Posts tagged "Homeowners Policies"

What’s Protected With Homeowners Insurance?

Homeowners insurance covers your personal home, including the contents of your home, and any personal belongings you or members of your household use, own, wear or carry—basically everything and the kitchen sink. Many Homeowners policies cover your personal belongings and/or contents anywhere in the world.  This insurance coverage is also based on your house’s coverage, and there are limits on the losses that can be claimed for certain items, such as cash, furs or jewelry—limits that can be increased with supplemental premiums. homeowners insurance can help restore or replace what you have lost, and compensate those who have been injured as well. Don’t even think about being without it, for the risk is too great. Homeowners insurance rates vary from insurance firm to insurer but for the most part take the same things into consideration. Therefore, it is important to know how you, your home and the location you live in affect what you pay for insurance. Homeowners insurance is always a good idea, as homes cannot avoid damage. It’s a good idea to get several home insurance quotes to find out what sort of policies and insurance rates you can get for your property.  Homeowners insurance helps pay to fix or rebuild your home and replace personal property due to a covered loss.

Homeowners insurance usually does not cover landslide damage. I have been to many homes that have been damaged by landslides and have only heard of one situation where the homeowners insurance company paid for the loss (after a lawsuit determined that the damage was done by a rock fall and the insurance did cover damage from falling objects). 

A form of Homeowners Insurance that many people don’t know about is Renters Insurance.  Renters Insurance is extremely important for anyone who is renting an apartment, house, or condo.  Renters Insurance has both benefits and limitations, but not having it can cause extreme hardship in the event of a loss as Rental Home & apartment owners aren’t responsible for the personal belongings or liability exposures of their tenants.  Renters insurance coverage protects the tenant from the unexpected and is generally inexpensive, so having it is a no-brainer.  

Actual cash value is the amount it would take to repair or replace damage to your home after depreciation. Actual-cash-value coverage reimburses you for the cost of your property at the time of the claim, minus the deductible. This can result in a lower claim payout than you expect. Actual cash value factors depreciation into the value of your house, while replacement cost covers the cost of repairing and/or replacing damaged parts of your house, which can be more than the depreciated value. You also need to consider the other property you own in your house, such as furniture, appliances, clothing, and more.

If you live in Indiana, Erie Insurance is a great company that provided insurance services to Indiana residents.  Erie Insurance has been recognized on the list of Ward’s 50 Group of top performing insurance companies. The Ward’s 50 award analyzes the fiscal performance of 3,000 property and casualty companies and 800 life-health insurance companies and recognizes the top performers for achieving outstanding financial results in safety and consistency over a five-year period (2004-2008).

Capital Insurance & Financial Services, LLC is an independent insurance agency in Fort Wayne, Indiana that represents Erie Insurance.   Capital Insurance & Financial Services, LLC will happily provide you with a comparative quote on your homeowners insurance, with no obligation or cost.   

Do I need condo insurance in Fl?

I have a mortgage for about $157,000. I guess the previous owner paid it off for the year. Any idea how much I will have to pay for 2008? Can I pay in installments?

First, the previous owners insurance will NOT cover you, it is not your policy, it is their policy. They probably cancelled it by now anyway since FL property insurance is so expensive. Your mortgagee will probably want a copy of the master policyi showing building coverage. If they have a flood policy, that can be assigned to you & then you take over the policy.
A condo policy will cover building items you are responsible for (sometimes studs in, sometimes drywall in, sometimes only additions & alterations to the original unit), your contents (usually worldwide with some limitations), your liability (usually worldwide) & your loss of use. It also covers loss assessment. Loss assessment is when there is a loss to common property that is not covered by the association & they assess all of the unit owners a portion of the loss. BUT & this is a big but, only $1,000 loss assessment coverage is for the master policy’s deductible, so if it is a loss to only your unit & the master policy has a $50,000 deductible, your policy will only pay $1,000 towards the deductible. If the loss can be assessed to 50 unit owners (example – loss to the pool house), the coverage is OK. This cannot be increased, it is written into the policy form.
Good luck to you, insurance in FL is very expensive, but condo policies are not as bad as homeowners policies.
Start calling independent agents in FL, they are the only ones that can give you a price for insurance. Don’t go to one of the little start up companies that are not rated by AMBest. Either go to Citizens (I know of someone who got coverage there cheaper than one of the little companies) or be sure the company you get is rated by AMBest (see ambest.com). If there was a big hurricane, they would not have the assets to pay the claims.

