Personal Financial Tips

Archive for the ‘Homeowners Insurance’ Category

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.

North Carolina home owners are facing challenges from numerous directions these days. We all know the challenges that exist with the real estate market collapse, and the effect on home values. Most North Carolinians should be some what familiar with the challenges with insuring their homes due to the North Carolina Beach Plan. The latest challenge comes from a recent press release from the Department of Insurance which announces a Class Action Lawsuit brought against the state’s leading Home Insurance Provider, Nationwide Insurance.

Undoubtedly, you have seen the marketing from the leader in North Carolina Homeowner’s Insurance. I believe it states something to the affect of them being “on your side”. It seems that mantra is not necessarily true in North Carolina. In the Department of Insurance’s press release, the class-action suit states that Nationwide underpaid policyholders by not including general contractor’s overhead and profit. That means, the policyholders had to pay those costs out of their own pocket.

When you take the state of the economy, the problems caused by The Beach Plan, and the fact that North Carolina’s largest home insurance provider is settling a lawsuit where they did not pay their claims properly; North Carolinians should be very careful when it comes to choosing an insurance carrier. The problem is, how do you go about choosing the right carrier?

The first issue that you must investigate is…given the problems insurance carriers face with the NC Beach Plan, which carriers are committed to providing home insurance in North Carolina. Over the past 12-18 months, there have been numerous carriers that have decided to stop writing and even cancel their current Homeowner’s Insurance policies. The most prominent of those carriers was Farmers Insurance. While there are still plenty of options in North Carolina, many carriers are still considering whether to stop writing NEW homeowners policies, reduce the amount of NEW homeowners insurance, reduce their current homeowners insurance market, or completely leave the homeowners insurance market. You should ask your current insurance agent, as well as other insurance agents, about the plans of their insurance carriers. While you might not get honest answers from everyone you speak with, you should be able to read between the lines.

The second issue that you must investigate is the financial stability of the remaining insurance carriers. You hopefully have whittled your potential carrier list down from the aforementioned investigation, now you have to see which insurance carriers are financially stable enough to earn your premium dollars. If you pay attention to any financial news, you have heard about the numerous downgrades issued by firms like S&P and Moody’s. Many of those downgrades have come in the insurance industry. Granted, most of those downgrades dealt with carriers which deal in mostly life insurance, property and casualty firms were not immune. Look for carriers with “A” ratings or better. If possible, you want a carrier with a long track record of “A” ratings.

The final issue, which should not even be an issue, is the ability and probability of your insurance carrier to fulfill the obligations they have made to you. I doubt that anyone could imagine a company like Nationwide not properly settling their insured’s claims, but evidently this is the case. Unfortunately, there are not many places you can go to obtain information such as this. Of course, there are web sites and BLOGs that talk about insurance carriers. However, I have found most of the time these sites are administered by people who have been done wrong by a particular insurance carrier, thus the information may not be that objective. My suggestions is to simply talk to your friends and family. Ask around. “Who is your insurance company?” “Have you ever had a claim?” “Were you satisfied with how your claim was handled?”

While we all want to save money whenever we can, when it comes to the North Carolina’s Homeowners Insurance market, the carrier with the lowest price might not always be the best insurance carrier for you.

Oregon homeowners and auto insurance discounts are available and plentiful, you just have to be willing to do the research and company comparisons to find them! We know that saving money on insurance is important whether you have a family to support, or just would rather spend the money elsewhere. This article will review discounts for both types of insurance in Oregon, and then supply free search tools to see which companies offer the discounts you are searching for.

Oregon Auto Insurance Discounts

Auto insurance in Oregon offers various discounts, but it is essential to know which are allowed in the state. Some insurance companies do not advertise that these discounts are available unless you threaten to leave, so while doing your quote comparisons, make sure to ask about these discounts:

New parent discount: If your oldest child is under the age of six (may vary from insurance company), you may be able to get a discount on your auto policy.

Alternative fuel: Talk about saving the environment! Some green insurance companies are rewarding their customers for driving hybrids or other alternative fuel vehicles with discounts.

Defensive driver: This discount is primarily for seniors (depending on the state, the age ranges from 55-65) and can be achieved by taking a defensive driver course.

Multi-vehicle: By carrying more than one vehicle on the policy, it may qualify you for an automatic discount.

