Purchasing an insurance policy is not something people do every day. It is imperative your chosen policy covers your needs, as well as your standards for customer service and cost. You don’t want to find out the hard way that you’re not adequately covered when you need to rely on it.
Homeowners insurance is not optional. If any event happens that can damage your home and you don’t have insurance, you will be in trouble. If you took a mortgage, you will more than likely be required to insure your home.
Lower your homeowner’s insurance annual premiums by as much as five percent by maintaining a security system that is directly tied to your neighborhood police station. All that is required to qualify for this discount is to verify that you have central monitoring, which can be through a bill or insurance company contract.
Insurance Rates
Instead of settling for your current insurance costs, why not take the initiative to sniff out savings? If you’re considering home construction, such as adding onto it, using certain materials, like wood, could raise your premiums.
If you are building an addition to your home or considering a major renovation, check what effect this will have on your homeowner’s insurance rates. Wood-framed structures are considered to be a fire risk, for example, and will raise your insurance rates. Using cement, steel, or other fireproof materials will mean your addition costs less to insure.
In order to ensure that your claim is processed quickly, it is wise to have a current inventory of your belongings. Those who have endured major disasters know how difficult it can be to recall all of the items that were inside their homes. The easiest way is to take photos of everything in the house, including opening closets and taking a picture of everything in there.
Consider asking your insurance agent for a home owner’s policy review once you reach the age of 55. A lot of companies will give a senior citizen a discount on home owners. If you don’t have a company that offers this, then you should look elsewhere.
If you’ve got a family, evaluate the insurance policies in case your home shrinks or if your material possessions increase. It will be to your advantage to look over your coverages to make sure everything is properly covered. If you have specific items that need to get covered, an individual rider can be added to ascertain you protect those items against theft.
You can save money on your homeowners insurance by providing proof that you have made your home a safer place through the installation of a number of safety-related features. Install smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, deadbolt locks, burglar alarms, and/or fire alarms, and your insurer will likely offer you a preferred rate.
You need to understand what your coverage is if you have a roommate. Policies may cover only the possessions that you claim. Make sure you know exactly what is covered to avoid roommate problems later on.
Flood Insurance
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.
Get yourself a security system that comes with central monitoring. This ensures your family and home’s security, and the insurance company gves you a 5% discount or more. Proof of a centrally monitored alarm system is required in order to get the discount.
If you need to file a homeowner’s insurance claim, you’ll need to prove your losses. A good way to document your possessions is to take a video while walking through your house, describing the items. Then upload the video to a safe, non-public place online, so it won’t be destroyed if anything happens to your home. Scan receipts for your possessions, too.
Deduct the value of the land that your home is built on. It is quite expensive and needless to cover the land that it is built on. You will save a good bit of money just by finding out the land’s worth and deducting it from the amount that you are covering on your home insurance policy.
Protect expensive items by putting them on the policy as an endorsement or list them separately. Basic belongings are usually included, but jewelry, furs and other expensive items might have policy limits that don’t reflect item value. Check your policy to determine whether your expensive items are fully covered. If not, each piece should be listed along with its value.
If you put the tips from the above article to good use, you can have an easier time shopping for home owner’s insurance. You will value the peace of mind that comes from knowing you have the policy that you need.