Georgia homeowners insurance is a named-perils policy on contents and an open-perils policy on the dwelling, but the practical implications of that distinction are less important than understanding what actually gets excluded, how the deductible structure works, and whether your coverage amount reflects what your home would actually cost to rebuild today.

The three things that matter most

After reviewing hundreds of Georgia homeowners policies, the gaps that show up most often are the same three issues. First, the dwelling limit is too low relative to current rebuild costs. Second, the wind and hail deductible is a percentage of dwelling coverage that the homeowner does not fully understand. Third, flood and earthquake are excluded and the homeowner either does not know or has not addressed the exposure.

Dwelling coverage and the rebuild cost problem

Your dwelling limit should reflect what it would cost to rebuild your home from scratch at current construction costs in your specific Georgia market. It is not the market value of your home. It is not what you paid for it. It is the per-square-foot cost to rebuild, multiplied by your home's square footage, accounting for your specific finishes, roofline complexity, foundation type, and local labor rates.

Between 2020 and 2024, residential construction costs in Georgia increased 35 to 45 percent. A home that cost $180 per square foot to rebuild in 2020 now costs $240 to $260. If your policy was written before 2021 and has not been updated, the gap between your dwelling limit and your actual rebuild cost may be significant. On a 2,500 square foot home, a $70 per square foot underinsurance problem represents a $175,000 gap.

Wind and hail deductibles in Georgia

Georgia sits in a hail-active corridor. North Atlanta sees multiple significant hail events most years. In response, most carriers express the wind and hail deductible as a percentage of dwelling coverage rather than a fixed dollar amount. One percent of a $400,000 dwelling is $4,000. Two percent is $8,000. Before a storm hits is the right time to know which structure you have and what it means in dollars for your specific home.

What a standard HO-3 policy does not cover

Flood is excluded universally. Earthquake is excluded universally. Sewer backup and drain overflow are excluded under the standard policy but can be added as an endorsement for $50 to $150 per year and is worth adding for most Georgia homeowners. Business property and business liability are limited or excluded. Scheduled valuables like jewelry, art, and collectibles have sub-limits and need to be specifically insured if they have significant value.

Replacement cost versus actual cash value

There are two ways to insure your personal property: replacement cost value (RCV) pays what it costs to replace an item today, while actual cash value (ACV) pays the depreciated value. On a five-year-old laptop worth $300 today that costs $1,200 to replace, RCV pays $1,200 and ACV pays $300. Most policies default to RCV for the dwelling and ACV for personal property. Always check which structure your personal property coverage uses and upgrade to RCV if it is not already set that way.