Good student discount: For those full-time students between the ages of 16-25 (varies between companies), they may be eligible for a substantial discount with proof of a GPA of 3.0 or better. Takes the heat off the parents, that’s for sure.

Affinity/Sponsored marketing discount: For those that are members of certain business or professional groups, they may qualify for a discount on the auto insurance policy.

Oregon Homeowners Discounts

Oregon homeowners insurance has multiple options for discount savings. The availability of discounts will vary with different companies, which is why it is so important to do at least 3 company comparisons.

New home discount: This discount is eligible for new homes built within the last nine years.

Renovation discount: If major systems such as heating/cooling or plumbing have been renovated, your home may be eligible for this discount.

Sponsored marketing discount: If a listed owner is a member of certain business or professional groups, a discount may be applied to the home policy.

50 + discount: If at least one of the listed owners is age 50 or other, the policy may qualify for a discount.

Multi-line discount: By combining your auto and homeowners policies under one company, many times you will be eligible for a discount on both policies.

Find Oregon Homeowners And Auto Insurance Discounts Now!

Start saving money today by finding Oregon homeowners and auto insurance discounts. Use our free search tools at www.OregonHomeownersInsurance360.com to compare companies and save yourself some money.

Homeowners insurance covers your home against damage from fire, vandalism, theft, and Vermont storms and winters. Without it, you risk losing everything you own. Here’s how to get low cost Vermont homeowners insurance.

What Homeowners Insurance Covers

Homeowners insurance covers:

Your home – Homeowners insurance will pay to repair or rebuild you home after its been damaged or destroyed by a fire, by a plumbing leak, by vandalism, or by snow or storm damage. Standard policies do not cover flooding, but you can get it from the Federal Insurance Administration (fema.gov).

To estimate the amount of home coverage you need, multiply the square footage of your home by local building costs per square foot. You can get the local building costs in your area from an insurance agent, a real estate agent, or a builder.

There are two types of homeowners coverage – 1. Actual cash value coverage, which pays to replace your home or personal possessions minus a deduction for depreciation, and 2. Replacement cost coverage, which pays the actual cost of replacing your home or personal possessions.

Your possessions – Homeowners insurance will pay to replace your personal possessions after they’ve been stolen, or damaged. Standard policies provide personal property coverage equal to 50% to 70% of your home insurance coverage. To determine if this is enough coverage, add up the value of all your possessions. If you need more coverage you can purchase it from your insurance company.

Standard policies limit the amount of coverage on expensive items like jewelry, furs, and computers. Check your policy to see what the limit is and purchase more coverage if you need to.

Additional living expenses – Homeowners insurance will reimburse you for your living expenses – hotel, motel, and restaurant bills – when your home is being repaired due to a fire, a plumbing leak, vandalism, or by snow or storm damage. Standard policies provide additional living expense coverage equal to 20% of your home insurance coverage. If you feel you need more you can purchase additional coverage.

Personal liability – Homeowners insurance will pay your legal fees and court costs when you’re found liable for injuring someone or damaging their property. Standard policies provide $100,000 worth of liability coverage, but you can purchase more coverage if you feel you need it.

Where to Get Low Cost Vermont Homeowners Insurance

The best place to get low cost Vermont homeowners insurance is at an insurance comparison website. It only takes a couple of minutes to get rate quotes from a number of insurance companies.

How will having a dog affect your homeowners insurance rates? What kind of dogs will cause your home insurance rates to increase or even possibly cause you to be ineligible for coverage? Is it possible to find cheap homeowners insurance even with a dog?Across the U.S. owners of certain breeds of dogs are being told by homeowners insurance carriers that they need to give up their dogs or risk having their homeowners insurance policy canceled or not renewed at the end of their contract period.

In most states it is also legal for homeowners insurance companies to charge higher premiums based on the breed of the dog. While there is no standard list of ‘high risk’ dogs among different insurance carriers, some of the breeds that are most often targeted are Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers, Pit Bulls, Huskies, Malamutes, Chow Chows, Great Danes, and Saint Bernards.

With one third of all homeowners liability insurance claims being filed as a result of dog bites, insurance carriers are becoming increasingly reluctant to insure owners who have breeds that statistics have shown to cause the most personal injury. In 2006 insurers spent 35.14 million to cover the costs of dog bites alone.

