by insurance | Dec 22, 2018 | Insurance Guide
Insurance laws may vary widely from state to state, different kinds of property require specialized coverage, and collections of art, antique cars,
Getting the right property and casualty insurance coverage may not rank high on your list of financial priorities. Compared with investment decisions and estate planning issues, questions about the language in your homeowners policy, say, may seem hardly worth considering. Yet the more successful you become, the more complicated your asset-protection needs are likely to be—and the more you have to lose. Suppose, for example, that in addition to your primary residence—a historic home—you also own a house at the beach and a condo in the city. The properties are in three different states. The value of your collection of Abstract Expressionist paintings has grown rapidly. And you just volunteered to serve on the board of directors of a charitable organization.
Almost every aspect of this situation could cost you dearly. Insurance laws may vary widely from state to state, different kinds of property require specialized coverage, and collections of art, antique cars, and other unique items may be difficult to protect fully. Meanwhile, serving on a nonprofit’s board could subject you to additional personal liability.
Safeguarding yourself and your family may mean buying additional coverage, but more insurance isn’t necessarily the solution. Rather, it’s important to review all of your needs, consider specialized policies or policy options, and coordinate your coverage with other aspects of your financial situation. Here are 6 different shortcomings that could prove costly.
1. Leaving gaps in homeowners coverage. Any homeowner needs to review coverage regularly to keep up with rising replacement costs. But insuring different kinds of homes in different locales poses extra challenges. If you buy insurance from more than one carrier, you may face contrasting rules, limitations, and policy renewal dates. For example, the liability limit on the policy for a second home might fall below the minimum on an excess liability policy designed to complement the insurance on your primary home. You could wind up responsible for the difference.
2. Ignoring properties unique characteristics. One perk of affluence is the means to own exceptional homes; one drawback is that they may be difficult to insure adequately. Standard homeowners coverage won’t pay for the materials and craftsmanship needed to rebuild that 19th century showplace you’ve painstakingly restored. Coastal homes may face hurricane damage, while a place in the California mountains could be subject to earthquakes or wildfires. Meanwhile, city co-ops or condos may need policies tailored to their buildings or associations coverage.
3. Under insuring art and collectibles. Standard homeowners policies limit coverage for the losses of antiques, furs, and other valuables. And while you could schedule additional coverage, insuring the real value of a collection of contemporary art or vintage muscle cars likely will require a specialized policy addressing several critical issues. How is the value of the collection determined? (You’ll need a professional appraisal when the policy is designed, with frequent updates as items appreciate.) Will a damaged or destroyed item be paid for with cash, or will you be required to have it replaced or restored? Will additions to your collection automatically be covered?
4. Forgetting to insure household employees. When someone works for you or your family, as a nanny, landscaper, personal assistant, or in another role, you could be liable for medical expenses and lost wages if the worker is hurt on the job. Several states require household employers to pay into a workers compensation fund, while in other states it’s optional, but providing such insurance may be mandatory for ensuring your financial well being. If an employee drives your car, also make sure he or she is included on your policy.
5. Neglecting your liability as a board member. Excess liability coverage could help protect you if you’re sued as a director of a nonprofit’s board. Or for more comprehensive protection, you may want to consider special directors and officers liability insurance.
6. Failing to get frequent policy reviews and updates. Your financial life isn’t static, and neither are your insurance needs. The value of a collection may increase; extensive home renovations could mean a sharp rise in the value of your property; and the re titling of assets as part of your estate plan—or because of divorce, a death in the family, or the birth of a child—could necessitate policy changes. Even lacking major events, you probably need a comprehensive review of all your insurance coverage at least every two years.
by insurance | Dec 22, 2018 | Insurance Guide
Home insurance is a necessary expense for most of us, but that doesn’t mean we have to pay over the odds. Try these eight simple tips to see how you could reduce your premiums.
No one likes paying for home insurance, but it’s a necessary evil for most of us. This doesn’t mean you have to pay through the nose for it though – try these 8 easy tips for cheaper home insurance and see how much you could reduce your premiums by.- Shop Around
By comparing prices from several insurance companies, you’ll probably be able to reduce your premiums by a substantial amount. This may seem obvious, but research has shown that a surprisingly large proportion of people either just renew their current policy, or get only one or two quotes. Many insurance web sites will automatically compare dozens of policies for you, making this one of the easiest ways to reduce your insurance bill.
– Buy online
If you buy your policy online you can often get a discount of up to 20% on normal prices, because there are less administration costs involved and the savings can be passed on to you.
– Combine your buildings and contents policies
Many insurers will give you a discount if you take out both types of home insurance with them, and this usually works out cheaper than getting the two kinds of policies from different companies.
