Contents Insurance – Check Your Cover

You've probably got contents insurance for your belongings but are you aware just how easy it is to fall behind in calculating the value of them?

What do you imagine the average contents of a family home are worth - £25,000 or £30,000? In fact this figure, for a typical home, is estimated to be over £45,000. Apart from your “moveable items” of carpets, furniture, curtains, it's probable that electrical goods purchased over the last few years explain the sudden rise. It's not unusual to have three or four mobile phones, a couple of computers, possibly also a laptop. Then there are the TV's. Apart form the large family wide screen digital HD ready, singing and dancing set, there's probably a another one in the kitchen and two or three others in the bedrooms, not to mention DVD and video recorders. Probably the children have iPods, gameboys and whatever else is “in” at present. Don't forget your CD collection – Norwich Union values these at £10 each and DVD's.

Apart from the risk of damage, all the above items are very appealing to the thief, being easy to handle and finding a ready market. Don't forget the garden, the mowers and garden machinery, contents of the shed and garage, garden furniture and even your tubs and hanging baskets. The value of plants can add up too!

Should you need to make a claim, it's important that you're not under insured. If the insurance company judges that you don't have adequate insurance, the claim will not be fully paid. This means that if you have insured your contents for, say, £20,000 and your insurance company considers there would be a value of £30,000 to replace them, then there would be a shortfall of £10,000.

Insurers handle things in different ways. For example Norwich Union Direct, one of the major insurers, will pay out up to the amount for which you're covered. It's left up to you to fund the difference. More Than tells us that their policy on underinsured claims is to reduce them by up to 20%. In fact More

Than are taking action to ensure that clients are more up to date with their cover and so have recently increased the this for all their clients, by 25%.

These increases will apply on the clients' next renewal dates. No doubt more insurance companies will look at following suit soon.

Whilst you're thinking of re-assessment, maybe it's time to check the current figures on your buildings insurance. As well as the house, garage and outbuildings, you may have fixed items such as lighting, hot tubs and permanent garden features. These are covered by your buildings insurance, not your contents. Your insurer will normally work out a quotation based on the number of bedrooms, etc., and your postcode. The insurable figure will be the cost demolition and clearing of the site and re-building your home on the present site, of course.

To help you re-consider the value of your belongings and for additional advice there's a handy checklist for home owners on the Association of British Insurers, www.abi.org.uk

There are a large number of insurance companies handling both contents and building insurance and, as always, it pays to shop around.

Choosing The Right Homeowner’s Insurance

As a homeowner, you are required by law to carry homeowner’s insurance. Unfortunately, many people do not carry the right homeowner’s insurance or the correct coverage amount. When buying a new home, most people are anxious to get the buying process over with to quickly, get settled in. Because of this, sometimes only minimum insurance is purchased, just enough to cover the minimum requirement. However, this coverage amount is never modified so when disaster strikes, the homeowner quickly discovers the coverage was not enough.

The most important thing you can do for you, your family, and your property when buying a home is to conduct in-depth research, and then work with a qualified insurance representative to ensure you never find yourself in this type of disastrous situation. Start by working with a reputable company. Remember, the size of the company is not what matters. Instead, you want a company that understands homeowner’s insurance and one that can guide you to the right type and amount of coverage.

If you know someone that is happy with their homeowner’s insurance, you might set up a meeting with that company to see if they can help with your needs. Otherwise, check the local Better Business Bureau, asking for and checking referrals. In addition, make sure the company is financially stable, one that guarantees its services, and a company that offers outstanding customer service to efficiently handle any questions or claims.

The right representative will help you locate and maintain appropriate insurance. However, for the company or agent to understand the insurance industry as well as your specific needs, proper training, knowledge, responsiveness, patience, and service are mandatory. As mentioned, availability is another important factor when choosing an insurance representative. When a crisis strikes, being able to get in touch with the representative in a timely manner helps resolve the issue while building a relationship of trust and confidence in the representative’s abilities.

Then, your homeowner’s insurance should be affordable. Obviously, you want to purchase the requirement but also the amount of insurance that would ensure coverage of your home and personal belongings in case of disaster. A good insurance representative would work with you to ensure that you are not paying for something you do not need while also making sure you have coverage where you do need it. The process of choosing the right insurance coverage is an important one so look for a company or agent with whom you can freely discuss your needs.