STATISTICS CONCERNING DOG BITES

- Of all childhood hospital emergency room visits, dog bites rank second as the most common cause of injuries.

- 60% of all dog bites involve children. This includes the family dog as well as dogs not known to the child.

- Annually, the number of Americans that suffer dog bites exceeds 4.7 million.

- Rottweilers and Pit Bulls account for over 50% of all dog attacks. (A male dog is 80% more likely to bite than a female dog.)

- Surveys show that about 40% of households own a dog or dogs, and that the majority of dog bites occur in or near the house where the dog lives.

WHAT CAN I EXPECT TO FIND AMONG VARIOUS HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE COMPANIES IF I’M AN OWNER OF A ‘DANGEROUS BREED’?

Some home insurers will have a list of breeds and cross breeds that are banned from coverage and you will not be able to get a homeowners policy from them as long as you own that breed of dog. This is their policy regardless of how long you’ve owned the dog or how sweet its temperament.

Some insurance carriers will consider dogs on a case by case basis and not automatically ban insuring a dog based on its breed. Their homeowners insurance questionnaire may include questions such as, “Has your dog bitten anyone?” or “Has your dog been trained to bite or attack?” Also, the issue of whether a dog was provoked into biting or attacking may be taken into consideration. If in the past a dog has had an incident of attacking someone unprovoked, most insurers will not offer coverage and in many cases not renew a policy.

Some insurers will offer liability insurance coverage but require higher premiums if you are the owner of a ‘high risk’ dog. With liability claims sky rocketing in the area of injuries incurred by dog bites and by “dangerous breeds”, insurers have increased their premiums to offset the cost in much the same way as homeowners are being required to pay higher premiums in areas where wind has caused so much damage.

Some home insurers will require those seeking a homeowners policy with them to sign a liability waiver for dog bites. All of which means that if the homeowner desires liability coverage for his dog he will have to purchase a separate policy, and of course, that means more money paid out in premiums.

WHAT IS GOING ON IN LEGISLATION CONCERNING “DANGEROUS DOGS”? Laws on dangerous dogs and homeowners insurance differ from state to state. In the state of Illinois Bill, H184 established a definition for “dangerous dogs’ and ‘vicious’ dogs. It also outlines certain requirements for owning these dogs and lays out the penalties for violating these standards. In addition, all dogs are now required to be vaccinated against rabies. Inside the bill H184, certain jurisdiction was also given to county governments that they did not formerly have. This bill now allows counties to require micro chipping dogs, and they are also given the power to require animal and litter registration fees.

In Palos Heights, a city in Cook County, Illinois a micro chipping requirement was put into place. The City Council approved an ordinance that not only required owners with dogs classified as “dangerous” to micro chip their dogs, but in addition they are required to take out a $100,000 liability insurance policy for their pet. Under their definition, a “dangerous dog is one that “Exhibits extremely aggressive menacing behavior toward humans or domestic pets and must be confined to prevent injury or death to human or pets.” As a result of this definition, ‘dangerous dogs “must be kept in their home or in a secure enclosure. Outside trips are banned, unless a veterinary visit needs to be made. A muzzle is also a requirement for the dog to visit the vet.

On the insurance end, legislation is pending that would prohibit insurers form canceling or denying coverage based solely on the breed of a dog. Several others states, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Vermont, and Washington also have similar legislation in the works. Michigan and Pennsylvania already have a law in place that makes it illegal for homeowner insurance companies to deny coverage based on breed.

HOW DO I FIND HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE TO COVER MY DOG?

Call around. This will take some diligence on your part, but there are still some insurance carriers that offer coverage on a case to case basis and do not discriminate against a breed. These would seem to hold to the American Kennel Association position of “Punish the deed, not the breed.” Shopping around is key to finding cheap homeowners insurance.

If your dog has completed some kind of obedience training program, make that documentation available to the insurers. If your dog has not participated in an obedience program, as if that would help you obtain liability insurance or even give you a better rate.

Finally, if your dog has less than a stellar dog history, you might have to purchase a separate liability policy to cover your dog.

Whatever you decide to do – be sure that you shop around and compare homeowners insurance quotes from multiple companies. Shopping around is key to not only find the coverage for your pet and home that you need but also to save money in the process.

