Home Insurance Daily Blog

Verifying Property

Avatar — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 15:07:44 +0000

There is a common myth in the purchase of property that if it is done in good faith, then it must be a good deal which is very much wrong. Before you go on buying property for any reason (residence, business and others) have it verified for any outstanding problems such as with respect to previous insurance policies and issues that might affect the amount of premiums you’ll have to pay because of something you didn’t know. All sellers want to promptly sell their properties and some do go to extreme lengths to hide problems in order to catch that buyer fast. A quick trip to the local city office can prove to be enlightening and would allow you to get the “history” of a stated property beforehand. Better be sure than sorry with a house you can’t insure or has previous records of settling or flood damage. Remember those multi-million dollar properties somewhere in California that were located on scenic hills and mountains that fell to the gullies and cliffs below. The owners of those properties were not informed that the mountains their houses were built on were highly fractured and unstable. Lawsuits flied and heads rolled in the process. So learn from that, and take precautionary measures before you take the bait, hook line and sinker.

Home Contents Insurance (Part 3)

Avatar — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 03:28:06 +0000

Check out the required protection levels from your local officials and insurance, the better the security system the more discounts you can get from insurance. When leaving your house for sometime for they have set limits as to how long a house can be left unattended and still be covered. Always review you policy when renewing it for any changes that might need to be reflected onto your insurance. There is also a clause which will indicate the need for reasonable care which excluded coverage for items deemed to have suffered neglect or intentional damage. Expensive items are to be itemized onto your policy for the standard contents insurance has set limits to the general maximum insured limit they will be paying.

Home Contents Insurance (Part 2)

Avatar — Mon, 10 May 2010 03:27:13 +0000

Flooding, earthquakes are some factors that can make your insurance decline in value or have the premiums increase due to the higher risks involved. As your children get older and they move out of the house to go to university for further studies, check with your insurance if they will be covering their possessions as well. Ask for any requirements with regards to security so you can bolster inadequate measures you may already have. Be mindful of the excess limits or the maximum cash you shell out before your insurance starts paying. The higher the amount you shell out before insurance the lower the policy price. But also watch out for the maximum ceiling they set for their payment limits. Going away for an extended period of time, inform your insurance and install security alarms which are required by law.

Home Contents Insurance (Part 1)

Avatar — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 03:25:23 +0000

As with the many other add-ons you opt to get that brings you closer to becoming a full time paranoid homeowner, the contents of your home can be insured separately if they are not covered by your standard home insurance. There are several things to consider in selecting home contents insurance which can make or break its ability to save you from costly repairs and other work associated with the insured contents of your home. The first thing to do as with any contract/offer is to read the contract carefully listing down the strong and weak points (the later is usually done in small print so be prepared to squint a lot for reading them). List down the items which are not covered, so you can compare them with other products from other companies to get the best deals around but do not be fooled by policies that sound too good to be true for they are.

Adjustments to your policy

Avatar — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:06:20 +0000

As said before, any improvement or addition to your insured home must be reflected in your policy. If not, damage to that specific improvement may not be covered and could cost you a lot in repairs should they be damaged. It is best to inform them of any improvement projects before they are done so they can prepare the proper people for the necessary re-evaluation of your property. After the improvements, they will send an assessor to your house to see that the changes are in accordance with all applicable laws and that the improvement does indeed warrant an update of your policy. This gives you that little addition to your finances in case you should need to do repairs that result from damage thus necessitating a claim.

Trees and your Home Insurance

Avatar — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:03:34 +0000

If you have trees on your property and you donâ€™t want them, don’t go running for that chainsaw without checking with ground specialists. Clay soil has the tendency to expand if trees which soak up moisture and water are taken out of the equation that can cause your house to shift. Keep trees properly pruned and trimmed to the best possible height that gives you the shade you need and allows best growth for all your plants underneath. With these tips in mind, you can rest a little easy with subsidence and get the best possible deal on your home’s insurance. Remember those houses in California that had killer views? Well they fell into the gullies and cliffs immediately behind them due to the fact the mountain they were constructed on were geographically unstable which sent then sliding down into other properties directly below. Let that be a good example of how nature can have other plans for land which is poorly studied.

Arson – On the rise

Avatar — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 00:19:53 +0000

Insurance firms are bracing for more cases of arson as homeowners are now ending up with owing more money that their houses are worth. Desperation is beginning to set in and the weak dollar does no good to the already bad economy. Law enforcement and insurance firms are working hard to prevent and contain these man-made blazes which get some people to file for fire damage if not much evidence is found. People have been caught trying to burn their own houses which they have lost to foreclosure. Mostly all states are reporting the same rise in similar cases and this goes to show the bad situation that exists not only with the economy but in the minds of people themselves as they try to seek closure to some of the most heartbreaking moments of their lives which was to loose their home, unable to pay their mortgage.

Major Home Insurance Companies Not Renewing Policies

Avatar — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:13:56 +0000

Alarming news from the Home Insurance sector is news that in areas such as Florida, insurance companies will not be renewing policies once they expire this year. The state of Florida has suffered a lot of damage from hurricanes in the past years and insurance firms are saying that the costs they paid out during the last season was too much for them to handle. The sad story of a couple who filed for a claim to repair their house was saddened when they received a letter from the insurance company saying that the firm was not going to renew their policy when it expires this year. The couple have been loyal to the firm and through their 24 year history, they have only filed once for the damages their home got in the 2004 hurricane season. The company simply said that the area has become too risky and costly for them and that they are saddened by the matter and that they are not the only ones not being renewed. No exact figures as to the total numbers of clients insurance firms in Florida are leaving behind to cut losses from the high-risk area.

More Insurance Firms Leaving High Risk Areas (Part 2)

Avatar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:18:17 +0000

State Farm, is dropping almost 50,000 clients in Florida and has indeed stopped renewing and issuing new home insurance policies for the state. Clients cry foul for most of them have been clients for decades some even without filing a single claim. And others are turning to the courts for resolution. These types of actions by insurance firms may lighten the load so to speak by lessening the risks they are taking, but are they really willing to risk the loss of these homeowners (most of whom have more than one type of insurance with the same firms that say they are being dropped), well I guess they know what they are doing. These are still after effects of the sub-prime lending problems that sent ripples around the globe in money markets and economies with no end in sight.

More Insurance Firms Leaving High Risk Areas (Part 1)

Avatar — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:16:07 +0000

Insurance policy holders in areas that are deemed to risky by insurance companies be prepared, to receive notice that your insurance firm is dropping you from their client list and that they are not going to renew your Home’s insurance policy once it expires this year. Metlife has sent mailers informing customers that they are in the process of not renewing contracts in Florida, one of the most costly states in terms of insurance payoffs. StateFarm, another big insurance provider for home sin Florida is reportedly leaving the area and has stopped writing home insurance policies to current clients waiting for most of them to expire before taking their business elsewhere.