One of the best reasons to get homeowners’ insurance is, not only to protect your home from damage, although that is definitely needed, but you also need to protect the things in your home. It is much more likely that you’ll be a victim of theft than a victim of a tornado. Be sure to use the tips here to find the best possible policy.
Renters insurance is important for anyone renting. Renter’s insurance covers your personal belongings. You need a policy of your own for your things in case there’s a burglary, fire, or flood.
Make sure that you have a record of everything that is covered under your home insurance. Make a detailed list, and take pictures of all valuables. It also helps to keep receipts for big ticket items. There is free software online that will enable you to create a home inventory, room by room. If you need to make a claim, having all this information on hand will help to speed up the process.
Flood Insurance
Make changes to your policy as you acquire new possessions and as your children move out. Purchase additional coverage to cover all your valuable items, such as jewelry. If you want to insure certain high-cost items, then you might need to put in riders for protecting them.
If you want to be sure your home and belongings are covered in the event of a flood, the time to buy flood insurance is not the moment it begins to rain. Most flood insurance plans will not cover flood damage incurred within the first 30 days of purchase, so you need to make that call today, rather than putting it off.
A higher deductible on your homeowner’s insurance can save you money on premiums. While a higher deductible may mean that you will be responsible for small repair costs such as broken windows, more often than not these costs are balanced out by the savings you will receive on your annual premiums.
To make your home owner insurance go down, purchase a good alarm system. Statistics show that homes with security systems experience fewer break-ins. It will even lower the cost of your home insurance, as it alleviates a lot of risk for the insurance company. Give your insurance company proof of your security system.
You can save thousands of dollars and years of payments by making your mortgage payment on a bi-weekly basis, instead of monthly. Ask your mortgage holder about setting you up on this payment program. Since there are 52 weeks in a year, you will end up making an additional couple of payments without breaking the bank or your budget.
When looking into getting homeowners insurance, it pays to get get Guaranteed Replacement Value insurance. What this means is that in the event that your home has to be rebuilt due to a disaster, the insurance company will pay for the repairs no matter what the cost is. In the long run, this could save you a lot of money.
Turning 55 is an important milestone for purchasing homeowner’s insurance. A lot of companies offer discounts to seniors, and 55 is the minimum for many of these companies. Find a company that does if yours does not.
Guaranteed Replacement Value
Consider a policy that offers guaranteed replacement value when shopping for home owners insurance. Guaranteed replacement value means that if your home is destroyed the insurance company will pay the cost to rebuild it, regardless of what that cost is. Considering that the cost of construction often increases over the years, this is especially important if you will be in your home long term. Having such a cushion can offer you true peace of mind.
When you’re living somewhere that experiences earthquakes, then it’s a good idea to get insurance that covers you for that. You will have to pay for damages from an earthquake if you aren’t covered.
Install a security system in your home that is monitored by a central monitoring station, and you will save about five percent on your home insurance. You will likely have to provide proof to your home insurance company to get the discount, but that is as easy as sending them a copy of your monitoring bill.
For homeowners who live in earthquake zones, it is worth it to buy earthquake insurance. The reason is that if you do not carry earthquake insurance, and you incur damages from an earthquake, you will need to pay for the repair or replacement costs yourself.
Make sure to take photos or to take a video of everything in your home so that you can create claims more easily. If you need to file a claim, your insurance provider will want proof of the content and documentation. By having this information recorded and neatly documented, you are helping to speed along the process and help things get back to normal. Store this inventory in an external, safe location.
Whether we’re speaking about home invasion, an act of nature or anything in between, there are countless ways out there that your home or the property within can become damaged. By using these tips to ensure you have ample coverage, you will be protected should anything unexpected, wreak havoc on your home.