What exactly does Colorado homeowners liability insurance cover? In a state with 4 million residents, homeowners insurance can be a great factor. Liability insurance is just one of the main parts in a standard Colorado home insurance policy, however it can be the difference between you going to court and having to pay court and lawyers fees out of your own pocket and your insurance company taking care of everything. In the following article you will learn the insights of the Colorado homeowners liability insurance and the things that it does and does not cover.

What Exactly Does Colorado Homeowners Liability Insurance Cover?

This is a question that many people ask when it comes time to purchasing a standard homeowners insurance policy in the state of Colorado. Although liability coverage is a relatively new one when it comes to the home insurance industry, it cannot be looked over. Liability coverage simply covers you from being sued by a third party if they get injured in your premises. Keep in mind that you can get as much liability coverage as want, but that can make a huge difference in the price that you are paying per month.

How liability insurance works is completely separate you from having to pay any fees at all to the person injured. Instead of that person actually dealing with the owner of the house and the main person insured in the policy, they will have to set up a claim directly through the home insurance agency. The company will then deal with them directly and none of the parties will have to contact you about fees or anything like that.

Types Of Coverage In Colorado Homeowners Liability Insurance

Before you buy the product from any insurance company in the Colorado state market, it is important to know the types of coverage that they will offer you in the event of a liability claim. Most insurance companies provide a basic limit liability of approximately $300,000 in the event of property damages or personal injury. A good thing about this coverage is that you can increase it if you so choose, however you will be paying more per month for a higher amount of liability coverage.

Most insurance companies also offer a medical payments coverage (check your company to see if you have it) that ranges in between $1,000 and $5,000. This medical coverage for example will cover things such as neighbor getting his hand burnt in a barbeque at your place, a kid falling, or a trampoline in your property and resulting in an injury, and even a dog bite from your pet to a third party.

Keep in mind that all of these amounts vary from company to company and from state to state. If you want the exact information about the coverage that you are getting you should talk to your agent or do some research on your policy of choice.

Three Types Of Cases Where Colorado Homeowners Liability Insurance Will Protect You

1. Injury or death of a third party in your property.
2. Injury or death to others off your property.
3. Damage to the property of others.

Cases In Which Your Colorado Homeowners Liability Insurance Will Not Protect You

Unfortunately, it is important to highlight that liability insurance coverage in your Colorado homeowners insurance policy is not an “all inclusive” coverage. This means that there are certain things that are not covered and that can result in you having to take money off your own pocket in order to cover the charges. Keep in mind that some of these may vary from company to company and the list may be different according to difference cases.

1. You will not be covered if your liability arises from an intentional act on your part.

2. You wont be covered if your liability arises through the use of an aircraft.

3. You will not be covered if the liability comes up through the use or ownership or an automobile.

4. You won’t be covered if the liability results from a trick, stunt, racing, or any similar activity.

5. You wont be covered if the liability results from damage to property that you own, that is owned by anyone else covered in your policy (Example: you are fixing your roof and a brick falls on your son’s bike and damages it).

6. You will not be covered if your liability results from slow and gradual discharge of pollutants into the air, land or water.

Umbrella Coverage And Colorado Homeowners Liability Insurance

For the people that want to add coverage to their liability insurance, many Colorado homeowners insurance companies offer what they call an “umbrella” coverage. This coverage can only be used after the remaining money on the liability part of your home insurance policy ceases to exist.

Because these types of coverage are not a regular part of a homeowners insurance policy, people usually buy them separate. Keep in mind that if you want a umbrella coverage, you should be prepared to pay a little bit more in monthly premiums and that some companies won’t sell you that kind of coverage until you insure both your home and car with them.

It is also important to understand that the cost of an umbrella policy will vary depending on how much money you want the additional coverage to be. Many companies let you choose from a variety of amounts that should work for you, while some others simply have limited amounts the person can choose from. It has been known that a person can buy an umbrella coverage of approximately $1,000,000 and their yearly premiums will only be affected up to an estimated $300.

Colorado Homeowners Liability Insurance Is Very Important

As you can see, the liability portion of your CO home insurance policy is very important. It will not only protect you from being sued by a third party when they get into an accident in your home or property; but they will be there for you if any other accident happens.

By knowing what is and is not covered in the liability insurance portion of your policy you will be more knowledgeable about making claims and by knowing that umbrella policies are available, some of you can secure your financial future even farther. Whatever you choose just be thankful that home insurance companies have liability insurance because the truth is our world could potentially be chaos without it!