Homeowners Insurance Lowdown

Tips To Be Safe At Home

By Priya Jestin, Staff Writer

You don’t need somebody to tell you that taking care of your home does not mean just taking homeowners insurance. Insurance is to protect you in the case of an eventuality. But you have to take all precautions to ensure that such eventualities don’t occur. So how can you and your home be safe when you are at home?

Generally, burglars avoid occupied houses. However, there always exceptions to the rule, and don’t assume that nothing can ever happen just because you’re home. It’s actually even more dangerous if you are home because not only are your belongings at risk but your family is also under threat. There are a few things you can do to minimize such a risk.

Never hand out your keys, not even to the best of friends. Keep your keys to yourself and always know the location of all your house keys all the time. Never leave the key under the doormat, above the door, in a flowerpot, or anywhere outside the house.

No strangers please. It’s nice to be friendly, but don’t go inviting strangers into your home. If you’ve got a delivery, even before you open the front door to accept the package, always ask for photo identification. Just because someone wears a uniform doesn’t mean s/he is legitimate. If an unknown person rings your bell and asks to make a phone call, offer to make it for them, but don't let them in. A chain on the door helps insure someone can't force his or her way in while you're there.

Locks: Keep your doors and windows locked, even if you're at home. Get your children into this habit, too.

Look around you and be alert at all times. Be aware of your surroundings even in your own familiar neighborhood.

Save On Homeonwers Insurance

By Priya Jestin, Staff Writer

Homeowners insurance is a costly affair and any little bit you can do to lower your costs goes a long way to increase your savings. Here are two simple tips to lower your rates.

Buy your home and auto policies from the same insurer. There are quite a few insurers who sell homeowners, auto and liability coverage. Some of these companies will take 5 to 15 percent off your premium if you buy two or more policies from them.

Make your home more disaster resistant. Find out all the steps you can take to you’re your home resistant to natural disasters like windstorms, floods and other such disasters. You can save quite a bit on your premiums by adding storm shutters, reinforcing your roof or buying stronger roofing materials.

Secrets To Lower Your Insurance Cost

By Priya Jestin, Staff Writer

The price you pay for your homeowners insurance could vary by hundreds of dollars depending on your insurance provider. Different insurance companies charge differently and that is where the price difference arises. But there are some things you can do to lower your costs. So, before you go out to get yourself a homeowner’s insurance policy, it is best to consider certain things that will help you lower your costs.

One of the simplest things you can do to reduce your insurance cost is to make your home disaster resistant. Find out from your insurance agent or company representative what steps you can take to make your home more resistant to windstorms and other natural disasters. The simple act of adding storm shutters can actually help you save on your premiums! Reinforcing your roof or buying stronger roofing materials, also give the same benefits.

Older homes can be retrofitted to make them better able to withstand earthquakes. In addition, consider modernizing your heating, plumbing and electrical systems to reduce the risk of fire and water damage.

Know Your Insurance

By Priya Jestin, Staff Writer

If you’ve taken a homeowners insurance, you definitely care about your home and want to ensure that you don’t have to suffer if disaster strikes. But what you may not realize is that it isn’t enough to just take a policy. That is only the first step. You must check your homeowners insurance policy regularly to ensure that you haven’t missed out on any technicality which could cause a lot of heartache later on.

If you have expensive jewelry, art, antiques, collectibles, guns, etc call your insurance agent & get them listed on your homeowners policy. Don’t forget to document them separately. Take pictures of every area of your home including the furniture. This will help ensure the legitimacy of your claim.

Keep receipts or proof of the new or upgraded appliances and furniture in your home. Never keep important records like insurance policies, an inventory of your home contents, pictures of your home (exterior & interior), financial documents, and receipts in your home. A bank safety deposit box is always safer. And most importantly, never do business with an insurance company you have never heard of before.

No Easy Answers To Florida’s Pains

If anybody really thought Florida homeowners actually had any hopes of insurance rates getting to reasonable levels they need to get themselves checked. I mean the situation in Florida is so bad, it could only get better from here, or that’s what I thought. But it seems Florida haven’t seen the last of their bad days. One of the Florida Legislature's leaders on insurance issues recently said that residents seeking big relief from skyrocketing homeowners' insurance rates shouldn't get their hopes too high.

