Nobody likes home insurance claims, but they do happen. While we may not be able to avoid claims, we may be able to prevent some of them from happening. This is especially true for the claims that aren’t caused by Mother Nature!
Does your home insurance policy ever change? Many people may be inclined to think policies don’t change, but they do. In fact, home insurance policies change all the time. Coverage is added or removed and underwriters determine that something isn’t a risk or is a huge risk much more frequently than you know.
A close friend and client called me a few weeks ago requesting renters insurance for an apartment she’s moving into. She and her husband are separating as they determine whether or not to end their marriage and file for divorce or go through the long process of healing. They may or may not resolve their issues in the coming weeks or months which led me, as their agent, to take a few minutes and outline the insurance decisions they need to address should they decide to divorce. Let’s take a look at the three areas anyone going through a divorce should consider.
Want to save money on your home insurance? I haven’t talked with anyone who didn’t want to pay less without weakening the policy or going with a company that doesn’t provide good service. Let’s look at a few more home insurance discounts we didn’t get to last week as well as some rating factors worth knowing about.
I love discounts! If those discounts are on something I want, that’s wonderful! If they are on something I have to have, such as home insurance, that’s even better! Why pay more if you don’t have to?! Let’s take a look at discounts organized by category to help guide us.
I spoke to a group of realtors last week. It was the monthly meeting for the JB Real Estate Group (www.jbrealestategroup.com), and the topic I presented was, How To Keep Home Insurance from Derailing the Closing. We had a great discussion and I thought it would be beneficial to share what I presented here. I believe this information is helpful whether you are a home buyer, seller, realtor (listing or buying agent), or even a mortgage loan officer.
I was in my first earthquake over the Labor Day weekend. For the past few years, Sheri’s family has rented a cabin in Davis, Oklahoma for Labor Day weekend. It’s a great time to get away, be together, cook for each other, and watch too much football. I slept through the 5.8 magnitude earthquake which was felt in north Texas all the way north to Illinois. It didn’t cause too much damage to our Oklahoma neighbors, but it provides a great backdrop to revisit home insurance and earthquake coverage.
Insurance Journal published an interesting article based on the results of a survey undertaken by Trusted Choice and the Big I earlier this month. The results were very interesting and point out that most Americans are ill prepared financially for a major disaster, think their home policy will cover them in the event of a disaster, and may not have enough home insurance coverage to replace their home should they encounter such a disaster. With us being at the height of hurricane and wildfire seasons, let’s examine the survey’s findings.
A client called me two weeks ago. Their air conditioner died and they wanted to know whether or not it was covered by their home insurance policy. Given the cost of replacing an air conditioning system, I would ask the question too. The answer though, is it just depends on how they answer my next question.
Every once in a while, I’m asked by a mortgage loan officer or processor if the home insurance policy a client has selected includes guaranteed replacement cost coverage. In most instances, the answer is no, however, there are a few carriers that still offer this. I thought we’d take a look at that as we conclude this series on home insurance coverage and forms.
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