Just keep in mind that you will find a number of different insurance packages sold each providing different focus. When you shop around for the ideal policy, you want to make sure your policy covers fire, windstorm, tornados, hail, smoke damage, vandalism, and any other damage to your belongings or home. Additionally, if you live in a flood or earthquake zone, while coverage may not be a part of the standard policy, it might be something you can add on, providing additional protection for your home.

Cheap Home Insurance - A Few Tips To Save Money

Is there such a thing as cheap home insurance? There may be a better question. Is home insurance really that expensive? Homeowner’s insurance may very well be the consumer’s best buy when it comes to insurance. There are multiple benefits and features that make the home policy unique. Most everything that the homeowner owns including the dwelling can be covered in some way by homeowner’s insurance. When you think of the magnitude of the coverage afforded by homeowner’s insurance versus the premium paid then you would have to agree that homeowner’s insurance is a very good buy. The rates on property insurance in general, have increased over the last ten years. Much of that has to with increased catastrophes like the hurricanes in Florida. The toxic mold problem that originated out west has also caused premiums to increase on a national basis. The home insurance buyer really needs to focus on a few areas to get the most for the premium dollars paid.

Accurate Dwelling Amount – This is the first most critical decision that you will make. The square footage of your dwelling has to be correct in establishing the replacement value of your home. The market value is of little use to you when you purchase insurance to rebuild the structure. Replacement cost is better for homes that have been built within the last 40 years. Check with your insurance company underwriting guidelines.

Replacement Cost or Actual Cash Value – This facet of your home insurance policy should be clearly understood. Replacement cost insurance on both your dwelling and its contents means that the insurance company will rebuild or replace your loss with like kind and quality. Actual Cash Value will calculate the replacement cost and then subtract for depreciation. The actual cash value policy is cheaper but you will have to come up with the depreciable amount out of your own pocket.

Deductible – Higher deductibles bring your premium down substantially. $500 to $1000 deductibles are common. This is a huge savings to you over the years and is your most valuable tool in lowering the cost.

Buy To Let Property Insurance

Buy-to-let property insurance, some times also known as residential property owners insurance, is needed if you own houses and/or flats to tenants – either on a short-term or long-term basis.  Ordinarily you can buy cheap buy-to-let property insurance in the event that you rent five or less properties in the UK than is the case if you rent more than five properties, as in the case of the former you are seen as a small time landlord with a small business, whereas in the latter you are seen as a full blown property-owning company.

Whether you plan to rent five or less properties, or five or more properties, is, however, a side issue, as in both cases you’ll need to ensure that you have at least the minimum level of required insurance in order to protect yourself.  Consequently, the number of properties you own will have a bearing only insofar as the insurance premiums are concerned.  That said, if you are looking to become a property owner with a letting business, then you need to ensure that you have the following minimum provisions in your insurance policy:

Fire

Insuring against any fire on the property

Natural Disaster (also known as tempest insurance)

Insuring against natural disasters that may occur, such as a storm where the winds tear off your roof or guttering

Theft

Which is especially important if you are renting out fully furnished properties.  In the event that you are renting out unfurnished premises, you may wish to have a discussion with your tenants about whether or not they should have home contents insurance

Public Liability Insurance

This should be a must as it will protect you against any claims your tenants or any third parties (such as their guests) may have for injuries they suffer while on your property

Lost Earnings

There may well be times when your property remains empty; say, for example, while you look for new tenants.  If you are relying on the rental income from your tenants to repay the money you borrowed to purchase the property, you need to ensure you have lost earnings insurance to compensate you during this period

Employee Liability Insurance

If you have employees who will visit the property for you to repair any damage, etc. or to collect the rental payments, then you need to make sure that you have employee liability insurance in case they get injured while carrying out their assigned task

Legal Expenses Insurance

As a property owner you may find the need from time to time to retain the services of a lawyer; for example, if your tenants refuse to pay their rent or move out of the property at a specified agreed time – when you may need to get an eviction notice.  As legal expenses in the UK can be expensive, you should consider insuring against this risk by having in place a provision of legal expenses in your insurance policy.

Although the above are basically the bare minimums you need in your buy-to-let property insurance policy, you can also tailor these types of insurance policies to meet your particular needs, so make sure that you talk through your circumstances with your insurance provider, especially if you anticipate expanding the business in the near future.

