Homeowners insurance protects your most valuable asset. For many, their home is the most valuable asset they own. Homeowners insurance can help cover the cost of necessary repairs if your roof is damaged by hail or wind, your basement floods and damages your walls, or you experience a fire.

By making it easier to maintain your home and providing more options when disaster strikes, homeowners insurance ensures your family's future security.

With homeowners insurance, you can fully cover your home in the event of a total loss. This includes not only the physical structure but also the contents inside and around it—your possessions. Make sure you have adequate coverage, as many homeowners are underinsured.

Your bank may require you to purchase a policy. If you have a mortgage on your home, your bank may require you to have sufficient insurance. This is because they have a financial interest in your property. If your home is significantly damaged and you need insurance coverage, you are less likely to be able to repay your mortgage loan.

Your home is also the collateral for your loan—if it is damaged, its value may not be enough to cover what you still owe the lender.

They are protecting their investment; when you buy homeowners insurance because your bank requires it, you will be the named insured. However, if there is a large claim paid by the insurance company, the checks may be made out to both you and your lender, and you will likely need to provide the funds to your lender to be held in an escrow account to be paid out as repairs are made to your home.

In short, you won't see the money from your claim or be able to use it for anything unrelated to the repairs your home needs. This is important to understand, but it's something many homeowners overlook.