Thursday, April 30, 2009

The Value Of Insurance For Homeowners

By William Hazelhurst

Arranging an insurance policy for your most valued possession is very important. A lot of people take out medical insurance because they know that health problems have to be attended to without delay because their health is vital to them and, in exactly the same fashion, most people also place great importance on their home which they see as being another especially precious asset.

Home owners insurance, also referred to as hazard insurance, is a kind of property insurance that protects privately owned dwellings. This type of insurance policy protects you in the event of the loss of your home as well as the loss of things like furniture, appliances and your other personal possessions.

Precisely what a homeowners insurance plan will cover depends on your particular insurance contract but an important thing to remember is that a lot of policies only cover your home if it is your usual residence. If the property is vacant or unoccupied you may need a special type of insurance often called a dwelling plan.

Also, how much you will have to pay for house insurance depends largely on the property being insured and the cost of any loss that would be incurred in the event of the destruction of your house. It will also depend to some extent on the cover that you wish your insurer to provide for the property and numerous other factors, such as whether the property is secure.

The key factor however will be your property's value which means that it is exceedingly important for homeowners to ensure that they have a current valuation for their property which genuinely reflects the current market. For instance, in many places house prices have dropped markedly in the last few years and if this applies to your own home then you have to make sure that your insurer is aware of this and adjusts your insurance homeowners plan costs accordingly.

Just as ensuring that your loved ones have adequate health insurance, it is also vital to ensure that you can maintain a roof over the heads of your loved ones by ensuring you have sufficient property insurance.

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Tuesday, April 28, 2009

8 Easy Tips For Buying Cheaper Homeowners Insurance

By William Hazelhurst

No one likes paying for home insurance but unfortunately it is a necessary evil for most of us. However, this does not mean you have to pay through the nose for it though and so here are 8 very easy tips to lower the cost of your homeowners insurance.

1. Shop around. By comparing prices from a number of insurance companies you will almost certainly be able to lower your premium payments by a substantial amount. This could seem to be obvious, but research suggests that a surprisingly large proportion of people either simply renew their existing plan or ask for just one or two quotes. Many insurance web sites automatically compare dozens of plans for you thereby making this one of the simplest ways to reduce your home insurance bill.

2. Purchase your insurance online. If you purchase your plan online you will often get a discount of up to 20% on normal prices as there are lower administration costs involved and the savings can be passed on to you.

3. Combine both your contents and buildings plans. A lot of insurers will allow you a discount if you arrange both types of home insurance with them and this generally works out cheaper than getting the two plans from different companies.

4. Pay your premiums upfront. In spite of the fact that most insurance companies let you pay your premiums in monthly installments many of them will charge interest for this privilege. So, if you can afford to pay the cost of a full year's premium in advance, this will prove cheaper in the longer term.

5. Don't submit claims for small amounts of money. Putting in many small claims might raise your insurance costs because your insurance company may view you as a greater risk and raise your premiums. You may also lose any no claims discount that your policy has. Of course, you're entitled to submit a claim for anything that your policy covers but you should ask yourself if putting in a small claim is worth the hassle and any consequent future increase in costs.

6. Consider arranging for a substantial voluntary excess on your plan. Policies feature something known as an 'excess' and this means that the plan will not pay for claims under a certain value. in some cases when you elect to increase your excess your premium payments will be reduced.

7. Strengthen security for your property. Raising your home security with better door locks, window locks, lighting, and burglar alarm systems will normally lead to lower premiums.

8. Consider lowering your level of cover. A lot of plans feature benefits which you may not need such as cover for personal possessions when you are traveling or 'free' legal advice. Study your policy and see which sections of it you really need.

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Sunday, April 26, 2009

8 Very Easy Tips For Lowering Your Homeowners Insurance Costs

By William Hazelhurst

No one likes paying for home insurance but unfortunately it is a necessary evil for most of us. However, this does not mean you have to pay through the nose for it though and so here are 8 very easy tips to lower the cost of your homeowners insurance.

1. Take your time and shop around. By comparing prices from a number of insurance companies you will most likely be able to reduce your premium payments by a significant amount. This might seem to be obvious, but research has shown that an astonishingly large number of people either simply renew their current policy or request just one or two quotes. Many online insurance sites automatically compare dozens of plans for you therefore making this one of the easiest ways to reduce your insurance bill.

2. Purchase your insurance online. If you purchase your plan online you will often get a discount of up to 20% on normal prices as there are lower administration costs involved and the savings can be passed on to you.

3. Combine both your contents and buildings plans. A lot of insurers will allow you a discount if you arrange both types of home insurance with them and this generally works out cheaper than getting the two plans from different companies.

4. Pay your premiums upfront. In spite of the fact that most insurance companies let you pay your premiums in monthly installments many of them will charge interest for this privilege. So, if you can afford to pay the cost of a full year's premium in advance, this will prove cheaper in the longer term.

5. Don't submit claims for small amounts of money. Putting in many small claims can raise your insurance costs because your insurance company may consider you to be a greater risk and raise your premiums. You may also lose any no claims discount that your plan has. Of course, you are entitled to submit a claim for anything that your policy covers but ask yourself whether making a small claim is really worth the work involved and any possible future increase in costs.

6. Consider arranging for a high voluntary excess on your plan. Policies feature something which is known as an 'excess' and this means that the policy will not pay out on claims under a specified value. On some policies when you choose to increase your excess your premium payments will be reduced.

7. Increase the security on your home. Raising your home security with better door locks, window locks, lighting, and alarm systems will normally result in reduced premiums.

8. lower your level of cover. Many plans include benefits that you may not need like cover for personal items when you are traveling or 'free' legal advice. Study your policy and see which sections of it you really need.

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