Will having supplemental homeowners insurance cover my deductible?

If I buy supplemental homeowners insurance will it cover my $1000 deductible I have to pay now? Say I have $3000 worth of damage. My current insurance only pays $2000 because I owe the $1000 per claim. But if I had another homeownwers policy couldn’t I file a claim with them too?

When you say "supplemental homeowners insurance", what do you mean? There’s no policy that covers a deductible.

If you have two homeowners policies, they share the loss. You will have a deductible on both of them. Each policy describes exactly how it shares a loss with another policy.

The REASON you have a deductible, is so that you can’t file little claims. The rate on that first $1,000 of coverage would be darned close to $1,000, if not over it. The POINT, is to give you incentives to NOT have a loss.

It’s not going to work that way. You won’t find someone to give you a policy for $1,000 or even $5,000 of coverage.

How would I claim on my home insurance?

I’ve got a bit of a problem with my shower at the moment – there is wooden panelling around the base of the shower which is getting damp probably due to a leak from the base. I’ve called a plumber out to take an initial look, apparently there’s a strong possibility I’ll need to get a completely new cubicle and tray installed, new tiling done & also to get the floorboards underneath treated. The plumber told me I may be able to claim some of this through my home insurance.
This is my first home & I’ve never had a big problem like this before – how do I go about seeing whether my insurance would pay out? And are there implications for my future monthly premium?
Thanks

You need to call your agent, as others have suggested.

BUT be VERY clear that you only want to discuss the issue up front. DO NOT turn in a claim until you’ve had a discussion, because, once a claim is turned in, you’ll have it show up on your property loss history for the next five years, even if nothing is paid out.

While the insurance company won’t be able to charge you claims points if nothing is paid out (and I’ll get to that in a second), they can still use it as a basis to cancel your policy if you reported a second claim in the next three years. And at that point, high-risk (and high-premium) insurance is the only option you would have.

So, as I was saying, you need to talk to your agent about the situation. Be as detailed as possible before you decide whether or not to turn in the claim. In all liklihood, this claim would NOT be paid by your home insurance, though. Because homeowners policies aren’t designed to be maintenance contracts; as a general rule, the covered claims are those that are sudden and accidental occurances. If the leak has been an ongoing problem underneath the shower and you’ve never addressed it, you’ll be hard-pressed to get a claim paid out by the insurance company.

If, on the other hand, the damage happened suddenly, from a broken pipe, for instance, you would probably have coverage. (I say probably because different types of policies have different exclusions. For instance, most policies cover ONLY named perils, while some cover any peril that isn’t specifically excluded.)

At any rate, you won’t really know how to proceed until you talk to your agent. Just be sure that you do NOT call and say you want to turn in a claim — that may come later, but you need to discuss the details first.

Best of luck!

Who is the insured on a homeowners insurance policy if the insured dies?

About a month before she died, my Aunt transferred her house into my name using a quit claim deed. We did not talk about her homeowners insurance. After she died, I could not find any information on who her agent was or who the company was. When the premium bill came, I promptly paid it. About a month later, the company sent a letter asking if anyone was living in the house. The house is vacant. I gave them details on me and a copy of the death certificate and the deed and explained the situation. I never heard from them again. The question is, typically, does coverage cease when the insured passes away? Or does it automatically transfer when the house changes ownership? The house is free and clear by the way.

Oh, bummer.

Well, to answer the first question . . . the executor of the estate is an insured, while the estate is being settled, along with the estate of the deceased. Vacancy does become an issue, so likely the company will be cancellling or nonrenewing the policy, but it DOESNT MATTER. More on that . . .

HOWEVER, homeowners policies aren’t transferrable, so HER policy is irrelevant, if she quit claim deeded the house to YOU. YOU need your OWN policy. Her policy doesn’t cover YOUR house. So right now, the house is uninsured. The policy doesn’t transfer – not automatically, not with effort. You have to buy your own policy.

For a vacant property policy, it’s EXPENSIVE. And the coverage isn’t very broad. Contact a local agent who sells Foremost Insurance – www.foremost.com – they have the BEST price for vacant properties.

Homeowners Insurance Leads and Quotes

Homeowners Insurance Leads and Quotes

Let’s face it, these days it is extremely important to get your house insured by an insurance agent.  But the most important question, do you know where to find an insurance agent who can provide you with an insurance quote on your home?

