Home Insurance Daily

by: Christine Zafra

A lot of old homes are in peril of losing their insurance if they don’t comply with the insurance company’s will. It is a common misconception that old homes have higher insurance since they have a higher market value, but the reality is, it’s the other way around. Old homes are fond of using aluminum for their electrical wirings. Insurance companies claim that these electrical wirings can overheat and if not spliced correctly. A short can also occur when these wires trip. There are some ways to distinguish a faulty aluminum wiring system and that is, if the box of the main switch has burn stains around it (the walls). You also have to smell if there is a trace of “burning electricity” in your homes. If these things are discovered by your insurance company, chances are, your insurance can go lower than expected.

Here the guides on how you can take of your insurance policy.

1. Leaving your home a long period? Have the insurer know it
Emptying the house is a big risk. Informing the insurer will be a big help for the reason you may know if it’s still covered.

2. Check excess level
Any excess amount in the event of claim needs to be pay.

3. Confirm what other possessions are covered.
It may refer to your children’s possession. Verify what requirements are so that their belongings will be covered too.

4. Are you located in a flood zone?
If you are located will flooding usually occurs often times your options in home insurance are limited

5. How about not cover in home insurance.
Not all in your possessions are covered by the insurance. So it’s best to know which are uncovered.

Tarrant County homeowners with coverage under one of the major policies from Farmers Insurance will see their average rates go up by about 3.5 percent beginning in May. Premiums under the company’s Texas Family Home Policy will go up by an average of 7.9 percent statewide, Farmers Texas Insurance spokesman Jerry Davies said Tuesday. Under the state’s file-and-use system, insurance companies can file new rates with the Texas Department of Insurance and then quickly begin assessing customers. The department can roll back the rates afterward if the state’s insurance commissioner determines that they are excessive. The recent storms that hit U.K. may be aggravated by the high numbers of home owners who didn’t have the proper home insurance.

by: Christine Zafra

Your insurance coverage does not end with your signature on paper. It actually goes a long mile. What you can do is to write down everything you have or possess, complete with the date of the purchase. I know this is a very tedious thing to do, but this will come handy when you move in to another house or if you burned a part of your home.

You can file for a claim against the moving company in case you lost something while transferring your things to your new home. Perhaps, writing down is not enough since they could always deny things. Get a good documentation of your whole house by taking pictures or videos of your possessions.

by: Christine Zafra

If you think fireplaces are relaxing, then by all means, have one. But, you have to consider the consequences of it.

Insurance companies are quite wary about houses with fireplaces since this is a wood burning “appliance” (you can get electric if you want to). Chances are, insurance companies think that there is a greater risk in your house – more so if the fireplace was not properly installed. There is a building permit to work on before you could install your own fireplace. A lot of considerations should be made before you can work out in installing one (i.e. if your house is too old or is made of old wood, then you might as well think twice in installing this appliance). If you want warmth during Christmas, might as well get heater.

Insurance is a form of safety net to cushion the impact of unforeseen events that may lead to losses or damage to property or worse to persons. Home insurance is an essential requirement in financing a home purchase and closing the transaction. Most common supplement to a home insurance is what is called a hazard or fire insurance. These also provide liability protection for the injury of persons while in your property.

Aside from these two common insurances, there are a number of insurance protections that home owners can take out in order to increase the protection on their property. Some of these are:
1. Private Mortgage Insurance
2. Title Insurance
3. Flood Insurance
4. Life and Health Insurance

To answer this question, there are some considerations to address. Asset protection, more coverage means less cost from your pocket in case of disaster. How much you can afford is the determining factor here. Always insure your home to your perceived value, how much do you value your home. Make sure you have enough liability coverage for protection against lawsuits.

Your lender may require that you cover your home equivalent to the amount of mortgage. This may be a bit high for your current financial situation, remember you have the option to choose your insurer. The insurer may also require that the property be insured to value to include protection for replacement costs.

Depending on how you are assessed by your insurance company, home insurance can sometimes be a headache. If you have problems being approved or you are paying higher monthly premiums, then you may be classified as a high-risk homeowner. Another reason for this classification is the type of neighborhood where your home is located. Usually high crime areas or those frequented by vandals are considered high-risk.

Some things that you can do if you are in such a neighborhood are have a professionally installed security system. Another is to have heavy-duty locks particularly dead bolts. In addition, keep expensive jewelry and valuable items in a safety deposit box.

If you’re a smoker, chances are you’ll get higher premiums for your home insurance policies simply due to the fact that you light up.

But you must understand this. Smoking increases the chance of accidental fire. Thousands of fires have been recorded throughout the years which have stemmed from irresponsible smokers leaving their cigarettes lying around. You know what they say – all it takes is a spark. And even though you may not consider yourself to be an irresponsible smoker, the mere fact that you make it a habit to start fires (even though it’s only a small one) anywhere inside the house is enough for many insurance companies to jack up you premiums.

However you are sincerely planning to quit, you can apply for lowered premiums. If you;re denied, then maybe you should try shopping around for better premiums elsewhere.

Minor damage to a home may seem costly but be careful when you do decide to file for claims. WHY? Well as it turns out, you may just be jacking up your own risk factor hence the amount you pay for your home’s insurance policy. Most homeowners would contradict this but say you live in a high tornado risk area like Tornado Alley, and your home gets wrecked once every few years yet stubbornly fail to consider relocation. Most will relocate and rebuild their home somewhere else but for some, there’s no place like home and they stay put to again face the gauntlet. This is a good example of driving up your home insurance costs for the higher the risk factor your home is in, the more the insurance company would ask for a policy.
This is what happened when Katrina struck with many insurance firms either rescinding policies undeclared or opting not to renew policies as they expire for the risks to them are simply too great and that the same even can happen year after year. Consider a rebuild at least once and take into consideration the trauma you suffer from such an event. It is good to rebuild but with today’s recession, that may not be an option.