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Archive for the ‘Homeowners Insurance’ Category

Want to know where to find the best homeowners insurance companies with the best rates? Here’s where to find them.

Homeowners Insurance Company Ratings

There are a number of sources for homeowners insurance company ratings. Here are three of the best …

Your State’s Department of Insurance

All states maintain a department of insurance website, and most compile a yearly list of complaints that have been made against insurance companies. These complaints are a good way to judge a company’s reliability. Most companies have complaints filed against them, but if a company has a large number of complaints as opposed to other companies, you should avoid doing business with them.

If your state doesn’t list complaints, you can go to the California Department of Insurance website (insurance.ca.gov), or the New York State Insurance Department website (ins.state.ny.us) to get this information.

In addition to listing consumer complaints, these sites also list other information such as consumer information guides, insurance FAQs (frequently asked questions), and insurance updates.

J.D. Power & Associates (jdpower.com)

J.D. Power & Associates rates insurance companies based on the opinions of its customers. They rate companies according to coverage options, price, claims handling, satisfaction with company representatives, and overall experience.

These ratings give you a good idea of how a company treats its customers and how reliable it is in paying its claims. Ratings go from “Among the best” (highest) to “The rest” (lowest). Choose companies that are rated “About average” or higher.

A.M. Best (ambest.com)

A.M. Best rates insurance companies based on their financial strength. This measures an insurance company’s ability to pay its insurance claims. A high rating means a company has plenty of assets to pay it’s claims.

A.M. Best rates companies from A++ (the highest) to D (the lowest). When you buy insurance you should pick a company that has a B+ rating or higher.

Best Homeowners Insurance Rates

Because homeowners insurance rates can vary as much as $1,000 or more between insurance companies, the best way to get the best homeowners insurance rate is to compare rates at an insurance comparison website.

Some of these sites offer a chat service and a toll-free telephone service so you can get immediate answers to your homeowners insurance questions (see link below).

It’s amazing how many people don’t take the time to go out and get the facts before they assume their homeowners insurance has them covered while they’re on vacation. That’s what they pay their premiums for, right? Well, yes… and no. You’d be amazed at how many gaps pop up in your homeowners insurance coverage when you start talking about going on vacation. That’s why it’s a good idea to pick up holiday insurance as backup to make sure your very merry Christmas doesn’t turn into a holiday you’d rather forget!

Homeowners Insurance

Here’s the short story on your homeowners insurance. It’s HOMEowners insurance. Not VACATIONowners insurance, not traveler’s insurance, homeowners insurance. It’s designed to protect your home, which means over vacation your insurance will make sure:

a) If your house becomes the victim of Christmas crime (criminals love the holidays just like everybody else) you’ll be able to afford to fix your windows and doors and replace anything they might have walked off with.

b) If your house goes up in flames because of something that you didn’t do intentionally, you’ll have somebody standing by ready to help you pay the often exorbitant rehab fees to get things put back together.

c) If your pipes burst while you’re gone and water damage completely destroys your home’s interior while you’re out of town, you’ll be able to put the soggy, wet mess back together again.

d) If someone steals the speakers out of your trunk, your car blows up or some other dastardly event destroys everything you were storing in your back seat, you’ll be able to afford to replace it all.

You’ll notice that your luggage, plane tickets and money orders are nowhere on this list. That’s why you need to supplement your homeowners insurance with…

Holiday Insurance

Also known as traveler’s insurance or vacation insurance, holiday insurance is there to plug all the gaps your homeowners insurance leaves wide open. Your holiday coverage is designed to cover the contents of your luggage if it gets looted when you’re traveling (including the camcorder you stuffed in your coat pocket). If you’re taking thousands of dollars worth of clothes, toys and electronics with you (cough… Christmas presents… cough) you’re going to want holiday insurance backing you up.

Of course, keeping your belongings safe from the criminal underworld isn’t the only thing your holiday insurance will do for you. You know all those pesky little fees they like to slap on you for canceling your reservations at the last minute? All the expenses that pop up when you miss your flight and have to book a new one? The hassle and aggravation of unexpected layovers when weather and mechanical failure interfere with your flight plans?

