Archive for June, 2009

8 Easy Tips for Cheaper Home Insurance

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.

-Combine your policies

Consider using the same insurance for both home and auto insurance this will give you a multy policy discount at most insurance companies

– 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.

Protecting Your Home Against Flooding May Get Harder

There has undoubtedly been an increase the amount of flood activity taking place all over the county in recent years. This has largely been blamed on the changing climate and the green house gas problems that have been caused by humans.This is angle that has recently been adopted by the government who have maybe taken it a little too literally and said that increasingly people will have to help themselves when it comes to financial damage resulting from floods.

One of the biggest issues people face is getting home and office insurance to cover them against damages. Previously this has not been such a problem as Association of British Insurers (ABI) made a promise to ensure that most properties could get cover. However, this promise was only valid until 2013, and there seems to be no move to make another promise from the ABI any time soon. Seeing as homes and business buildings that do not have full insurance tend to struggle to sell, there could be lots of people losing a lot of money.

London will be hit hardest by this problem. There has been a sharp increase in flood activity in the capital, with many areas now considered high risk. A large amount of London is flat and has an outdated drainage system. Furthermore the lack of greenery and soil ground means the water is not soaked up but just lays on the surface. The defences that were set up at various points along the River Thames to protect the city against bursting banks has actually caused a different problem by stopping surface flooding in build up areas from being able to flow away into the river.

The government has said that if people cannot get home or liability insurance quotes relating to protection against floods any more, they will need to take measures to protect themselves against damages. One dentist in the capital has already take measures into his own hands and bought a large force pump after not being able to get comprehensive dentists insurance.

Does expensive insurance stop you from getting your pieces of technlogy insured?

Having the best clothes, technology and gadgets is always something that crops up especially at school and in the office. However what happens when in face you cannot be bothered to insure them on purchase simply because you just want to get home and use it or even because of the fact that major companies charge ridiculous amounts just too simply take out insurance with them.

This is where gadget insurance comes into play covering you from everything from mobile phones, sat nav’s, cameras and even hand held games consoles. If a phone or something like that was to break at the moment during the recession it is going to be a lot harder to actually find the money to go out and buy a replacement.  There is a solution and is available for as little as £2.49 a month which is clearly a better price than what you are going to have to pay if the product you owns breaks.

Something that is really annoying is that many of the insurance policies you can take out with the company that you purchased the specific gadget with do not actually replace or refund your money if you have the product stolen from you which means that not only have you had to suffer a traumatic experience of someone either coming into your house and stealing or being mugged in the street but your insurance is not going to cover it at all!

Gadget insurance will take care of anything from theft to accidental damage to the product and can really put a mind at ease when walking around with a high tech gadget in hand.
If gadget insurance is not needed at all then don’t risk the home either and take out home insurance!

Cheapest Homeowners Insurance — More Recommendations To Bring Down Costs Without Downgrading Quality

Would you like to lower your homeowners insurance rate? Then you’ve come to the the article you need. I’ll share guaranteed steps for anyone to get the most affordable rate for their profile or requirements. And this will be without downgrading the quality of coverage you enjoy. Here are the tips…

1. If your home’s landscaping is done properly it will help bring down your rates. If your landscaping is done properly, there will NOT be potholes that could cause injuries to visitors. If your landscaping isn’t done right, you might be losing some money in home insurance. And if you have not and plan to do it, talk with your insurance agent so you will know the proper things to do in your landscaping to ensure the biggest discount possible from your insurer.

Become eligible for cheap homeowners insurance.

2.You can make your house almost disaster proof thereby lowering your risk and, consequently, your home insurance premium. You can do this by taking all the necessary steps against fire and burglary in addition to the following depending on where you reside…

a. You will get superior protection from wind damage if you fit a storm shutter.

b. You will also be better off in windy localities with a heavier roofing material.

If your area is prone to earthquakes, ensure that you retrofit you home.

d. For folks who have trees on their compounds, you will save yourself in home insurance premium if you make sure you cut off every dead or dry branch because they can easily cause injuries or damages that will lead to liability claims. 

e. You’ll also do well if you plant your trees at a safe distance from your house for obvious reasons. This is because tree limbs over or close to structures could easily cause extensive damage if they fall off for any reason. Depending on the type of roofing material you use, this could as well reduce its durability.

If you’re interested in other ways to make your home more disaster-proof, discuss with your agent.

Moreover discover the cost-effectiveness of each advice you get. Implementing these tips will help you reduce your homeowners insurance rate.

Compare home contents insurance!

3. Ensure that you fully understand what the exclusions are in a homeowners insurance policy. Be well informed that you’ll NOT get compensated for things that are excluded from your policy.

Therefore, before you settle for a great rate make sure the insurer does not exclude something that might compromise you down the line. No matter how cheap a policy is, it isn’t good enough if it does NOT provide adequate coverage. All it demands is studying the policy to avoid unpleasant surprises on the long run.

4. Install smoke and fire detectors. They will go a long way in lowering your home’s fire risk Install the right numbers of smoke and fire detectors for your size and kind of home if you want more affordable premiums.

Detectors mean fires are easily noticed and put out before much damage is done. This attracts a lower rate since it implies that the risk of a fire damage is lower.

5. You’ll save much if you will shop around and do thorough comparison. The the difference in quotes returned per query could be as wide as $1,000 for a given profile. Notwithstanding that this is a good thing, it’s crucial that you don’t get too excited yet. It’s not usually that straightforward if you’re after the best price/value. 

The lowest quote may not offer you the best price/value. Despite the fact that each of the quotes returned will certainly give you the same main coverage, there may be a number of differences in the details of coverage. This makes it important that you find out if there aren’t any exclusions you won’t like. 

Don’t forget to treat these no-obligation quotes just that way. Don’t feel you have to pay until you’ve got all your questions answered to your satisfaction. You will saved from rude surprises down the road if you do this.

Find the best online homeowners insurance quote.