Below is a list of questions people frequently have about Baltimore Equitable Insurance. If you do not see an answer to your questions please feel free to contact us! What does “perpetual” mean? It means that the policy you purchase has no expiration date. It is effective until cancelled. Is this a “real” homeowners policy? YES. The Perpetual Homeowners Policy can offer you the same coverage you have now. We can include endorsements to fit your personal insurance needs, including valuable articles floater, water/sewer back up coverage, and many more. What is a “deposit”? That is what we call the payment that you make for your perpetual homeowners policy. It is referred to as a “deposit,” because it is deposited with us while you have our insurance and fully refundable to you at the time of cancellation of the policy. What do you mean by “fully refundable”? Every penny you have given to us to buy insurance will be returned to you or to your estate – in full – no matter how many claims you may have had during the time you were insured with us. Is there a penalty for “early withdrawal”? No. Baltimore Equitable is not a bank and this is not a Certificate of Deposit. Whenever your policy is cancelled – whether its been effective for one day or 50 years – your deposit is refunded in full. What happens to the money I have given to Baltimore Equitable if I die? Everything you have paid to Baltimore Equitable is transferred to your spouse upon your death if he or she is still living. If you are sole survivor, the funds will be refunded to your estate and dispersed according to your will. If you have made use of a trust for estate planning purposes, your policy and/or the deposit will be transferred as that document directs. Will I ever have to pay additional deposit to Baltimore Equitable? If the cost to rebuild your home (not the cost to re-buy it) remained the same, you would never need to pay for insurance coverage again. Unfortunately, we all know this will not happen. More than likely the cost to rebuild your home will increase over the years that you own it. When you need to increase your coverage, all future payments will be based on your original rate per thousand – not the rate new clients are charged – and those payments are added to your deposit on hand and are also fully refundable at cancellation of the policy. Do I have to own my own home to get a perpetual policy? NO. Baltimore Equitable can write a perpetual policy for a condominium or an apartment. What happens when I sell my house and move to another location? If that other location is in Maryland or Pennsylvania and you wish to continue with the perpetual policy at that location, we simply write a new policy on your new home or condominium or apartment. When you cancel the old policy, you may use that deposit to pay for the new policy. If the new policy costs more (because of higher coverage needs), then you will owe us the difference. If the new policy is less (because of a downsizing), we will refund the difference between the old and the new deposit. If you move out of state or do not wish to continue with the perpetual policy, we will cancel your old policy when you no longer need that coverage and refund, in full, the deposit.