All of that’s covered by your holiday insurance, making it an awesome complement to your homeowners insurance and a very worthwhile investment toward your holiday peace of mind. Hey, you’ve got enough driving you crazy this Christmas. Isn’t it nice to be able to take at least one thing off the list?

As thousands of homeowners in New Orleans discovered after Katrina hit, you can lose everything you own if you don’t have homeowners insurance. Here’s how to get homeowners insurance in Louisiana at the best rate possible.

What Homeowners Insurance Covers

A homeowners insurance policy covers the following:

Your home – Homeowners insurance will pay to rebuild or repair your home after it’s been damaged or destroyed by fire, hail, vandalism, plumbing leaks, or acts of nature.

Your possessions – Homeowners insurance will pay to replace any personal property (clothing, furniture, appliances, etc.) that’s been stolen or damaged by fire, hail, vandalism, plumbing leaks, or acts of nature.

Additional Living Expenses – Homeowners insurance pays for your additional living expenses – hotel and restaurant bills – when your home is damaged or destroyed and you need to stay somewhere else while it’s being repaired or rebuilt.

Personal Liability – Homeowners insurance pays your and your family’s legal fees and court costs when you injure someone or damage their property.

What Homeowners Insurance Doesn’t Cover

Many New Orleans residents discovered all too late that standard homeowners insurance policies do not cover damage to your home caused by floods. If you live in a flood zone you need to purchase flood insurance. For information on where to buy flood insurance, visit the National Flood Insurance Program website at: floodsmart.gov.

Some policies also place a limit on the amount of coverage they will provide for expensive items like jewelry, computers, antiques, etc., so check your policy and purchase additional coverage if you need it.

Where to Get Low Cost Louisiana Homeowners Insurance

To get the best price on homeowners insurance you need to do some comparison shopping. The easiest way to compare rates is to go to an insurance comparison website where you can get rates from a number of insurance companies.

Looking for homeowners insurance quotes in Houston Texas? Here’s how to get cheap quotes from top-rated companies.

Homeowners Insurance

Homeowners insurance provides coverage for your home and your personal possessions when they’re damage by vandalism, theft, fire, smoke, and acts of nature. It also provides coverage for liability claims, medical payments, and legal costs if someone is hurt in your home and decides to sue you.

Most insurance companies do not cover damage caused by floods, earthquakes, terrorism, or acts of war. To cover these events you’ll need additional insurance.

Cheap Homeowners Insurance

Here’s how to get cheap homeowners insurance quotes in Houston:

* Compare rates – Comparing rates from various insurance companies is the easiest way to save money on your insurance. It’s also the biggest money saver.

All you have to do is go to an insurance comparison website, fill out a short form to get quotes from top companies, then pick the best quote. Some comparison sites feature an online chat service so you can get answers to your insurance questions from an insurance professional (see link below).

* Raise your deductible – The deductible is the amount you pay toward a claim before your insurer pays. Raising your deductible can save you as much as 30% on your yearly premium.

* Consolidate your insurance – Purchasing your homeowners and your auto insurance can save you up to 30% on your premium, plus you only have one agent and one company to deal with.

* Ask about discounts – Insurance companies offer discounts if you have burglar alarms, smoke detectors, dead bolt locks, and sprinkler systems in your home. They also offer discounts to people who are retired, single parents, non-smokers, and to people who are in law enforcement or the military. Ask about all the discounts an insurer offers and take advantage of them.

Reading a homeowners insurance policy can be confusing. Here are answers to the most-asked homeowners insurance questions that explain what homeowners insurance is, and what it covers.

What is homeowners insurance?

Homeowners insurance is a contract between you and your insurance company that protects you from financial loss when your home is damaged or destroyed, or when someone hurts themselves and you’re found to be at fault. You pay a premium for which your insurer agrees to pay for any damages that are outlined in your policy.

What does homeowners insurance cover?

Homeowners insurance covers the following:

* House structure coverage which pays to repair or rebuild your home when it’s been damaged or destroyed by fire, storms, vandalism, and water leaks. Earthquakes and floods are not covered, so if you live in an earthquake or flood zone you’ll need to get additional coverage.

* Personal property coverage which pays to replace any of your personal property that’s been stolen, or damaged by fire, storms, vandalism, and water leaks. Expensive items like computers and jewelry may have a limit on coverage, so you may need additional coverage for these items.

