Home Insurance Daily Digest

Image Source: stoel.com

When buying insurance, it is very important to understand its coverage so there will be few ’surprises’ along the way. A standard home insurance does not cover damages caused by flood. If you think you need one, a separate flood insurance can be bought from your agent. Medpay is a usual part of your home insurance policy. If someone outside of your family was hurt in your house but does not want to bring the matter to court, Medpay will pay up to $1,000 for each claim covered by the policy. But if anyone in your immediate family is hurt, Medpay will not pay for it because a personal accident insurance is alo available from your health insurance agent. The insurance company will not pay the policy holder back everything he/she tells them they owned in case they lose their house without the proper documentation. They have to present proof of ownership like official receipts, brand of everything that was lost, model, make, date of purchase, complete with serial numbers and even pictures. To avoid all these, make a detailed inventory of all your things and keep it in a fire proof safe.

Understanding how your insurance provider calculated your insurance premiums is not as complicated as you think. If you want to understand the factors that determine your premiums, here are some of them:
1.Location – if you live in high-risk or high-crime areas, the risk that your home will be damaged or stolen from is significantly higher. This results in higher premiums. Also premiums in highly congested cities are generally higher compared to suburbs. Another factor that can affect your premium is your location’s propensity to be hit by natural disasters. If you’re house is lying on a fault line, or in locations that are prone to storms, this may cause your premium to increase.
2.Construction costs – some insurers will look at the construction costs in your area to see how much it would cost to rebuild your home if it were destroyed. The higher the construction costs are in your area, the higher the likelihood that you’ll pay for it in your home insurance rates.
3.Building materials – the materials you used to construct your home play a large part towards your home’s vulnerability. If you used brick or stone that is more durable and better able to withstand natural disasters such as fire, tornadoes or hurricanes, you’ll get a lower premium.

Image Source: www.mtgfoundation.com

In the United States, most home buyers have a loan of money in the form of a mortgage loan, and the mortgage lender at all times requires that the buyer acquire homeowners insurance as a condition of the loan, in order to protect the bank if the home were to be shattered. Anyone with an insurable interest in the property should be listed on the policy. In some cases the mortgagee will relinquish the need for the mortgagor to carry homeowner’s insurance if the value of the land exceeds the amount of the mortgage balance. In a case like this even the total destruction of any buildings would not affect the ability of the lender to be able to exclude and recover the full amount of the loan. The insurance dilema in Florida has meant that some waterfront property owners in that state have had to make that decision due to the high cost of premiums.

An association master policy is a single package policy which your townhouse association may get to ensure all the buildings and common elements within. It would be the best choice not to mention economically profitable. The policy can be covered three ways:
• Basic buildings including walls, roof, floors and elevators, but you will be responsible to insure appliances, cabinets, carpeting and any other items in your unit including wall covering and interior walls.
• Both the basic buildings and the items within your unit besides personal property.
• Both basic buildings including the improvements and fixtures by the owner of the unit.

Keeping your home insurance valid would require the home owner to take some responsibility in keeping the property in good condition. Failure to do so may mean a lot of consequences that may even lead up to non-payment of claims. Make sure that you take a look at your policy and see what are the responsibilities expected from you by the insurance company.

Here are some things that usually need preventive maintenance from time to time to keep that valuable home insurance valid:
1.Gutters must be clean and in good condition to prevent water seepage into the walls of the house
2.Make sure no dampness accumulates on your house which may lead to costly maintenance later on
3.Check condition of your roofing
4.If you have a chimney make sure that it is clear of blockages
5.Maintain integrity of external house paintwork
6.Check your insurance company�s policy on wall climbing plants
7.Prune and maintain trees on your property
8.Look out for nests, rodents and any other pests that can damage your property
9.Have your gas line checked regularly

In the UK, the only difference between you and getting cheap home insurance maybe your post code or zip code as it is known to the rest of the world, Why, well in the UK at least online insurance quotes are based on postcode and for the whole country three areas stand out as one of the most expensive areas to get insurance for. This may be brought out by problems associated with crime, location and the amount of claims providers do get from that particular areas. High crime areas especially burglaries and similar crimes do account for the said high premiums but they can be lowered with the homeowner taking the necessary measures such as adequate security and by installing an alarm system. These should be made apparent to the insurance provider upon application for cover which they do take seriously. The higher the incidence of crime the higher the premiums you have to pay for due to the higher risks involved for the provider. Another sure fire sign of high home insurance costs would be areas near bodies of water that have had incidents of floods and other disasters that have many claims filed for by previous homeowners. So add location to your choosing a house to buy or rent list so you get the best value for your money in this economically challenged times.

The incident has a home trashed by unruly guests (most of whom were totally unknown even to her daughter who unwittingly posted a party banner in her FaceBook/MySpace page without her knowing the full consequences of her acts) can be covered by building and contents parts of a policy. But don’t get your hopes up for the act was a sign of recklessness and the insurance provider can deny some if not all of the claims that may be filed for due to the intentional act of any members of the family. So parents, be sure to keep unruly behavior in check, and kids; no parties without your parent’s knowledge.

Think “Home Alone”, and not just the typical party when dad and mom are away. The advent of the internet has allowed information to spread as fast as your internet connection and as with the case of one parent, she came home surprised to see her home trashed and in need of repair due to a party her daughter recklessly put on without her knowing it and while she was away. Now in most cases, insurance policies warrant against such acts for it is inviting unknown people into your home. As the surprised parent found, there were some exclusions on her policy that did in fact say that but industry leaders state that the amount of coverage you may have taken and paid for may have or not get insurance involved with the necessary home repairs.

Incidents of fraud are on the rise as people try to rebuild and there is no shortage of fraud in the process. Law enforcement and other federal institutions are on the offensive and closely monitoring false and fraudulent claims to stifle their effect on the already burdened financial market. Many have been caught while some still get through but the law will eventually catch-up as law enforcement are working hard to catch the hooligans to get more cash to those who need them most. Identity theft and fraudulent claims are some of the fast rising types of crime with money getting harder to come by, people simply need cash and will do so whatever it takes.

Home insurance claims pile up as residents of the State of Texas try to regain some sort of normalcy after the devastating storms that raged thought he region last May 14 and 15. Many have decided not to rebuild and relocate somewhere else in the state and some still hold steadfast and try to rebuild their homes. The insurance industry is already under strain from the global economic slowdown and this might yet be another test of the material they are made of. The recent storms are expected to have damage in the millions if not billions of dollars with many damaged homes and businesses, time will tell if the state and their residents will bounce back.