– Pay upfront
Although most insurers let you pay your premium in monthly instalments, many will charge interest for this. If you can afford to pay a full year’s premium in advance, then this will work out cheaper in the long run.
– Don’t claim for small amounts
Making many small claims can increase your insurance costs, as your insurer may see you as a greater risk and increase your premiums. You will also lose any no claims discount your policy has. Of course, you’re entitled to claim for anything your policy covers, but ask yourself if making a small claim is really worth the hassle and possible future costs.
– Voluntary excess
This is related to the last point. Insurance policies feature something known as ‘excess’, which basically means that the policy won’t pay out on claims below a certain value. On some policies, if you choose to raise your excess to a higher level, then your premiums will be lower.
– Increase your home security
Beefing up your home security with better door locks, window locks, outdoor lighting, and alarm systems can all result in lower premiums. Ask your insurer what you could do to get extra discounts.
– Reduce your cover
Many policies feature benefits that you might not need, such as cover for personal possessions while travelling, or ‘free’ legal advice. Look through your policy and see what parts of it you really need – by cutting your cover down to size you may be able to reduce your premium.
by insurance | Dec 22, 2018 | Insurance Guide
After loads of man-made and natural calamities in USA the Home Insurance market has come much into prominence. And at present the competition is at its peak.
Homeowners Insurance is a guarantee, which pays the cost of your house if it gets damaged in some natural or manmade disasters like fire, floods, storms etc.
To get a good home insurance quote we often turn to agents. The agents in turn look for home insurance leads. The home insurance leads ultimately get converted into business. To achieve the desired target the home insurance agents should use significant tools. In the era of Internet, home insurance agent must know facilities like emails, billboards, Yellow Pages ads and pop up ads. These tools are fruitful to get an effective lead if used properly.
As Internet is the convenient and fastest mode of communication, you can fill your form on homeowners insurance lead provider’s website according to your own specifications. This will help you finding a prospective customer for you. When home insurance leads service providers receive the form from the agents, they promptly send a reply to the agents with all the information submitted by the insurance lead. Then the insurance agent contacts the lead through the email or phone and offer them online homeowners insurance quote.
To obtain specific leads from any lead provider company, the insurance agent should give them appropriate information and their coverage area.
Here are some special offers provided by home insurance lead provider companies:
– They offer some free leads so that you can know their work quality.
– Lead provider companies are ready to offer their service on very competitive price.
– Advanced filtering options.
– Some lead provider firms will contact you by fax or telephone when you are offline.
– There is no need of any monthly fees or long-term contact. So if you don’t find there service beneficial to you, you can choose another company.
by insurance | Dec 22, 2018 | Insurance Guide
The recent flooding in certain areas has caused worry and pay out for some insurance companies with figures expected to reach around £2.5 billion and it is almost certain to boost up the cost of home cover in the near future. With this in the pipeline many homeowners who need a policy or want to renew a policy could be led to panic buying to beat the increase in premiums.
While of course we all want to secure the cheapest premiums for our home cover it is essential to get adequate cover for your particular needs and buying “off the peg” insurance of course will not be tailored to your individual circumstances. By all means shop online for your home cover but avoid the direct insurer websites that flaunt extremely low cost insurance. While you might get a cheap policy it could be useless if it does not include what you need, low cost policies are just that, only very basic. For instance if you live in a high risk area for flooding and have bought insurance without reading the small print or stating you live in a high risk area then you might not be eligible if and when it came to making a claim.
It is essential that you fill in an application thoroughly for your home cover and be totally honest; if you go with a specialist broker for your quotes they will be able to shop around on your behalf and get you the cheapest premiums while at the same time gathering together the key facts of the cover.
The key facts are where you can find the exclusions and what is and is not covered in your home insurance, it is essential that you do compare these along with the cost of the insurance. Insurers will try to wriggle their way out of insurance claims if possible, so it is imperative that you do not give them good reason to begin with.
Direct insurer websites can sometimes lure homeowners with what seems to be attractive premiums for home cover only to discover when they try to make a claim that they have a huge amount of excess to pay before the policy will payout. While we all expect to pay some excess, an additional sum can be added into the policies small print so again it really pays to read it over.
