Archive for the ‘Homeowners Insurance’ Category
January 18th, 2012 | 
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Landscape: Often times when a home is burned, bushes and shrubs are burned. There are limits in the policy per shrub or tree. A proper review of the policy will determine the details.
Mileage: Can be paid to view your contents, to do laundry
Laundry: If you are displaced from home and your laundry facilities aren’t available to you. You can sometimes get laundry services paid for.
Contents: Assistance for someone to help you make a list of your damaged property.
Outbuildings: Likely limited to 10 percent of your overall amount. So if your outbuildings are worth more than that, you should address that with your agent now.
Security: The physical security of a partially burned home is covered: emergency board up and lock up of windows and doors, including a hasp and lock.
Tarps: tarp your house on an emergency basis, and otherwise protect it from the weather and further damage after a claim.
Debris Removal: Sometimes limited to 5 percent of the policy. In a typical restoration, 4 – 7 percent of the total contract is debris removal.
Alternate Living Expenses (ALE): A house equivalent to your current living standards.
Utilities: Increased bills that can be reasonably connected to the claim, such as a high air conditioning bill to prevent mold growth and dry out the structure.
70 cents in a bank account for you and all the others to draw on a claim for each $1 insured customer’s pay. Of the other 30 cents, 25 cents goes to sales cost and 5 cents profit. The insurance company’s job when there is a claim is to assist the homeowner to draw on that bank account the amount of their claim.
The insured has to prove how much this is through receipts, inventories and estimates. It is important to note that professional help is now available to the homeowner to help maximize the settlement, and take care of the details associated with proving your claim. Public Adjusters only work for the homeowner and usually charge a small percentage to help the claimant.
If the insurance company is not supposed to put roadblocks in the homeowners way. They are not supposed to ask for duplicate evidence, but they are supposed to assist you in understanding policy provisions that relate to your claim.
If you find your insurance company is not doing this, unreasonably delay, or otherwise put roadblocks in the way of accessing your claim money, you have the right to have your own expert called a Public Adjuster. Public insurance adjusters are licensed by the state of Texas and cannot charge more than 10 percent.
To find out more, contact Dwayne Hall, Texas Licensed Public Adjuster, at (903) 733-4664 or www.PublicAdjusterNetwork.com or email him at Dwayne.Hall@yahoo.com
Dwayne Hall
http://www.articlesbase.com/insurance-articles/the-top-ten-items-missed-most-often-on-homeowners-Insurance-claims-699348.html
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Here are the tips to save on your Homeowners Insurance cost. A wide variety of discounts are available, and these discounts will vary by state and insurance company.
Don’t confuse what you paid for your house with rebuilding costs
While your home and its content are at risk from fire, theft, windstorms and other perils, the land under your home is not. Don’t include the value of the land in deciding how much homeowners insurance you need to buy.
Buy Multiple Policies from the same insurer
It might a good idea to get it all together. Many insurance companies that sell homeowners insurance also provide Auto Insurance. They may offer a discount if you buy both policies from the same company. The discount could be as high as 10 to 15%. Be sure to verify that the combined price is lower than buying the different coverage from different company.
The Building Material of your house
What your house is made if will actually make a difference in how much you pay. For example, wood houses carry higher premiums than good, solid concrete structures. Also check with your insurance agent what you can do to make your home more resistant to windstorms and other natural disasters. You might find that you can save on your premiums by adding window shutters, reinforcing your roof or installing stronger roofing materials. In addition, consider modernizing your heating, cooling, plumbing and electrical system to reduce the risk of fire and water damage.
Security systems and Safety Factors
Most insurance companies will give discounts if you have fire alarms and/or a security system installed. The distance from your house to nearest fire station may also afford you an extra discount. Your insurance company may also offer a significant discount of 15 0r 20 percent if you install a sophisticated home security system. If you’re thinking about buying such a system, check with your insurer to see which systems you’ll get a discount for.
Raise your deductible
A deductible is the amount of money you pay towards a loss before your Insurance policy begins to pay a claim. The higher your deductible, the more money you can save on your premiums. Most insurance companies recommend a deductible of at least $500. Increase your deductible to:
$500 and save up to 12% on your premiums.
$1,000 and save up to 24 %
$2,500 and save up to 30 %
$5,000 and save up to 37 %
For example, let’s say that your home has a current market value of $225,000. Of that price, perhaps $100,000 may be directly related to the value of the land, while the remaining $125,000 would be the actual value of the house. You should insure your home for the amount it would take to replace the house, don’t include the cost of the land.
Seek out other discounts
Companies offer several types of discounts, but they don’t all offer the same discount or the same amount of discount in all states. For example, since retired people stay at home more than working people they are less likely to be burglarized and may spot fires sooner, too. Retired people also have more time for maintaining their homes. If you’re at least 55 years old and retired, you may qualify for a discount of up to 10 percent at some companies. Some employers and professional associations administer group insurance programs that may offer a better deal than you can get elsewhere.
Liza Arwati
Your home is your most valuable asset both in many ways. It has financial value that can be tapped into when the need arises. It also has a certain emotional value built around the shelter it provides and the family memories built around it. For these reasons it only makes sense that you need to protect it from potential harm. With this in mind you also want to save money on your Homeowners Insurance without sacrificing the coverage you need.
If you think your current homeowners insurance premium is to high here are 8 ways you can save money while maintaining the amount of coverage you need to protect your home.
1. Shop your current policy among different insurance companies and see who gives you the most competitive quote. The general rule of thumb is to get at least 4 quotes. This can be done quite easily these days as all the major insurers have websites that can provide almost instantaneous quotes.
2. Check your deductible and see if raising it is a possibility. If your financial situation can handle it raising it can bring significant savings on your monthly premium.
3. Get all your insurance from the same company. There is fierce competition in the insurance industry and most companies will offer discounts if you buy all your insurance needs from them. In most cases combining your home and Auto Insurance is a good way to save money on your homeowners insurance.
4. Ask about getting discounts for security systems, fire alarms, and fire sprinkler systems. Most companies will provide savings for these devices so it can pay to install them.
5. Accurately calculate the value of your home. Remember home insurance is used to pay for damage or to rebuild your home in the case of damage or destruction. You do not need to insure the property on which you home is built so do not use the appraised real estate value of your home to determine how much coverage you need.
6. Certain home improvements can also affect how much you can save off your monthly premium. Depending on the geographic location of your home making improvements that guard against the natural disasters that occur in your area can also lead to savings.
7. Be sure to calculate the policy limits for your personal possessions accurately. This includes floater insurance for your most valuable possessions including jewelry, art work, or any other expensive items that would be hard to replace if they were stolen or damaged.
By following these 7 ways to save money on your homeowners Insurance you can get the coverage you need at the price you want.
Andrew Bicknell