Protecting your asset with the cheapest homeowners insurance

 While the media and Press are always advertising for affordable and cheapest homeowners insurance, it is a difficult task in reality to get one if you don’t have the elementary knowledge of homeowners insurance...

While the media and Press are always advertising for affordable and cheapest homeowners insurance, it is a difficult task in reality to get one if you don’t have the elementary knowledge of homeowners insurance. The most important issue is to know from where to start. Here are some guidelines to look for the cheapest homeowners insurance.

How to shop around for cheap home owners insurance? Your search for a cheap home owner insurance does not need a lot of time or numerous phone calls- you can just do it with the help of your PC.

While using internet, search for homeowners insurance quote because it is free and at the same time speedy and you don’t need to talk to anyone, hence it is time saving. You can use Internet 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.  With online homeowners insurance quote you can get discount from your insurer because there is less administration to do for the insurer. So you can get a discount of 10%- 15%.

You should collect at least three home insurance quotes to ensure that you find the right policy at the best price.

You can get some discount without help of any insurance agent as some home insurance companies provide discount on the basis of your home security system. So by installing home security equipment( from the insurance company’s associates)  like home video camera, fire alert, burglar alarm, carbon monoxide detector and smoke detector you can get discount up to 10%.

Many insurance companies offer you discount if every member of your family is non-smoker because main cause behind home fire is smoking. 

Age group also plays a role in getting discount. If you belong to “62 or 62+” age group then you can apply for a discount of 10%-12%Article Search, as some companies provide discount for senior citizens.

While comparing the quotes always keep an eye on coverage offered by the policies and then make the investment .

Homeowners Insurance: Lessons from Katrina and other gulf storms

 Homeowners Insurance is supposed to protect us in case of disasters. That is what we have come to expect from our homeowners insurance over the years. But what if the disaster is the costliest in U.S. History? What if your insurance agent’s home and office were destroyed in the disaster also?

That is what happened to many customers and homeowners insurance agents and companies after Katrina hit the Gulf coast. Many agents' homes, offices and insurance Companies' claims centers were in the same situation as their clients due to the storms. So what did they do? They set up “office” in tents and mobile trailers. Then Hurricane Rita blew away these temporary offices and the agents and companies set them up again. These temporary shelters acted as a communications center for all people in the surrounding areas. Local people would come by to ask questions, meet with their claims adjustors and just catch up on the news with their neighbors. Extreme circumstances dictated unconventional responses: some agents even filed claims for their clients without even talking to the clients just so they could get the claim “in the queue.” Allstate allowed customers to submit claims through any agent in the country and set up a priority line to assist. They sent email to agents in the areas surrounding the disaster areas to act as messengers by “word of mouth” to their fellow agents in the effected areas. The larger companies such as State Farm & Allstate that service claims for the national flood Insurance Program even used satellite imagery to determine damage in some neighborhoods that were entirely flooded.

Lessons Learned: Those of us not effected by these disasters can learn a few lessons about coping with future disasters from the thousands of policyholders that are still waiting to get their claims paid. As soon as possible, take steps to prevent further damage to your home if possible: such as covering the roof with a tarp if possible. You can hire a contractor if you can find one, as that would be safer for most of us than climbing on our roofs. Hold off making any repairs until you see or talk to an adjuster first. Plus, keep your receipts, as you’ll need them to prove expenses that can be re-imbursed later.

What Does Homeowners Insurance Cover?

You can generally expect your homeowners insurance to help pay for additional living expenses for up to 12-24 months while your home is being repaired. But, homeowners insurance usually pays only after they verify you have a legitimate claim. After Katrina, many insurers made an exception, automatically distributing enough to cover two weeks’ worth of additional living expense to anyone in an area subject to mandatory evacuation. Some companies even gave small advances on contents under the personal property part of their homeowners insurance policies.

If you have to wait to get your check, it helps to have cash that is easily accessible in a bank account or money market fund. Stashing cash at home isn’t a great idea because if your home burns down and you weren’t able to get to your cash, most homeowners insurance policies only cover $100-$200 in cash whether it is stolen or burned up in a fire. Your goal should be to have an emergency fund available to take care of your family for 2-4 weeks (minimum)if possible. In a disaster it might be hard to even find a local bank to get cash. Debit/credit cards with a statewide or national bank would perhaps be better.

Your biggest problem in getting your claim handled may be in either not having the proper homeowners insurance coverage or not having enough coverage. Most good homeowners insurance policies today cover up to 120% of your dwelling coverage limit. It is important that you review the dwelling limit with your agent every couple of year’s at a minimum. Homeowners insurance policies do not cover Flooding, but you should again see your agent for this coverage.

