Insurance, Claims & Accidents

Archive for the ‘Contents Insurance’ Category

In a recent survey by one of the biggest insurance comparison websites it was found that houses with the number 243 are the most likely, out of a range of house numbers, to make an insurance claim.  Number 243 is followed by number 201, and number 1, while numbers 190, 240, 241, 221, 217, 218 and 121 are also subject to higher than average insurance claims.  Homes with the number 13 are nowhere near the top of the list.

However home insurance claims are dominated by loss and accidental damage, with break-ins and theft accounting for only one quarter of insurance claims.  So it is unlikely that there is anything significant to number 243, other than a statistical anomaly.  It may be more reasonable to ask whether home contents insurance is more or less important depending on the area in which a home is, as some areas are more prone to crime than others.

Regardless of the risk of theft, it is always a good idea to have comprehensive home contents insurance.  Even those living in the most remote and crime-free areas are still at risk of damage caused by fire, flooding or other adverse events.  Contents insurance from a good home insurance provider will be able to compensate for any such damage.

If you live in a high risk area you should keep the higher likelihood that you may claim in mind when you compare home insurance policies.  Those in high risk areas should avoid buying policies with high excess payments and should avoid policies where there are limits on the number of claims you can make in any given period.

Fire damage is one of the most common causes for home insurance claims.  Fire damage, even from a small fire, can lead to very big home insurance claims.  That is why the coalition government has launched Electrical Fire Safety Week, an initiative to reduce the relatively low frequency of claims even further.  If successful Electrical Fire Safety Week will save insurers and the economy millions of pounds and reduce the risk of households experiencing inconvenience or, worse, physical harm.

There are a number of factors that can lead to an electrical fire in a house.  These include overloaded plug sockets, appliances left on for too long that were not designed with that in mind, as well as worn cables.  Sir Ken Knight, the chief fire and rescue advisor to the government, says that a few simple safety steps can prevent severe fire damage from occurring.

Data shows that up to 60 per cent of fires in homes were caused by electrical faults that led to a fire.  It is important to regularly check plugs to make sure they are clean and show no signs of burning.  Keeping electrical appliances dust-free is also important, and so is switching off appliances which you are not using.

The worst does happen and if there is a fire in the house the residents may want to contain it with a fire extinguisher, but only if the fire is still small.  The right extinguisher should be used for electrical fires, as a water-based extinguisher will only make matters worse.  In addition, people should leave their house as quickly as possible.

It’s not a secret that every homeowner wants to find the best price on home insurance.  Finding cheap house insurance may be easier than you think.  It will take a little work of searching around and comparing prices, but the results of savings could be well worth your efforts.

It is obvious that household insurance is meant to protect your home or its contents in the event of a problem.  If you’re like most people and are in the market for a cheap home insurance quote, these few tips may be able to help provide you with one.

One of the first things to keep in mind is not to make a claim for every little thing.  You will soon be found as ‘risky’ and your premiums will be reflected as such.  Unless you absolutely have to, don’t make a claim on your home insurance.  The rule is the lower the amount of claims, the lower the house insurance premiums.

Just because your insurance company has sent you a renewal, does not mean it’s the cheapest quote you can find.  Check around and compare what other insurance companies offer in the way of home insurance and costs.

For a few pounds, installing proper smoke alarms is a must.  It’s important to check them on a regular basis to ensure they are in working order.  You may even be able to get them for free at your local fire service.

Help out by making sure your house is secure.  Check into installing proper locks, fixing holes in fences and removing anything enticing to a burglar.  Ensure obvious things like tall ladders to second story windows or rooftops are removed if you’ve been doing some home renovations. Even a burglar alarm can help with premiums.

A good house insurance broker used to be the best way of purchasing house insurance, because of their wealth of knowledge and the access they had to the policy pricing databases of many insurance companies.  Today, however, online comparison services do a great job of finding home insurance quotes from numerous insurers and sorting the results according to your needs.  So should you still consider using a home insurance broker?

The problem with online house insurance quotes comparison services is that, as well designed and as complex as they are, they cannot always fully understand your specific requirements.  Nor do comparison services explain every detail of the policy document when the results are displayed for you.  This is where home insurance brokers have an advantage, because their in-depth knowledge of insurance policies and their ability to fully understand your insurance needs can often help you to find the policy that is just right for you, for a reasonable price.

On the other hand, a price comparison service does not charge a fee to get the best prices and often has access to prices from many more providers; often almost every insurer, than does a home insurance broker.

You could ask yourself whether you just want the most basic of coverage for your home and its contents at the lowest possible cost; possibly exposing you to more risk or whether you want fully comprehensive insurance customised to your needs.  If the latter, you might be better off speaking to a broker, while the cheapest route could very well involve a home insurance quote comparison service.

A home that is left empty over an extended period of time poses a much greater risk to insurers than one that is permanently occupied.  You will need to purchase an unoccupied house policy and take a number of specific measures to adequately secure the property.

Some basic maintenance will reduce the risk of anything happening to the property and could potentially reduce the premiums you need to pay.  Take every effort you can to create the impression that the property is occupied.  This includes regularly removing mail, opening and closing curtains, getting the garden regularly maintained and clearing away any signs of vandalism.  In addition, you need to regularly have the building inspected, repair any damage that may at first appear to be a small problem, but which could become a very expensive problem over time.  It is also a good idea, in the cold winter months, to turn off the water supply from the property to prevent pipes from freezing.

Insurance for unoccupied properties is more expense, due to the higher risk of something happening to them.  You therefore need to take out a specific type of insurance cover that allows for the insured home being left empty for extended periods of time.

