Homeowners or Home Insurance

Notes:

After the Disaster
Examine Your Homeowners Policy
Homeowners: Ask and Ye May Save
What Does My Homeowners Policy Do?

Homeowners: Ask and Ye May Save

Homeowners Insurance, which offers a package of Property and Liability coverage, has been a good bargain for the consumer. For a Homeowners Policy to pay properly for potential losses, care must be taken when writing it to meet the consumer's wants and budget.

A person purchasing a Homeowners Policy will want to ask many questions. For instance, what are the replacement cost provisions? How much liability will be provided? What is the choice of deductibles? Should jewelry, furs, special collections and other personal items be protected with coverage? What discounts are available for items such as smoke detectors?

And these are not the only questions. Generally, loss resulting from flood is not covered by Homeowners Insurance, so a separate Flood Policy may be in order. Earthquake coverage may be a wise additional purchase, too.

A periodic Homeowners Policy checkup is a good idea, since circumstances and personal property may change. For example, if you start a home-based business or have just finished renovating your home, your insurance probably needs adjusting.

There are ways to reduce Homeowners' premiums without sacrificing much in the way of coverage. One way is to reassess the value of your possessions from year to year, since too much coverage is a waste of money. Is the lip of that expensive Ming vase now glued on? If so, the vase is not worth $25,000 anymore. Installing a burglar alarm, smoke detectors or deadbolt locks may earn you discounts. Some insurers offer discounts to homes occupied by non-smokers since smoking is a major cause of home fires. Retired homeowners over the age of 55 may also qualify for a discount with some insurers.

Radio Shack, a purveyor of crime-prevention devices as well as its better-known gadgets, has joined with the National Crime Prevention Council and the National Sheriffs Association to provide a pamphlet on crime prevention, "United Against Crime." Here's one of their lists to make the family safer:

		Make sure that all doors to the outside are metal or solid (1 3/4-inch) hardwood.
		Make sure all doors to the outside have sturdy deadbolt locks with a minimum 1 ½ inch bolt.
		Use the locks you have. Always lock up your home when you go out, even if it's only for a few minutes.
		Secure sliding glass doors with commercially available bars or locks, or put a wooden dowel or broomstick in the door track.
		Make sure your windows, especially at ground level, have good locks - and use them!
		Make sure all porches and other possible entrances are well lighted.
		Trim any bushes or trees that hide doors or windows. Keep ladders, tools, toys, and recreational equipment inside when you're not using them.
		Don't hide your house keys under tile doormat or in a flower pot. It's much wiser to give an extra key to a trusted neighbor.
		Keep written records of all furniture, jewelry and electronic products. If possible, keep these records in a safe deposit box, fireproof safe or other secure place. Take pictures or a video and keep purchase information and serial numbers available. These help law enforcement agencies track and recover items.

An Umbrella Policy will increase Homeowners Liability and Personal Auto limits by $1 million or more. It provides Liability Coverage for other potential family risks, too. The exact protection varies from carrier to carrier.

Because the majority of liability of claims result in payments to injured parties below the limits of the typical Homeowners or Auto Policy, the cost of and Umbrella Policy is extremely reasonable. The beauty of an Umbrella Policy is that it greatly lessens your worry over those large injury awards you see in the news. It greatly reduces the chances of your assets being taken from you.

Examine Your Homeowners Policy

Generally, Homeowners Policies cover contents for 50% of the value of the home’s replacement value. Think about the contents of your home; should we raise that limit?

All Homeowner Policies have internal limits on money, silverware, and certain other property, including business property. The coverage for jewelry is so limited that we recommend you schedule your jewelry (that is, list it by piece). Look up these special limits in the liability or property section of your policy. Maybe we should insure some of your property under an inexpensive Personal Articles floater.

Generally, Homeowners policies require the home to be insured to 80% of the cost of' rebuilding if you are to receive full replacement cost in the event of a loss. (However, most carriers will require 100% of value when writing the policy to ensure the guaranteed replacement.) Think about whether we should raise the insured value of your home. It would not cost a great deal.

What Does My Homeowners Policy Do??

*Generally limits contents coverage to 50% of the structure's limit. (Is this enough?)

*Covers personal property on the basis of either actual cash value (what you could sell the old couch for) or replacement cost (enough to buy a brand new couch).

*Contains special liability limits on personal property. (Check your policy to see if its provisions are adequate for personal property such as jewelry, furs, silverware and other items.)

*Commonly limits coverage on cash, coins, precious metals, tickets, stamp collections, manuscripts, deeds, financial documents, art and firearms. (Business property in the home is limited, too.)

After the Disaster

It seems that there should be a disaster-free location somewhere but news of floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes and fires give cause for doubt

As the shock of disaster wears off, victim's thoughts will turn to collecting on the insurance wisely purchased years ago. First and foremost, notify us of the loss so we can get the insurance ball rolling. If temporary repairs must be made, save the receipts since insurance may help with the cost. Then begin a list of damaged items; this will be easier if you've already prepared an inventory of personal property before the loss (and secured it at another location, of course!). Don't throw out damaged items that are expensive, such as TVs, furniture, and so on. If the adjuster can see them, the adjustment will move along more swiftly.

Attempt to identify structural damage and obtain written bids from reliable contractors. Watch out for fly-by-night contractors who move into a disaster area to prey on its victims.