What’s worse than not having Atlanta homeowner’s insurance? Thinking you are adequately covered only to find out you don’t have enough insurance in Atlanta when you need it most.

So how do you make sure you aren’t underinsured? Talk to your Atlanta homeowner’s insurance agent to start, and be sure to follow these five tips to ensure you get the best rates on homeowners insurance in Atlanta:

1.  Take a full inventory of the contents of your home. Part of your Atlanta homeowner’s insurance policy should include a contents clause. This portion of your policy will pay to replace all of your possessions inside your home should they become damaged or stolen.

If you don’t know what you have and what it’s worth, how are you going to know what to replace if disaster strikes? Some insurance companies have caps on how much coverage you can purchase for contents, so ask your agent if this is true in your case.

2.  Assess the cost of replacing interior structures. Many people believe they have enough Atlanta homeowner’s insurance to rebuild their home exactly as it stood when they really don’t. Items such as hardwood floors, claw foot tubs, and other premium features will cost premium prices to replace. Make sure you factor these items in when estimating what your home would cost to rebuild—and get enough insurance to cover it.

3.  Buy into disaster coverage. In Atlanta, we tend to take it for granted that we’re safe from major weather events. Very few would have expected the city to flood the way it did in 2009 and 2010. It has happened before and it will happen again.

Flood insurance is not a standard homeowner’s insurance product, yet without it, no flood damage will be covered. It’s worth the slight increase in premium to have the extra protection.

4.  Always, always opt for replacement cost coverage. So many common items, such as electronics and appliances, depreciate over time. Choosing actual value coverage only pays you for the value of the item at the time of the claim.

That means if you have a 5 year old computer that you paid $800 for when it was new, you may only receive $200 for it under actual cash value—far from enough to purchase a replacement. With replacement cost coverage, however, you’ll receive the amount needed to purchase a new item of similar design.

5.  Don’t forget about loss of use coverage. Your Atlanta homeowner’s insurance policy should provide enough loss of use coverage to allow you to pay for a place to live for at least two years after a catastrophic event while you rebuild your home. If it doesn’t, talk to your agent about increasing the amount of this type of coverage on your policy.