If your homeowners insurance falls short, you may qualify for money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or a disaster-assistance loan from the Small Business Administration (SBA). Homeowners can borrow up to $200,000 for rebuilding and $40Health Fitness Articles,000 to replace personal property at very low interest rates for up to 30 years.

Best homeowners insurance rates - How can you get them?

Rating of Homeowners insurance depends on various factors.  The most knowledgeable buyer usually finds the best home insurance rate. To get the best homeowners insurance rate, you should do a bit of research work...

Rating of Homeowners insurance depends on various factors.  The most knowledgeable buyer usually finds the best home insurance rate. To get the best homeowners insurance rate, you should do a bit of research work. If you cannot time yourself for it you can of course seek professional help. This approach is timesaving but you have to be cautious about your advisor.

Here are some tips to get the best homeowners insurance rates.

1. First of all you should get the basic understanding about your home insurance rate and the different policies. You have to know who regulates the rate. It is the individuals of an insurance company who decide on the home insurance rates and these rates are regulated by the insurance department of the state. The state insurance department is the approving authority; it is only after their approval the rates can be passed on to the customers.

2. Before applying for homeowners insurance, you should shop around, so that you get the best homeowners insurance rates. To maximize your options you should make a search of your own. Enquire with your local bank, lenders and credit unions. Today, many banks have official websites; you can send your enquiry online. After completing your search, compare with those available in the advertisements. This will make it easier for you to get the best deal.

3. Some insurance companies provide more than one kind of insurance policy. For example, they will give you better rate if you buy auto policy along with home insurance. It also helps you get better home insurance rates.

4. Many insurance companies are associated with security companies like Brink’s or ADT, these companies offer you better rates if you install a home security system.          

5. Not only better rates, you can even get discounts if you are ready to install motion sensors or video surveillance cameras in your home, provided by the associate companies of home insurance company.

While keeping these points in your mindFeature Articles, you can get the best homeowners insurance rates.

General Liability Insurance

In the modern society, a small accident can result in protracted and potentially money- sapping lawsuits. General liability insurance, therefore, becomes a necessity for most companies. General liabil...

In the modern society, a small accident can result in protracted and potentially money- sapping lawsuits. General liability insurance, therefore, becomes a necessity for most companies. General liability insurance protects a company\'s assets when it is facing a lawsuit for damages it may or may not have inflicted upon a person though injury or property damage.

General liability insurance can be bought independently or as part of a BOP (Business Owners Policy). A Business Owners Policy packs liability and property insurance into a single policy. The liability insurance coverage limits, however, are usually quite low. Businesses needing a greater coverage usually buy liability insurance as an independent policy.

In a general liability insurance policy, legal costs of a business in a covered liability lawsuit have to be paid by the insurer. Covered liability claims include property damage, bodily injury, personal injury and damages from false advertising, also called advertising injury. Insurance companies also cover general and compensatory damages. However, liability insurance policies do not cover punitive damages, as they are deemed punishment for deliberate actions.

General liability insurance policies always declare a maximum amount that insurers have to give during the policy period. Under the policy, there is also a maximum amount that the insurer has to pay per occurrence. For example, if a company has a $1.5 million occurrence cap and loses a lawsuit of $2 million; the insurance company is obligated to pay just the $1.5 million; the rest has to be paid by the business company.

As a cover against these types of circumstances, companies buy umbrella liability insurance, which comes into the picture where general liability coverage stops. It covers payments that go beyond the company\'s policy\'s limits and gives extra protection for liabilities not covered in the standard insurance policy.

Generally, there is a requirement for the policyholders to report to the insurance company as soon as an accident that can lead to a liability claim has taken place. The business owner will then have to help in the investigations, forward legal noticesFree Reprint Articles, etc.

Article Tags: General Liability Insurance, General Liability, Liability Insurance

General Insurance Software

 A good general insurance software package should improve the efficiency and profitability of insurance agencies by providing easy to learn systems at affordable prices. A few companies who provide suc...

A good general insurance software package should improve the efficiency and profitability of insurance agencies by providing easy to learn systems at affordable prices. A few companies who provide such packages include:

QualCorp\'s FormsPlus – a cutting-edge policy issuance and administration software solution that deals with all personal and commercial lines of insurance. The package includes ProjectPlus, a workflow administration and imaging solution and QueryPlus, a reporting tool that reads every database you operate on your LAN/WAN simultaneously and in real time.

INSolve manufactures the INSolve Policy Administration Suite (IPAS) that features a fully customizable web-based solution. IPAS will track suspense items, save applications as drafts, and perform customer account clearance. It has an automated quoting process, and policies are produced with all endorsement and exclusion forms with a built-in policy issuance engine.

