Homeowners Insurance for Pennsylvania Families
Homeowners Insurance
Protection for your house, your belongings, and your liability—designed for homeowners across Lancaster, New Holland, York, Harrisburg, and beyond.
Your home is likely one of your biggest investments, and it deserves more than a bare-minimum policy. Homeowners insurance helps protect the structure of your home, the belongings inside it, and your personal liability if someone is hurt on your property. From kitchen fires and storm damage to theft and everyday mishaps, the right coverage can make a difficult situation easier to recover from. Community Insurance works with homeowners throughout Lancaster County and across Pennsylvania to build policies that fit real life—not just what the mortgage company requires. We’ll help you understand your options, choose sensible limits and deductibles, and coordinate your homeowners insurance with the rest of your personal insurance.
Dwelling Coverage (Your Home)
Dwelling coverage helps protect the physical structure of your home—the walls, roof, floors, and attached structures—against covered causes of loss such as fire, wind, hail, lightning, and certain types of water damage. We’ll help you estimate an appropriate rebuild cost so you’re not left underinsured if a major loss occurs.
Other Structures
This part of your policy helps cover detached structures on your property, such as garages, sheds, fences, and certain outbuildings. If a covered event damages these structures, other structures coverage can help with repair or replacement, up to policy limits.
Personal Property (Your Belongings)
Personal property coverage helps protect the things you own—furniture, clothing, electronics, décor, and more—whether they’re in your home or, in many cases, temporarily away from it. We’ll talk through how items are valued and whether higher limits or special coverage is needed for valuables like jewelry, collectibles, or high-end electronics.
Personal Liability
Personal liability coverage helps protect you if someone alleges that your actions—or a condition on your property—caused bodily injury or property damage. That could include a guest being injured in your home or a child accidentally damaging a neighbor’s property. Liability coverage can help with legal defense, settlements, and judgments up to your policy limits.
Medical Payments to Others
Medical payments coverage provides a limited amount of no-fault medical coverage if a guest is injured at your home. It’s designed for minor incidents and can sometimes help resolve issues quickly without escalating to a full liability claim.
Optional Endorsements & Add-Ons
Depending on your situation, you may want to consider options like water backup and sump pump overflow coverage, scheduled personal property for jewelry or fine arts, identity theft coverage, or higher limits for certain categories of belongings. We’ll help you decide which endorsements make sense for your home, location, and lifestyle.
Loss of Use / Additional Living Expenses
If a covered loss makes your home uninhabitable while repairs are being made, loss of use coverage can help with additional living expenses—such as hotel stays, short-term rentals, and extra meal costs—above your normal spending. This can make a stressful displacement a little easier to manage.
Who Typically Needs Homeowners Coverage
If you own a home—whether it’s your first house, a long-time family residence, or a vacation property—homeowners insurance should be a core part of your financial protection plan. Lenders usually require it, but even if your home is paid off, you’ll want coverage in place to help protect the structure, your belongings, and your personal liability.
Common Homeowners Who Rely on Home Insurance:
- First-time homebuyers in Lancaster, New Holland, York, and Harrisburg
- Families upgrading to a larger home or new neighborhood
- Empty nesters downsizing but still protecting their investment
- Owners of townhomes, duplexes, or row homes
- Owners of secondary or vacation homes in Pennsylvania
- Homeowners interested in bundling home and auto for potential savings
- Homeowners who want higher liability limits to protect their assets
Every home and household is different—square footage, age of the home, building materials, and local risks all matter. We’ll help you understand how those factors affect your coverage needs so you’re not left guessing about your protection.
Our Process for Designing Homeowners Insurance
Instead of relying on generic numbers or whatever the system suggests, we take time to understand your home, your belongings, and your comfort level with risk. Then we design a homeowners policy that coordinates with your auto, umbrella, and any other personal coverage you carry.
Learn About Your Home
We start with a conversation about your home’s age, size, construction, features, and any updates or special characteristics.
Review Current Coverage (If Any)
We look at your existing homeowners policy, paying attention to dwelling limits, deductibles, personal property coverage, and liability limits to see what’s working and where there may be gaps.
Estimate Rebuild Costs & Set Limits
We help estimate what it would likely cost to rebuild your home today and use that information to recommend dwelling limits and coverage options.
Compare Multiple Carriers
As an independent agency, we shop several companies to compare pricing, coverages, discounts (like home and auto bundles), and claims reputation.
Fine-Tune Deductibles & Endorsements
We walk through your options in plain language, adjusting deductibles, limits, and optional coverages so your policy lines up with your priorities and budget.
Implement & Support
Once your policy is in place, we’re here for proof of insurance for your lender, policy changes, questions, and claims support whenever something goes wrong at home.
How Homeowners Coverage Fits with Auto, Umbrella, and More
Homeowners insurance is one piece of a broader personal insurance plan. Many clients choose to bundle home and auto insurance, which can simplify billing and often unlock multi-policy discounts. If you have significant assets or simply want higher protection, a personal umbrella policy can add extra liability coverage over both your home and auto policies. You might also have separate coverage for valuables, recreational vehicles, or a small business operated from home. We’ll help you see how your homeowners policy fits into the bigger picture and when additional policies or higher limits may make sense.
Homeowners Insurance - Commonly Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a standard homeowners policy typically cover?
A standard homeowners policy generally includes coverage for your home (dwelling), other structures, personal property, loss of use/additional living expenses, personal liability, and medical payments to others—subject to policy limits and exclusions. Exact details vary by company and policy form, so we’ll review what your specific policy does and doesn’t cover so there are fewer surprises at claim time.
Does homeowners insurance cover floods or earthquakes?
Standard homeowners policies do not typically cover flood or earthquake damage. Flood insurance is usually purchased as a separate policy, and earthquake coverage may be added or written separately in some situations. If your home is in an area with elevated flood or quake risk, we’ll talk through your options so you understand where your current policy stops and what additional protection is available.
What’s the difference between replacement cost and actual cash value?
Replacement cost coverage is designed to help repair or replace covered property at today’s prices, without deducting for depreciation, while actual cash value factors in depreciation for age and wear. Many homeowners prefer replacement cost for both the dwelling and personal property if available, though there may be cost differences. We’ll explain how each option works and which applies to different parts of your policy.
How can I lower my homeowners insurance premium?
Premiums are influenced by factors like home value, construction type, roof age, location, claims history, deductibles, and coverage limits. We’ll look for practical ways to manage costs—such as choosing appropriate deductibles, bundling home and auto, updating roofs or heating systems, and taking advantage of available discounts. The goal is to keep coverage strong while making premiums as manageable as possible.
What should I do if I need to file a homeowners claim?
After making sure everyone is safe, take steps to prevent further damage if it’s safe to do so—such as shutting off water or covering broken windows. Document the damage with photos or video and make a list of affected items. Then reach out to our office or your carrier’s claims line to report the loss. We’ll help you understand the process, what information is needed, and what to expect as your claim is handled.
Ready to Protect the Place You Call Home?
Whether you’re buying your first house in Lancaster, settling into a long-term home in New Holland, or relocating within Pennsylvania, the right homeowners insurance can make a big difference when life doesn’t go as planned. Community Insurance is here to help homeowners in Lancaster, New Holland, York, Harrisburg, and beyond build coverage that fits their homes, their belongings, and their budgets.