gives you a report on how wind-resistant your home is.

What we need:

  • A copy of the wind mitigation inspection report for Florida homeowners.
  • The report must be no more than 5 years old.

Need more help or clarification? We’re a phone call or email away: (855) 717-0022 or support@kin.com.

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