Sapiens International offers the INSIGHT software program that

Includes life, health, property & casualty, and reinsurance policy administration and an expert underwriting system. It reduces the cost of doing business through automation and reduces risk selection through the use of rules based underwriting.

Insurance Systems has a comprehensive software solution to run your Property & Casualty insurance company called WebWriter BackOffice. This product combines ease of use with powerful features offering the most complete insurance program on the market.

WebPlus Software has LiveLink that electronically transmits a broker\'s entire package to youFree Reprint Articles, handles all messages sent back and forth and sends the final quote back to the broker within seconds. Your company\'s specific and ACORD forms are fill-able by the online broker using free software.

How Contractors Avoid Overpaying For General Liability Insurance

 Contractors learn strategies to reduce costs of general liability insurance by comparing results with their peers and competitors.

Contractors get their insurance rates to go down 20% and more, by comparing notes with their peers. You need to connect with your competitors, and agree to pull out your policies for comparison. One of you is paying too much. If you get a group together, you will find most of you are paying too much.

For example, consider commercial liability insurance for general contractors. When buying insurance, contractors are typically isolated, and the insurance industry likes it that way. It is nice and complicated, and there are plenty of ways to spread fear, to keep contractors from doing much about it.

You are expected to pay premiums and not ask too many difficult questions. Isolated contractors try to ask intelligent questions, but they have no benchmark idea of what the best deals look like. They have very limited power.

I happen to know that rates are all over the map for contractors liability insurance. Residential remodeling general contractors make a good example. I've seen premium rates range from 0.7% of sales to over 3%. The more policies you compare, the better market intelligence you collect, and the better your negotiating power. Turn on the lights, and it is easy to see what to demand.

Contractors are reluctant to show their insurance policies to their peers, because they are also competitors. Their don't want to show their numbers for sales and payroll for one thing. Also, they are not all that confident they have the best deals, and don't want to feel dumb. When contractors do compare notes, the results are usually surprising. Only a few are getting the best deals, and the rest are overpaying large sums of money.

To get maximum value from comparing notes, you want to do it with others who have very similar operations to yours. Compare with others in your state, with similar license categories, similar sales volume, doing very similar types of work. By doing this you remove confusing variation, which you must do to understanding what your rates should be. Significant claim history can influence rates. If one of your group is paying a lot more, ask about claim history, to see if that explains it.

You've got to keep an eye on coverage variation also.If a policy seems far lower than others, check to see if it is a claims made form, rather than an occurrence form. You can't compare the two. They are completely different animals. Check to see if the limits of coverage are similar. Check deductibles. Check exclusions. With all that said, I've seen insurance companies quote identical accounts with one quote being double the other.

The more contractors work together, the more power they have when it comes to purchasing insurance. If a hundred contractors doing an average of one million in sales organized themselves into a buying group, they could probably buy an insurance company. Working togetherFeature Articles, they could expect to see insurance costs 20% to 30% lower than those dealing with the industry one on one.

General Facts on Auto Insurance

 It is essential to collect auto insurance details before investing in insurance of your car, to help you to make a correct choice about which insurance company and policy is finest for you. Whether you are looking into the most popular car insurance or traveler’s auto insurance or teenager’s car insurance, there are always some important things you must know that will play a vital role into the amount you pay for insurance.

The kind or the class of vehicle you drive does make a very big difference. Sports cars, such as corvettes, Ferraris etc. all are very expensive and cost more than your usual economical car, for the reason of the type of owners who buys them. The driving history of your vehicle will play an important role. The better and clean record you have, the less you will pay. At times you can also find auto insurance with completely online companies. Some of these companies provide really cheap auto insurance.
You can very quickly compare quotes from a number of different companies, by doing a thorough search. However, be extremely certain that you compare the features that are included in the policy. For example, a company might look cheaper than another, but in actuality they will exclude some important elements that will be necessary for the insurance. Thus one must understand that cheaper is not better always, especially in car insurance.

Policies differ greatly in their available features and options, and a number of firms give you incentives to jump on board with them. You can actually cash in some big savings when searching for the correct insurance policy.

Many insurance policies provide death and accidental cover. One should never buy simply because a company is providing a cheap policy; never forget to take a careful watch at the features the companies offer, and most of all their overall reliability and reputation.

Teenagers have high risk of accidents, probably because of their reckless driving habits. This adds one more important reason for auto insurance. Also, there are a number of other options that you can add in your auto insurance. Some of these options could include breakdown cover, damage liability and medical cover. Some firms will charge you extra for these options, and some will include these options standard. Therefore, go around and see different shops before buying. Vehicle insurance has also been made compulsory in some countries.