Insurance, Claims & Accidents

Archive for the ‘Home Insurance’ Category

Most homes present an investment worth protecting from the passing burglar or storm.  However, not all risks to the home are so apparent.  Subsidence is the lowering of the ground, or sometimes collapse, which can serious damage a home.  Normally induced by heavy rains and particularly threatening to houses built on clay soils, subsidence has become a hidden danger to the homeowner looking to insure their house.  So what effect does subsidence have on house insurance?

Whether you are buying a home or renewing your policy, it is worth checking for signs of subsidence if you live in a problem area.  These include cracked walls, ripples in wallpaper and increased difficulty in opening and closing windows and doors.  Though reporting the presence of such problems may result in higher premiums, it is most definitely worth being covered to protect your investment.

Thankfully, there are some simple things you can do to help prevent damage caused by subsidence.  Avoid planting trees near the foundations of your house as they suck up moisture and allow the clay soils to sink.  If there are any existing large trees of bushes close to your house, look into having them felled, (though be sure to do this within your local council regulations).

If you think you may be at risk of subsidence in your area, check your insurance cover and if you are in any doubt contact your insurer.

When you compare house insurance policies, consider purchasing a product that includes cover for digital assets.  It sounds like something from a science fiction film, but increasingly people are finding themselves at a loss when their laptops or other high-tech equipment is lost or stolen.

It is not the mere physical value of our personal technology systems that is the concern, but all the invaluable downloads and digital data stored on them that costs so much to replace.  If you have a vast music collection on your i-pod and it gets stolen, you will have lost all your i-tunes downloads.  Imagine the cost of replacing thousands of your favourite tracks.  Equally, many digital products or programmes exist only on our laptops.  If your laptop is stolen, it is not the only thing that needs replacing.

You can protect personal computers and the invaluable digital data stored on them by frequently backing them up.  Store backed-up discs or hard drives separately from your computer.  Virtual storage facilities are included in many internet packages, and you should investigate the options of your service provider.

Viruses can disable your laptop and steal or wipe out personal data.  Make sure your anti-virus software is up to date.  If you have transferred your vinyl record collection into digital format, don’t throw them out.  They are the ultimate back-up if disaster should strike.

Finally, remember that when you compare house insurance policies do not overlook the protection of your digital assets.  We depend heavily on digital technology in our lives and we should ensure dependable insurance cover is in place to protect it. 

If the worst has happened and you need to make a claim on your home insurance, here are some helpful tips on how to make a claim.

If you are burgled or your home suffers damage, make it a priority to contact your home insurance provider.  They are experienced in dealing with all sorts of problems covered by household insurance, and have access to networks of local tradesmen (plumbers, electricians, glaziers) to fix problems promptly.  Insurers often give customers a dedicated telephone number to call in the case of emergencies.

When the immediate emergency has passed, take time to assess any damage.  It can be helpful to take photographs at this stage to help with any subsequent claim.  The more evidence you have to illustrate your claim the better.

Locate your policy documents and read carefully through the procedure for making a claim.  Follow all instructions closely and try to submit your claim without delay.  If expensive items are being claimed for, you may be required to provide receipts.  Try and develop a habit of filing away receipts for the items you purchase.

Make sure you provide accurate information to your insurance provider.  Exaggerating your loss will result in a claim being invalidated, so double-check your facts and figures for accuracy.  If the insurance claim is rejected, contact your insurance provider in the first instance for clarification.  If you are not satisfied with their response, The Financial Ombudsman can be contacted for further information.

If you want cheap home insurance, you need to spend time obtaining home insurance quotes.  Getting involved and taking a proactive approach can reap dividends.  Make a note in your diary about six weeks prior to your home insurance renewal date, as this will allow plenty of time for you to seek out better deals on the market.  If you find a cheaper product, some insurance providers will offer to match it in order to retain your business.  Don’t be shy; a little haggling can often result in a discount.

Websites exist that let you compare home insurance providers online.  You can obtain instant home insurance quotes and make informed decisions about a wide range of insurance products.  Additionally, no one likes paying for something they don’t need, so keep your home insurance policies up-to-date.  Inform your insurer if you have sold a high value item, as this may reduce your premium.  Furthermore, if you have given away jewellery or other pricey goods, tell your insurer.  Why pay high premiums for unnecessary cover?

Conversely, if you forget to include expensive new purchases on your home contents policy, your premiums will remain the same.  However, if the worst happens, it will be a false economy as you won’t have adequate cover.

Why pay for unnecessary cover?  Why be under-insured?  The golden rule for avoiding nasty surprises is to keep your insurer up-to-date with any changes that might affect your home insurance policy. 

Personal and business life is never immune to mishaps and the worst of these are those that impact directly on your property if you are a landlord. As a landlord you have a duty to ensure that your tenants are protected and having landlord insurance acts as the desired buffer upon which you can depend if disaster strikes. This type of insurance protects you from all the different types of eventualities that might occur to your property when it is not directly in your daily care.
 
Protection from financial loss through fire, theft and damage is the main reason that people find it essential to have landlord insurance. It is not only the disastrous effects on the property that come from these disasters but also the direct financial impact that is often a result. While it might seem that these occurrences are not as common as they appear, landlord insurance protection is better than running the risk.