State Sen. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, chairman of the Senate's Banking and Insurance Committee, was referring to a special state legislative session on insurance reform scheduled to start Jan. 16 in Tallahassee. What he is trying to actually do is keep the hopes low enough so any progress will give us a chance to clap our hands in mad glee.

Hurricanes have hit Florida in two consecutive years and hence the rate clock cannot be turned back to 2003 levels. Argument accepted. So what exactly does Posey suggest to ensure that Florida denizens get a better deal? According to Posey, measures that encourage more competition in the insurance industry could address Florida's insurance woes.

Posey believes that if officials force insurance companies to lower their rates, they might stop selling homeowners' policies in Florida altogether. What can be done instead is stimulate more competition in the industry. Another proposal that seems to have the potential to help homeowners is one that suggests that funding for the state-run Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund should be increased, and it should be made easier for insurance companies to tap into it.

There are many more interesting proposals, which may me weighed against the present circumstances. My only hope is that whatever Posey does, it should help to bring relief to homeowners. This should not be yet another attempt to take homeowners for a walk in the park while insurers rake in all the moolah.

Allstate To End Homeowners' Insurance On Md. Coast

By Priya Jestin, Staff Writer

Aren’t these guys supposed to be helping us out in our time of trouble and not running away like scared rabbits? Well then what’s with Allstate’s recent decision to stop writing homeowners’ policies in coastal areas of Maryland? So what if the Atlantic Ocean gets warmer and thereby lead to a ‘possibility’ of stronger hurricanes hitting the region. That, if you as me, is one of the lamest excuses I’ve ever heard.

The company has decided that it will no longer offer new property insurance in all or part of 11 counties, mostly along the Chesapeake Bay. The explanation they had was that they were “working to minimize their risk."

Agreed many major storms have struck the coastal areas and the situation could get worse in the future. But then they have also been increasing the rates to counter these very eventualities. Problem is there is a chance that smaller insurers might follow the lead of Allstate and Nationwide.

This could lead to lesser competition in the marketplace, and hence, higher prices. So, at the end of the day, it all boils down to more money out of the consumer’s pocket. Are you ready to shell out even more?

Farmers Insurance To Cull Rates

By Priya Jestin, Staff Writer

Here’s some really great news for Californians who have taken homeowners insurance from Farmers Insurance. Farmers Insurance, the second largest writer of homeowners insurance in California, recently requested an 18 percent overall reduction in its homeowners insurance rates for policyholders.

The proposed rate decrease, which stands at $171 million, will impact nearly one million homeowners and renters and may take effect in June 2007. The rate cuts will benefit their Special Form, Protector Plus, Renters and Condominium Owners customers. There’s still more good news. Farmers is also planning to introduce a “claim forgiveness” policy for customers who remain “claims free” with the company for six or more years prior to filing a single claim.

I wonder if all this large heartedness is thanks to Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi’s review of the insurance industry. Last year, Garamendi ordered Allstate, State Farm, Farmers and Safeco Insurance to justify their homeowner rates. Whatever be the case, it still is good news and probably it will have a domino effect on the other insurers as well. Let’s wait and watch.

Do You Know Your Policy?

By Priya Jestin, Staff Writer

I know this is one insurance premium we really don’t want to claim. I mean, who’d like to lose their home? But if and when such an eventuality happens, we must be prepared for it and know how to go about the process. Most people make a few common mistakes, which if you avoid, will enable you to get your insurance money faster.

One of the first things to do after you’ve taken a policy is to READ IT. Most homeowners just stuff their policy into a drawer or some place safe without reading even one line of it. That’s a very big mistake. Only when you read your policy carefully, will you know if you have the coverage you need and that you’ve got value for money.

If you feel your insurance provider is charging you too much for the policy, ask an independent broker for help. S/he will be able to help you compare policies and tell you if you’ve got a decent deal. Remember, you may not be able to save much on the cost of the policy when you change providers. What you must check for is the level of service a company offers. That is what will stand you in good stead if you ever need to claim.

Next: Record the contents of your home. Keep the receipts for expensive items. And very important, check if your valuables like jewelry, antiques, etc are covered in the policy. If not, then get these items scheduled onto your policy specifically.