Best Home Owners Insurance - What To Look For When You Want A Lower Rate

What is the best homeowners insurance for you? The answer is probably not that obvious to you because most of us have not taken the time to understand our homeowner’s insurance. We would much rather turn that responsibility over to the insurance professionals. There is nothing wrong with that approach but it still leaves you a little bit too uninvolved over a very important insurance purchase. People have a natural fear of the unknown. We like to steer clear of things that are unfamiliar to us. Our insurance is often one of those things that we would rather just avoid. That may come in part from the old days when insurance was purchased under pressure from the insurance agent. That method of sales has just about vanished in property and casualty insurance. People willingly contact agencies about policies and coverage. The agent is more like a consultant these days. The best homeowners insurance is usually purchased when we ourselves have a better understanding of our policy and how we want to be serviced. The insurance atmosphere is much more professional and there are more ways to purchase insurance. Purchasing online or by telephone is becoming as common as purchasing from the local agent.

The homeowner’s policy itself has a couple of integral features and benefits to consider. Buying replacement cost insurance verses actual cash value insurance is one of your most important decisions. Replacement cost homeowner’s policies settle any loss by replacing or repairing your dwelling and its contents with like kind and quality without depreciation. Actual cash value allows for depreciation and expects you to make up the difference as an out of pocket expense.

The most important cost savings decision that you will make is the size of the deductible. It makes sense to have as high a deductible as possible on your home policy because of the infrequency of claims.

The best homeowner’s insurance for you revolves around how you want to do business, whether to purchase replacement cost or actual cash value, and the size of your deductible. These three areas will lead you in the right direction.

Are Your Home Insurance Premiums Constantly Rising?

Last year the UK's average premium for Buildings Insurance increased by 1% to just over £205 and the average for Contents Insurance rose to £151, up 2%. But within the market we've seen some much bigger rises – if you're with Norwich Union you'll have seen your premium rise by around 6%.

So what's going on? Every year we see premiums rising. Surely with so much competition in the home insurance market, you wouldn't expect to see such inexorable rises in premiums?

Let's consider the situation more carefully.

The cost of repairing and rebuilding houses is a reflection of the rising price of labour and building materials. This means that cost to the insurers of claims under the buildings cover similarly rises. So as their costs rise, so do your premiums. And there's also the indisputable fact that cost inflation also affects the insurance companies own operating costs. Wherever possible, they're bound to add a little extra on for that!

Then there's that lovely British weather. Michael Fish could be forgiven for believing we don't live in a hurricane zone, but nevertheless it's a fact that storms, and especially floods, are becoming ever more frequent. Flood damage can be particularly destructive with, according to the Association of British Insurers, the average insurance claim ranging between £15,000 and £30,000. And during the last 18 months we have seen particularly destructive floods create headline news at Helmsley in North Yorkshire, Carlisle, and Boscastle in Cornwall. Those events must have cost the insurance companies multi-millions.

The other area where costs have been rising is burglary. The average burglary claim has now risen to around £1,400. There seem to be two reasons – firstly burglars are finding pickings easier to come by and move on. Modern family homes are packed with valuable electronic gismos – from laptops to I pods, digital cameras and flat screen TV's. The other reason is that burglars are targeting well-off neighbourhoods more and more.


Against this background the insurance companies are able to price home and contents insurance down to individual postcodes. If their records show a problem with flooding, or subsidence, or an increasing incidence of burglary in you immediate area, their computers will load your premium to reflect the additional risk.

Your no-claims discount will only serve to offset these upward pressures to a certain extent. And don't forget that once you have a five years no-claims record, your discount doesn't increase, it's capped. Thereafter, all the premium increases will land fully in your lap.

So what can you do to save money?

The most important step by far, is to shop around every year for the best available deal. Maybe it's a chore, but thirty or forty minutes on the Internet (including ten minutes on this web site!) will yield you results. Within that space of time you'll have found the cheapest insurer and, as an online customer, you'll probably have qualified for an additional 10% discount. Then you can always agree to pay by direct debit – that'll also trim off a bit more.

Of course there are other things you can do, especially in the arena of home security. Join the local neighbourhood watch scheme, install security locks on your windows, fit external security lighting, up-grade the locks on your doors and get a burglar alarm. Added security will earn you discounts on your insurance but will cost you money to install! Perhaps the added peace of mind alone will be worth the cost. Only the local neighbourhood watch scheme arrives free!

The best general rule is don't stick with the same insurance company too long. Keep them on their toes. They have a tendency to take loyal customers for granted. Yes, it really does pay to shop around – try it and prove it to yourself!