The information you can get from a specialist broker can go a long way to saving you money on your home cover while at the same time making you aware of the many tricks that some insurance companies will pull to get you to sign up for a policy. Cheap insurance can be good providing it is suitable for your circumstances, if it is not then it could cost you thousands in the long run if you have to pay out of your own pocket for repairs because of the exclusions. Never take for granted that your home cover includes all the extras that was listed on the website, this again can be just another way of luring you and almost certainly somewhere on the page will have been small print stating that not all is covered in a basic policy.
by insurance | Dec 22, 2018 | Insurance Guide
There are a number of insurance companies that focus primarily on insuring recreational vehicles (RVs). These companies provide comprehensive policies that thoroughly protect RV owners. Some of the top RV insurance companies are Gilbert RV insurance, RV America Insurance, Progressive RV Insurance, and Good Sam RV insurance. Each of these companies has numerous options for RV coverage. RV owners will be able to find the coverage they need with one of these top companies for a reasonable price.
Gilbert RV Insurance offers several options for RV owners. Some of the best things about Gilbert are the replacement cost coverage, the purchase price coverage, and the full timer coverage. The replacement cost coverage guarantees that the client will receive a new RV of the same model, body and size if the original RV is totaled. The purchase price coverage is similar. It gives people the option of being paid the total price paid for the RV in the event that it is totaled. The full timer policy is perfect for people whose RV is their primary residence. This policy provides total coverage for the RV and has higher liability limits.
RV America Insurance provides a number of options for owners of all types of recreational vehicles. The most unique aspect of RV America Insurance is that it works with six different RV insurance companies. This insures that RV owners will get coverage that is specialized to meet their needs at a low cost. Some of the options available include flood, theft and fire coverage; full timer coverage; total loss replacement; and 24/7 roadside assistance.
Progressive RV Insurance is perfect for covering many types of recreational vehicles. Progressive is a top rated car insurance company. They apply their excellent vehicle coverage for RVs, but also understand that an RV is like a home on wheels. Progressive offers full RV coverage including personal effects coverage, campsite coverage, and emergency placement coverage in case RV owners need somewhere to stay while their RV is being repaired.
Good Sam RV Insurance is a part of the Good Sam Club for RV owners and campers. The Good Sam Club offers members emergency roadside service and extended warranties on RVs as well as comprehensive insurance. Some of the many features offered are full RV replacement, full timer coverage, permanently attached items coverage, and personal effects coverage. Good Sam saves RV owners on average of $312 a year on RV insurance and received an “A” rating from A.M. Best.
These top-rated RV insurance companies can provide RV owners with the coverage they need. From occasional RV users to full timers, everyone can find a policy to fit their needs.
by insurance | Dec 22, 2018 | Insurance, Insurance Guide
When it comes time to purchase an automobile insurance policy, it can be confusing trying to decipher the terms and policy inclusions. Unless you know what you are looking at, it will be very difficult to determine which policy best meets your needs. The last thing you want to do is pay more than you need to for coverage that is less than you ideal. Read on for some insights into the world of vehicle insurance policies and how they can work to your benefit.
When you receive a quote for automobile insurance, you will likely be quoted rates for the amount of coverage that the insurance agency wants you to buy. However, you should be aware that this is not always in your best interest. They will almost always try to get you to buy more than what you actually need. The first to consider in determining how much coverage you need to is look at the value of your car. There is no reason to buy coverage for $100,000 when your car is only worth $10,000. Even if your car is totaled in an accident, your insurance company will only pay you the value of your car – so why buy more coverage than your car is worth? Don’t fall for this trap. Save the money and only purchase what you really need.
Liability insurance covers the other car if you have an accident and you are at fault. Liability insurance is required by law in most states, so you must carry this coverage if you own and operate a motor vehicle. Each state will have a specified amount of coverage that you must purchase, so always know the laws where you reside. In many cases, this amount will range from $10,000 up to $50,000. Liability insurance is the one place where you do not want to pinch pennies, as you could easily damage a car that is worth much more than your own. Your insurance company will only pay up to the amount of coverage you purchased, leaving you potentially with a whopping bill to pay. Typically, it will only add a few extra dollars to buy more liability coverage, so play it safe and pay the cost.
Property damage can cover anything from a vehicle to exterior surfaces such as buildings, sidewalks or any personal property. This could include bicycles or city property like stop signs and utility poles. Insurance for property damage can also include items within a vehicle, such as computers or cameras.
Be aware that many people drive without automobile insurance, regardless of the fact that it is against the law. This means that you could easily be involved in an accident that is not your fault, but the other driver has no insurance. If this happens, you will have the burden of trying to force this person to pay for the damage to your vehicle. Chances will be high that they do not have the funds to pay. For this reason, it would be wise for you to purchase uninsured motorist coverage. This will cover your vehicle if you get hit by someone who does not have insurance. The cost for this coverage is minimal compared to the benefits, so be sure to include this coverage, even if the insurance company does not actively recommend it.
Understanding these basic things about vehicle insurance can make a big difference in the coverage you end up having. Be informed and then relax, knowing that you are covered.
