Archive for the ‘Home Insurance’ Category

When filing your house insurance claim, you can accomplish it easily without problems if you complete the required documents listed in your policy’s claim instructions and you submit them as soon as you can.

After submitting your documents, you may be asked to fill some forms and given an acknowledgement receipt and further instructions if needed. The house insurance firm will send an adjuster to examine your damage or loss and then you are instructed to just wait for your check.

State insurance departments have regulations for the settlement of claims, including the time home insurance firms are required to complete claims. Call your insurance regulators and ask for the period of time insurers need to settle claims, so you will know if your insurer is complying with state insurance laws.

Be cautious when considering hiring a lawyer. This should be a last resort. If you hire a lawyer to represent you, your homeowners insurance company, your insurance agent and adjuster can only talk with the lawyer. The best initial option is to first consult with your state insurance regulators.

After receiving your house insurance policy, review the provisions, the assets covered, the amounts of coverage and your deductibles. If you have doubts about some provisions, call your house insurance agent so when something happens, you already know what to expect and you would know how to adjust.

After your house is damaged or lost due to a disaster, call your house insurance company as soon as you can. If there are thousands making claims at the same time, it is always good to be among the first in line. If your agent can assess your situation ahead of time, you may get some extra help.

As you are waiting for any action from your home insurance firm, make needed but temporary repairs. You should only do repairs that will prevent further damage to your house or that will protect you and your family from possible injury. Record your repair expenses and keep receipts of materials and labor. Make sure your house insurance policy covers temporary repairs.

Ask a repair contractor to estimate your repair costs. The house insurance adjuster may approve your claim if you can prove your repair estimates with computations from a reputable repair contractor.

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It does not take so much effort on your part to cut your home insurance cost. Find out some ways to protect your home more adequately from losses arising from disasters without spending much.

Compare prices offered by several home insurance companies. You can get quotes from insurance agents or from the web sites of insurers. Just see to it that you are getting quotes from reliable insurance companies that have been operating profitably for a long time.

Ask also for the types of discounts that they offer. Some house insurance firms may offer significant discounts that fit your status or condition.

Increase your deductible. This amount represents your part in the risk. This will be the amount you need to pay before the insurance firm pays its part. If you raise your deductible to $1,000, you will cut your premium by up to 24 percent; if you increase it to $2,500, you will get a discount of up to 30 percent.

Consider buying your homeowners insurance from the same firm handling your auto insurance to get a discount. Some insurance firms even have umbrella insurance policies which include other types of insurance products.

Do not include your land in your home value estimates. Theft, storms, fire and other disasters do not destroy the ground your house is sitting on.

Enhance your safety and security systems to reduce the risk of burglaries, fires and other accidents. Ask your home insurance agent which type or brand of home security systems the insurance company considers for discounts.

Some home insurance firms give discounts to non-smoking homeowners. The insurance industry has found that over 23,000 fires hit homes every year due to smoking-related incidents.

If you are a member of an association, ask your officers if they have a group coverage or a discount arrangement with a house insurance firm.

Retirees get discounts from some home insurance companies because most of them stay at home and have more time in protecting their homes from perils.

If your homeowners insurance company has been profitable for many years and have been processing claims faithfully, stay with your firm. Your loyalty will be rewarded with discounts.

Check your home insurance policy each year or every time there is significant change in your house or your belongings. Make sure the amount of your insurance equals the cost of replacing your house in case something happens.

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Oftentimes assumptions turn out to be wrong. You assume you are adequately covered by your house insurance, but later when you make your claims, you find that you are not adequately protected.

After Hurricane Katrina, many homeowners found out their house insurance policies did not include flood coverage. Home insurance companies are getting smarter and smarter, covering only risks they are not likely to pay.

In coastal areas frequented by hurricanes, such as Florida, hurricane is not covered by regular homeowners insurance policies. Homeowners in Florida need to buy hurricane insurance from the state-owned insurance enterprise. In areas usually ravaged by forest fires, fire coverage is not offered. In earthquake-prone California, homeowners need to buy earthquake insurance from the state-operated California Earthquake Authority.

So get your house insurance policy now and examine the exclusions. If you have identified an exclusion that you believe should be covered, call your agent and buy a supplemental coverage or buy from your state insurance agency.

One typical exclusion is flood coverage. Flood has been viewed by insurance companies as a big risk in all areas so they do not cover it. Call the National Flood Insurance Program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for quotes. Include also wind coverage if you are in an area prone to both hurricanes and floods.

Damages from water leaks and mold are also no longer covered in many homeowners insurance policies. According to Frank Coyne, chief executive of Insurance Services Office, house insurance providers limit their coverage for water damage and exclude mold coverage due to the wave of toxic mold claims in 2002 in California, Florida, Texas and other states.

Another damage not covered by typical home insurance products is damage from sewage backups. You can avoid being stressed by costs of sewage repair by buying a rider sold at about $50 to $100.

Your house insurance policy also does not cover damages from termites, rodents and other house pests, so regularly conduct inspection to ensure there are not pests in your property.

Trampolines have been excluded in regular home insurance policies because of the number of claims related to trampoline accidents in the past. Insurers surely do not want to spend for endless hospitalizations for kids hurt while enjoying trampolines.

House insurance premiums get more costly if you have dangerous dog breeds such as pit bulls, wolf hybrids, rottweilers and dobermans.

If you have expensive personal possessions such as expensive jewelry and antiques, get additional coverage because there are coverage limits for personal possessions in regular house insurance policies.

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