If you are planning any new remodeling work on your home, as a homeowner you have two main concerns in terms of your insurance and liability.

First, before a contractor starts work on your property, you have to make sure that you are appropriately insured and that the firm has both workers' compensation and construction liability insurance. The second part concerns your property coverage, since most renovations will add value to the home and add to the cost of rebuilding.

Here's what you need to do.

While your house is well covered by homeowner's insurance, does the same apply to other structures such as a gazebo or a deck?

Find out before something happens how well it protects the valuable structures on your property besides your house. Here's what you need to know. 

As autumn approaches with its heavy rains and storms that are becoming increasingly unpredictable. If a particularly heavy storm hits, you can lose outdoor furnishings and see parts of your house damaged by winds or falling trees or branches.

Also, you can lose power for minutes, hours and in some cases days if the electrical grid is damaged badly enough. You should start now to make sure your home is properly protected against them. Here's how.