It is always recommended that you use a homeowners insurance company and seek tips and advice from a reputable and reliable insurance agent.  Only qualified and professional insurance agents can offer the correct insurance quote and coverages. 

Below are some imperative details that need to be considered with an agent when asking for a quote on homeowners insurance: 

1.  Be certain to Make sure you have enough insurance to cover the cost of rebuilding your house at current construction costs. To figure out the amount of coverage needed, take the total square footage of the house and multiply by current local rebuilding costs per square foot. For example: A 2000 square foot home with local rebuilding costs of $150 per square foot (2000 * 150) comes to $300,000 of dwelling coverage.

2.  Make sure that your personal possessions are properly covered. We recommend that personal possessions are insured at replacement cost NOT actual cash value.

3.  Most homeowners policies will also provide coverage for loss of use. This means that if you need to live somewhere else while the house is being restored the insurance company will pay for this expense.

4.  Liability coverage is also included on most homeowners policies. This is very important. The minimum on most policies is $100,000. We recommend at least $300,000.

5.  In addition to the coverage’s mentioned, there are many other coverage’s to consider depending on the type of house, the contents in the house and any other structures located on the property. We recommend a review of your coverages be handled by a local insurance agent. 

When you obtain the answers you are now in a better position to get the correct homeowners insurance quote.

Just as an owner of a home needs insurance on their house, an insurance agent also needs homeowners insurance leads that will generate him activity for their agency. 

For an agent to get the right insurance leads, you need to focus on the LOCAL community.  *Below is an example of how to get the correct homeowners insurance leads.

*The agent MUST have the necessary tools to drive traffic to the business website with a focus on the LOCAL community.  As the Internet is used in 75 percent of households, the quickest method of communication is via email and the web. 

We offer the best homeowners insurance source of information and insurance agents.  Find top homeowners insurance agents by your zip code and learn the basics about homeowners insurance on http://www.insuremyhouse.com/  

Daren DiSantis
http://www.articlesbase.com/insurance-articles/homeowners-insurance-leads-and-quotes-748784.html

Low Cost Homeowners Insurance – How to Get the Best Rate

Looking for low cost homeowners insurance? Want to get the best rate with a top-rated company? Here’s how …

How much homeowners insurance do I need?

You need enough homeowners insurance to cover the cost of rebuilding your home if it’s destroyed. You can determine this cost by calling a builder or a real estate agent to get the local building cost per square foot. Multiply this figure by your home’s square footage to get the amount of structural coverage you need.

In addition to structural coverage you need insurance to replace your personal possessions if they’re damaged or stolen. Most homeowners policies give you coverage for your personal possessions equal to 50% to 70% of the amount of your structural coverage. If your possessions are worth more than that you can ask your insurance agent to add more coverage.

You also need enough insurance to pay for a bodily injury or a property damage lawsuit when you’re found to be at fault. Most homeowners insurance policies provide a minimum of $100,000 worth of liability insurance. But due to the rise in personal injury lawsuits, purchasing at least $300,000 to $500,000 gives you better protection.

Lastly, you need insurance to pay for your living expenses if your home becomes uninhabitable due to a fire, storm, or other disasters. Most policies cover you for an amount equal to 20% of your structural coverage.

Where can I get the best rate with a reliable company?

Because homeowners insurance can vary by $1,000 or more from one company to the next, the first thing you need to do is to comparison shop.

There are insurance comparison websites that give you homeowners insurance quotes from a number of A-rated companies. Get at least three quotes then compare them to get the best one.

Some of these sites even offer a free online chat service and a toll-free telephone service so you can get answers to any insurance questions you may have. (See link below.)

To reduce the cost of your homeowners insurance you can raise your deductible. This is the amount you have to pay before your insurance company will pay a claim. The higher your deductible, the lower your insurance premiums.

Also, ask you agent for every discount you’re entitled to. Most companies give discounts for having both your car and your homeowners insurance with them, for having safety and security features installed in your home, and for a number of other reasons.

Visit http://www.LowerRateQuotes.com/homeowners-insurance.html or click on the following link to get low cost homeowners insurance quotes from top-rated insurance companies and see how much you can save. You can get more insurance tips in their Articles section.

ryan@thesatellitetvguide.com
http://www.articlesbase.com/insurance-articles/low-cost-homeowners-insurance-how-to-get-the-best-rate-160208.html