Homeowner's insurance rates mainly depend on your geographic location. Areas prone to hurricanes, floods, hail, earthquakes, fires and other natural disasters tend to be higher. Even the distance to the nearest fire department or fire hydrant can affect homeowner's insurance rates.
Knowing your policy is VERY important
Coverage of property and property
Liability coverage
Theft
Additional living expenses
What can a landlord do?
What can a landlord do to save money?
Coverage of property and property
Damage to the home and its contents could be the biggest unexpected disaster awaiting a homeowner with less attention than necessary. Most policies provide a maximum amount of coverage for housing and another amount for content.
As a rule, housing coverage is based on replacement cost, which means that in the event of total loss, the policy will provide reimbursement, up to the limit of the policy, to replace the structure. Ideally, the homeowner should purchase enough insurance to fully restore the house, known as replacement cost. This figure may not correspond to the real market value of the house or what the owner originally paid for the house. This is especially true in a depressed or overpriced market, or if the house is simply not replaced before it is lost. Cost-recovery policies that can pay a limit on a home recovery policy may be available from your insurer.
To determine how much insurance you need to purchase, an accurate assessment of the house must be made to replace the cost. Working with your insurance company is important in this process. Most insurers recommend or require a homeowner to insure a home for 100 percent of its full replacement cost. Some houses, which are very unique, such as national types of registers or very complex, cannot be insured for exact replacement, since some functions are not replaced by manufacture, materials, or practical expenses. The insurer and / or agent is the best source of these problems.
Coverage for personal property is different. Most policies provide actual cash value coverage for content that includes depreciation or full content without depreciation. The actual cash value means that if a 10-year-old TV blows out, a homeowner needs to know what to expect. Unlike full-featured content coverage, which essentially provides a new TV, the actual cash cost coverage allows the insurance company to calculate the useful life of the item and then depreciate the product to its current value. A weakened 10-year-old TV will be insured only for a fraction of its original value. The homeowner may want to consider reimbursing replacement costs to make sure that the content is insured.
In addition to being paid for the replacement of the value, rather than the actual cash value, homeowners must purchase additional coverage for items that are usually subject to loss restrictions. Almost all policies cover the loss of content to the limit of policies for items that include furniture, clothing, toys, accessories, such as lamps and other items that are used for decoration. Explicit restrictions are set in the policy for expensive items such as jewelry, fine arts, furs, electronics, collectibles, oriental carpets and antiques. If a thief comes and steals a double-ring engagement ring, it will not be well covered enough, without what is commonly called a personal property racer, to cover specific items of value. For more information on homeowners insurance, visit our specialist website below.
Homeowner Insurance
Liability insurance is very important to cover homeowners, because it helps protect the owner and family from a financial catastrophe if someone files a lawsuit against the homeowner's policy, sues the homeowner or if the courts legally hold the homeowner responsible for another person’s injury or material damage. . The standard limit of liability for most policies is $ 100,000, but many believe that additional protection is needed, especially if the homeowner has significant assets.
With a small increase in the premium, an additional 300,000 - 500,000 US dollars can be obtained. Coverage of liability protects in three ways: personal liability, damage to the property of others and medical expenses for damage to others.
Another way to protect assets is to consider the Umbrella policy, which usually adds $ 1 million (or perhaps more) to the excess liability insurance for property and property policies of the homeowner. It also covers claims excluded from most major policies, such as defamation, slander, defamation, and mental agony.
For example, most policies provide liability coverage that covers not only accidents that occur in the insured property, but also accidents that occur elsewhere. If a family dog bites a neighbor in front of another neighbor’s house, for example, the dog’s homeowner's policy usually compensates the neighbor for injuries and necessary medical expenses. For more information on homeowners insurance, visit our specialist website below.
Theft
Most policies are automatically insured against the loss of personal property, even if this property does not belong to insurance premiums when it is lost. If you go to the airport with several suitcases and they are stolen, it is probably covered. Talk to your agent and / or your insurance company.
