Reducing your rates of homeowner insurance

Every insurance company that provides homeowner coverage uses its own package of "special" discounts to market its products to particular types of customers. The following list contains suggestions on how to reduce your rates. Be sure to ask your agent about:

    * Non-smoker discount – Some insurers offer a discount when all family members are nonsmokers.
    * Long-time customers – Some insurers offer discounts to long-time customers with no claims history.
    * Multiple policies – If you have your home, auto, liability, and other policies with the same company, it may offer a discount.
    * Protection devices – If you have smoke detectors, burglar alarms, or automatic sprinkler systems, the company may offer a discount.

In addition to the discounts listed above, you may want to think about choosing a higher deductible to reduce your rates. If you have a lien holder, they may require a minimum deductible amount.

Prepare ahead to ease the claims process
Insurance is something you hope you never have to use, but if you should ever need to file a claim after experiencing a loss, the following suggestions can make the process easier:

    * Written inventory – Create and regularly update a written inventory of your home’s contents.
    * Video/photographic record – Videotape or photograph the contents of your home, and the exterior from different viewpoints and angles.
    * Identify – Engrave or mark larger possessions to show ownership.
    * Appraisals – Have someone appraise your jewelry, antiques, stamps, coins, and other valuable collectibles.
    * Document security – Keep your insurance policy, home inventory, appraisals, photos and video records in a secure secondary location (such as your office or a safety deposit box). Update your records and documentation annually

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Cashing Your Hurricane Insurance Settlement Check

Now, you are wondering if that sum you received was enough to pay for repairs to your damaged real (Structure) property or lost personal items (Contents).

First, you need to understand whether or not the check(s) you received from your Insurance Company, was that their "final" offer, or was it just an "advance" on your total property insurance settlement. Very often, that is the case. Often, they hold back some amount of money which won't be released until repairs are complete. This hold back amount is usually referred to as depreciation.

However, if your insurance company says your payment was the "final" property insurance payment, then you should definitely have the immediate concern that it might not be enough.

And, you ask yourself "since I accepted and cashed the settlement check, is it all over?" Be sure you look at the check for any contractual language, on the front and the back. It would be rare to see anything like that but, before you cash it, check with your attorney if you see any language like that.

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Say Goodbye to Hasty & Uninformed Insurance Decisions

More often than not, our insurance agents satisfy us by giving a perfunctory discount of ten to fifteen percent on the insurance premium. According to the Insurance Information Institute, a 400% increase in your deductible should bring your insurance premium down by 40%.

How can you overcome this problem? You simply have to log on to the World Wide Web and check out multiple insurance quote web sites. How do these web sites help? Fill the form and specify the deductible as $250 when submitting information.

You will get estimates based as per the information provided. Now, log onto the World Wide Web again and submit the form again. This time, specify the amount of deductible as $1000.

This time, you will get estimates from top reputed insurance companies on the basis of a $1000 deductible. Compare the two quotes that you have obtained and check the extent of reduction in the premium.

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