Cheap house insurance policies for unoccupied homes are available on the market and it is worth using a comparison service to find the best value both for contents and building insurance.

There are a wide variety of websites where you can compare insurance products in order to get cheap house insurance.  If you are to find the best deal is vital that you shop around until you find a company that offers you appropriate cover at an affordable price.  Many providers offer building insurance and contents insurance as a package, which helps you to save money.

Standard insurance policies often have restrictions that affect people living in special circumstances.  Comparing the many insurance companies available will enable you to find a policy that suits your current situation.  For example, there are specialist insurance deals for students or those who own more than one property.

If you are a landlord or homeowner, then finding the right insurance policy is vital.  Landlords should look for one that provides cover for their property if it is unoccupied for an extended period of time.  If you are a landlord who owns several properties, then you may need to shop around to find a specialist insurance policy that covers multiple properties.

If you live in an area where your home is at risk of flooding, then it is vital that you search for a policy that will provide sufficient cover.  There are many good deals available, but you will need to check that whatever policy you opt for suits your current situation.  Comparing policies will enable you to see what restrictions there are and which companies will provide the cover that you need to keep your home protected.

Since household insurance does not provide cover for personal items, it is vital that you take out contents insurance.  Contents insurance will protect your possessions against theft or damage caused by severe weather conditions such as floods or storms.  Your contents insurance policy will only cover you for items that have been damaged unintentionally or stolen.  If you deliberately damage an item you will not be covered.

Though contents policies provide cover for items that have been damaged accidentally, it is advisable to check exactly what your policy includes.  If you live in an area where the crime rate is particularly high you will need to make sure that your policy still provides cover.

Contents insurance includes all items that are moved in and out of your home.  This includes TVs, DVD players, computers and furniture.  Contents insurance is strongly advised for anyone living in rented accommodation to ensure that all personal belongings are protected.  Many tenants are now required to take out contents insurance when they move into a rented property, because their possessions are their own responsibility, not the landlord’s.

If you are a student, specialist contents insurance will help to protect your personal items.  Specialist contents insurance is designed to provide cover for students living in rented accommodation or halls of residence.

Using comparison websites will help you to find the best contents insurance deals.  You can browse through a variety of companies to see which policies match your requirements.

When it comes to choosing the most suitable home insurance for you, comparison websites will find the best current deals for your contents insurance and buildings insurance.  These are the two basic types of house insurance you will come across and cover the needs of most homeowners.

Buildings insurance is compulsory if you have taken out a mortgage on your home, as most of us have and it will cover the expense of rebuilding should it be damaged or destroyed by flooding, subsidence or some other catastrophic event.  The total cost of rebuilding will determine the sum assured and therefore the premium.  Building insurance also covers the non-movable items in the property such as pipes and other permanent fixtures and fittings, as well as wallpaper and paint, footpaths and fences, in fact anything that cannot be moved easily.

While building insurance is compulsory with a mortgage, contents insurance is not.  It covers moveable belongings, such as clothing, jewellery and household appliances.

Standard contents insurance will cover your various personal belongings up to a maximum value, such as lost credit cards up to £500 and damaged freezer contents up to £600.  When obtaining house insurance quotes you can choose to lower the premiums by adjusting the voluntary excess, which is the amount you agree to pay when making a claim, the higher the voluntary excess, the lower the premiums.

When taking out home contents insurance you also have access to a range of optional extras, which will cover any special requirements, such as accidental damage and legal expenses, although these will drive the premiums up.

General

When you take out home insurance your policy will state its basic features, for example buildings cover £500,000, contents cover £50,000, valuables limit up to £15,000 and new for old cover as standard.

At first glance, you may think that this is adequate and that any disaster that befalls your property or your personal possessions is covered, but you must read the precise wording of your home insurance quote before you decide to buy.  Many items are not covered under standard policies and you may have to purchase optional extras to be adequately insured.

Optional Extras

Here are a few examples of items that may have to be added as extras to your standard policy.  Please note, insurers offer various levels of standard protection and this is intended simply as a guide.

Accidental damage may not be included on the standard policy.  So, if you break a mirror or drop a burning coal onto a carpet they would not be covered.  This might be a worthwhile add-on if you happen to have an accident-prone person living in the house.

Items that you regularly carry with you outside of the environs of your home, such as mobile phones, jewellery, laptops or cameras, can be expensive to replace if they are damaged or stolen.  Check your policy wording to ensure that these valuable items are covered by your home insurance when they are being used away from home.

Other items to consider including are bikes, garden equipment and furniture, and sports equipment.

In recognition of the complex expressions and language that many insurance companies have a tendency to use, we present our fifth alphabetical guide to the insurance industry jargon you may come up against in your quest for home insurance cover.

Money – For insurance purposes, this refers to any form of legal tender, from cold hard cash to cheques, traveller’s cheques, money orders, postal orders, tickets, season tickets, savings stamps and even luncheon vouchers.  It does not, however, refer to collections such as stamps or even coins.

Negligence – In both insurance and legal terminology, negligence means that a person has failed in their duty to behave in a reasonable way so as to exercise care toward their fellow citizens.

No Claims Discount – This refers to a discount on the annual premium that you are required to pay the home insurance company in order to maintain your current coverage.  This discount is granted to persons who have not made any claims on their account (and thus, not cost the company any money).  The discount increases every year that a claim has not been made, though is immediately cancelled in the event that a claim is made and granted.

Perils – This term refers to insurance coverage against damage to the property or its contents caused by incidents such as earthquake, explosion, fire, flood, lightning and storm, or other damage such as burst pipes, water damage from some other source, riots or damage by road vehicles or aerial devices.  The exact incidents covered by the term should be specified in your individual insurance contract.