* Loss of use coverage which pays for your additional living expenses – hotel, motel, and restaurant bills – when your house has been damaged by fire, storms, vandalism, or water leaks, and is being repaired.

How much coverage should I get?

For house structure coverage you should get enough coverage to pay for rebuilding your house. You can find out how much this would cost by asking a local builder or real estate agent.

For personal property coverage you should get enough coverage to replace your possessions. You can figure out how much you need by totaling the value of all your personal possessions – furniture, clothing, appliances, electronics, tools, etc.

Where can I get inexpensive homeowners insurance?

In order to get the least expensive homeowners insurance you need to go to an insurance comparison website so you can compare rates from a number of companies.

Imagine this scenario: A terrorist sets off a bomb, blowing up a dam near your home. A chunk of concrete falls on your house, tearing a hole in the roof. A few minutes later, water from the burst dam rushes down the street and floods your home, ruining your carpet, furniture, and personal possessions. Frightened by the rising water, your dog attempts to scratch its way through your door, shredding the surface. In the midst of the chaos, an earthquake hits, cracking the concrete slab under your home and dislodging the sewer line. Dazed, you wander outside just before a meteorite falls from the heavens and demolishes what remains of your home. Having recently read your homeowner’s insurance policy, you think, “Thank goodness for that meteorite!”

Many homeowners believe that virtually any damage to their home is covered by their homeowner’s insurance. In fact, many kinds of property loss are excluded from a standard homeowners insurance policy. In the doomsday scenario above, for example, only damage caused by the meteorite would be covered under standard homeowners insurance. Some of the other disasters could be covered by separate insurance policies, or by additions to the policy known as riders or endorsements. Some things are simply uninsurable. Let’s examine the disaster scenario, point by point:

Hostile attacks. The damaged caused to your roof by the flying piece of concrete would not be covered by homeowner’s insurance, because it was the result of a terrorist act. The result would be the same if the dam were blown up by an incoming missile from a hostile state. Acts of terrorism and war are excluded from homeowner’s insurance because the damage could be so widespread that insurance companies could not pay all the claims without going broke.

Floods. As residents of New Orleans learned when a levee broke as a result of Hurricane Katrina, flooding is not covered by homeowners insurance, even when the flooding is caused by the failure of a man-made flood control system. Floods are excluded from homeowner’s insurance for the same reason that war is: the damage can be too widespread. Since private insurer’s will not cover flood damage, the U.S. Congress passed the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, which created the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Funded by premiums from homeowners and supplemented with income tax dollars, the government program is the only flood insurance available.

Animals. According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association’s 2007-2008 National Pet Owner’s Survey, nearly two thirds (63 percent) of American households own a pet of some kind, including more than 43 million homes that own dogs. Pets of all kinds can cause damage to the home. Because of the widespread risk posed by pets, insurance companies exclude pet damage from home owners insurance coverage. The pets themselves are not covered either. According to a survey by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 22 percent of respondents mistakenly believed that their homeowners insurance covered injured or stolen pets. Damage caused by infestations of rats, bats, termites, ants, or any other wild creatures is also excluded from coverage.

Earthquakes. Since 1900, earthquakes have occurred in 39 states and caused damage in all 50. Earthquake damage can be massive. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), earthquakes are responsible for $4.4 billion in property losses per year. Because of the cost and frequency of earthquakes, standard homeowner insurance policies exclude property losses dues to the shaking of earthquakes. Cracked walls, broken foundations, ruptured sewer lines, even the collapse of a home caused by shaking is not covered. However, if an earthquake causes secondary damage, such as a fire, the secondary damage would be covered by homeowners insurance. Separate earthquake insurance policies are available in many states. After the 1994 earthquake in Northridge, many insurance companies stopped offering earthquake insurance in California, however. Pressured by fearful homeowners, the state legislature passed a law requiring property insurance companies to offer California residents earthquake insurance through participation in the California Earthquake Authority (CEA). To limit the cost of claims, the CEA-backed policies cover living spaces only, not swimming pools or other nonessential structures.

Other types of damage may be excluded from your homeowners insurance policy, including damage caused by your own children. The home is the largest asset most people own. To be sure its value is protected, consult with your insurance agent to make sure you have separate policies, riders, or endorsements for your greatest insurable risks.