[DByers]

Hugh, I am not sure of your sq footage or age of your house, upgrades already made and so forth, but I can tell you being in the construction industry that many homes were way under insured here in SB and had no idea until after the 2 fires we had last year. What will eat you up are the code upgrades in the structure and wiring area. Many did not realize that landscape was not included in their insurance also and need an umbrella policy for that.

Talking to your agent is a good start, getting a good GC and have him walk your property and give you an idea on what items would have to be brought up to code will help determine if your "upgrade" portion is enough.

My POS 1500 sq foot house is insured at $350 a sq foot with believe it or not 75% code upgrade. It was built in 1967 and would not meet code for todays building standards in so many ways.