There are no guarantees that your tenants will treat your property with the same respect that you might have given it, should you have been resident. This could easily mean that you might have to deal with all the repairs and damages caused by your tenants after they have vacated. In some cases the damage can be greater than their deposit will cover. Landlord insurance then ensures that you are able to get your property back to its rentable state sooner rather than later.

You have home insurance, but now damage or loss to your property has occurred. Sensibly, the first step is to call your insurer. Most companies have an emergency phone line available. It is a good idea to store this number in a secure and easily reached place. You do not want to be rummaging around for the phone number during a time of crisis.

If you are not sure what your cheap home insurance policy covers, now is the time to check the policy and determine if you are indeed covered for the damage or loss that has occurred. If so, you should then clarify under which policy to make the claim. If the damage or loss occurs to the structure of your house or its fittings and fixtures, you will make the claim under your buildings insurance policy. If the possessions inside your house have been affected, the claim is placed under your contents insurance policy.

During your initial phone call with your home insurance company you will need to explain what occurred and then request a claim form. This can usually be done via email. You will most likely have to return the claim form with estimates regarding the repair or replacement of the building or its contents. Do not throw away any damaged items, and also ensure to take photos of all damage to your buildings or possessions.

After receiving your claim, an insurance company can decide to either spontaneously pay the claim, send an assessor to determine the amount they believe is sufficient, or send a loss adjuster to advise you on repairs or replacements.

When you take out a new home insurance policy you have two choices. The first is to pay the whole amount in a single lump sum. The second is to pay it in monthly instalments. The latter choice can be easier for many people to manage.

When you compare home insurance policies, make sure you look to see how many monthly premiums you have to pay. In some cases the insurer will give you a month or two of free cover if you pay a monthly premium for the rest of the year. A typical example would be to pay for ten months in a row, and then have two months where no payment was necessary. However you would still have full insurance cover for those two months before you need to compare house insurance policies again.

This can be a useful payment holiday. In some cases there are insurers who have special deals to give you three month’s worth of free insurance cover when you buy a house insurance policy. This is good to think about when you are planning ahead and structuring your finances. You can put the equivalent of the premium into a savings account for the remaining months. Alternatively you can simply enjoy an easier path through your bills for the months where you have free cover.

A surveyor is used to check a building’s structure before any property purchase is finalised. Vigilance in these checks is more applicable for older properties as their structural integrity is often compromised by their age.  As a landlord you have a responsibility to ensure that the building structure of your property is sound before you offer it to any potential tenants. However, there is always the unforeseen: landlord insurance will cover you against loss if such a disastrous event occurs.

There are many disasters that can play havoc with your building. Fire and flooding are two of the most prominent and expensive ones. The second is obviously more applicable when your property is located in a flood plain and good landlord insurance should be in place in case this disaster should befall you.
 
Being extra vigilant also helps to ensure that a fire does not end up ruining your profits by suddenly causing damage to your property or injury to tenants. Make absolutely sure that all the electrical and gas installations are 100% safe.  When these types of disaster do strike, money availability to start repairs becomes a serious issue: hence the need for good landlord insurance. Limited financial resources might end up forcing you to leave your property empty thus causing you to lose out on rent.

If you cater for these possibilities with landlord insurance you will be able to get back on your feet sooner rather than later. This way your investment can keep providing you with the income that was your initial reason for purchase.

Home insurance is necessary have for those that have made the huge investment in time and money to buy their own home.  It is important to obtain a good idea of the insurance policies on the market to protect yourself and your home, and this is where comparing house insurance quotes comes in.  Thanks to numerous internet comparison sites it is easy to find the best quote, but what should you be aware of?

When we speak of home insurance, we normally refer to two different types of cover, buildings insurance, and contents insurance.  Many insurers offer the two types together in a single package that could prove easier, but it may be better value to find the policies separately.
 
When looking for home insurance quotes, there are several factors to keep in mind.  Although it is important, the price should not necessarily be the deciding factor when buying protection for your home.  Write down what you need from your policy and remember these items when comparing quotes.  Be careful to understand what is and is not covered in each policy and weigh up the benefits of these against what you need.  It can be a long and complicated process, but it is certainly worth the extra effort. 

Once you have chosen, conduct some research into ways the insurer will allow you to reduce your premium.  There are various practical ways of doing this and it could help to purchase your ideal cover at the right price.

One of the decisions you’ll make when choosing property or contents coverage is how much of a deductible you should carry.  The deductible is the portion of the claim the insurance expects you to pay first.  For example, you may cover your home’s replacement value against loss from fire, but if you have a deductible of £1,000, then in the event of a covered loss you will receive the replacement value less the £1,000.
 
Deductible amounts can range from zero to several thousand pounds, and not all insurance companies offer the same range of deductibles.  For example, many insurers require some kind of deductible on any property insurance—they do not have a zero-deductible option.  This is partly to keep your costs down, and partly to help reduce the number of small claims against the policy.
 
The amount of deductible you should choose depends on many factors, one of which, of course, is the amount of funds you have available to meet that deductible.  However, since the price of your policy is generally inversely related to the amount of your deductible (higher deductibles result in a less costly insurance policy), you may be wise to choose a higher deductible, however only if you will put the money you save with each premium payment in a bank account and not touch it.  Within a short time you should have the money in the bank to meet that deductible, and some interest to boot!
 
Compare home insurance quotes from several companies and with different deductibles to find the one that suits your needs best.