Insurance is a necessity. It will not only leave you stress-free, but save you money in the long-run. Every homeowner should consider having insurance for their home because it will essentially help prepare you for the unexpected.

1. Homeowners insurance is required by your mortgage lender
While it's not a state requirement like auto insurance, you typically need homeowners insurance if you're financing your house. Home insurance guards your lender's investment from loss or damage caused by covered risks like a fire or vandalism.

2. Insurance protects your home from loss.
Standard homeowners insurance safeguards your home and unattached structures on your property from a multitude of hazards, including wind damage, fire, vandalism, tornadoes, hurricanes, and thunderstorms. Whether a small portion of your property is damaged or your entire house is leveled, the coverage on your average home policy steps in to help pay for repairs and replacements so you're not left footing the bill.

3. Home insurance covers your personal belongings.
If your stuff is stolen or destroyed by a covered hazard, home insurance may reimburse you for the value of those items — such as furniture, electronics, appliances, clothing, and more. Plus, your policy protects your stuff anywhere in the world — whether it's at your place, in your car, with your kid at school, or in storage. So if your laptop gets stolen out of your car while you were getting your sweat on at the gym, your homeowners policy can step in to replace it. How's that for peace of mind?

4. Homeowners coverage protects your liability.
Your homeowners insurance does more than just cover the structure and contents of your home. Family liability insurance, which comes standard on most homeowners policies, is designed to cover you in the event of a lawsuit arising from an injury on your property.

5. Coverage includes temporary housing after a disaster.
If your home is rendered uninhabitable after, say, a brutal hailstorm or a fire, additional living expense coverage, standard in most home insurance policies, could help pay for temporary living costs while your home is being worked on. These costs may include hotel expenses or interim housing, food, laundry and dry cleaning, storage space, and internet/cable connection.

6. Home insurance offers peace of mind.
With homeowners insurance, you can sleep a little sounder at night knowing that you have a veritable safety net if anything ever happens to your largest investment. Additionally, if most of your home is paid off, you've obviously put a lot of hard-earned cash into it at that point. If something ever happens to your place, your insurer is there to make sure you don't lose any of that hard-sought value you've diligently earned over the years.