Additional living expenses
Another automatic advantage that many homeowners are not aware of is to cover living expenses if the covered concessions are damaged to the extent of being unfit for living. The policy not only has to pay the cost of repairing damage to housing, but also has to reimburse the homeowner for the extra cost of living elsewhere during repairs. For more information and homeowners insurance rates, visit our specialist website below.
What can a landlord do?
How does someone know what is and what is not covered? Read the policy carefully. It is unlikely to be interesting to read, but the good news is that if you read and understand your policy before you need it, this knowledge can save unexpected financial losses in the event of a problem. It is always better to talk with one insurance agent or company that published the policy for more information.
Understanding your homeowners insurance policy is best handled before filing a claim. In the case of content, an inventory of items in a room is important for obtaining information, such as the date of purchase, the serial number, the initial cost of each item and a brief description. Videotape or photographs are very useful along with the inventory. These items should be kept in a safe place, for example, in a safe in a bank or in a savings and credit institution, and not at home, because if the house is destroyed, it is likely that the inventory and associated photos or tape can also be destroyed.
Save money on your homeowners Insurance
Insurance is a highly competitive business, and the price paid by a consumer to insure homeowners can vary by hundreds of dollars, depending on the insurance company with which the consumer intends to conduct business.
Companies offer several types of discounts, but they may not always offer the same discount or the same discount. That is why the consumer should ask his insurance agent or company representative about any available discounts.
What does a potential homeowner policy holder think about when evaluating what policies should be obtained? Here are a few ideas for potentially lower costs.
Shop around
Prices vary, so it pays for the store. Ask friends, check the Yellow Pages, contact your customer service manual, insurance agents, the state insurance commissioner's phone line, and price information companies.
Raise the franchise
Deductions are the amount of money that the landlord pays for the loss before the insurance company starts paying in accordance with the terms of the policy. Homeowner's policy deductions usually start at $ 250. By increasing the franchise to $ 500, $ 1,000, $ 2,500, or $ 5,000, discounts can be obtained depending on the insurance company.
Buy a home and auto policy from the same insurer
Some companies that sell homeowners and auto cover may lower their premium if they buy two or more policies. When you buy a house, think about how much it will cost. New homes, electrical, heating and plumbing systems and the overall structure are likely to be in better shape than old home homes. Insurers may offer a discount if a new home. The choice of building materials and design can reduce the premium. Brick, because of its resistance to the wind, is better in Georgia. Proximity to fire stations, firefighters and fire hydrants also affects bonuses.
Insure the house, not the land
Land under the house is not at risk from thefts, storms, fires and other hazards covered by homeowners ’policies. Thus, the value of the land should not be included in determining how much homeowners insurance to buy.
Beef House Security
Some insurance companies offer discounts on smoke detectors, burglar and fire alarm systems, or blocking locks. Others offer discounts for houses equipped with a sprinkler system, as well as fire detection and security signals that call the police station or at the monitoring site. Before buying such a system, consumers should check with their insurers to confirm that the system is eligible for the discount and how much the device or system will cost. Most importantly, the consumer should know how much can be saved on promotions.
Do not smoke
Smoking accounts for more than 23,000 residential fires throughout the year throughout the country. That is why some insurers offer lower premiums if all residents do not smoke at home.
Discount search for seniors
People who have retired stay at home more and spotty fires before the working people. Pensioners also have more time to maintain their homes. If the homeowner is at least 55 years old and has retired, he or she may receive a discount in some companies.
Compare the limits in the policy with the value of the property in the house at least once a year.
Policies should cover any major purchases or additions to home contents. Remember that additions to the physical structure of the house should be communicated to your agent or insurance company to reassess the limitations of your policy. Also, review content that may require special planning in your policy. Such items include jewelry, watches, furs and computers, to name a few. If you sold or gave away special schedule items, they should have been removed from your policy.
Are you protected enough?
Since there are so many options and variables associated with homeowners insurance, we encourage you to find a company in your area that specializes in homeowners insurance. It is very possible to save hundreds of dollars a year through simple purchases and coverage.
For more information or a quote on homeowners insurance, fill out our free insurance claim request form.
