Home Insurance Today

Appeals court denies use of home insurance

The Editor — Sun, 24 May 2009 18:56:43 +0000

The Tennessee Court of Appeals says a Cocke County couple can't use their home insurance policy to pay for damages caused by their sons' fatal sniper attack on Interstate 40 traffic. One motorist died and another was seriously injured in the video game-inspired 2003 shootings by then 15-year-old Will Buckner and 13-year-old Josh Buckner. A circuit judge said their parents' insurance could be on the hook for civil damages because the boys claimed they didn't intend to hurt anyone. The policy said only "reasonably expected or intended" damages were ...

The Right Insurance To Cover Your Valuables

The Editor — Sat, 23 May 2009 20:37:13 +0000

If you're unsure what form of home insurance you need, be sure to examine your belongings. This can help you to understand what your personal situation ...

Trim your budget with insurance changes

The Editor — Fri, 22 May 2009 10:49:43 +0000

If you're looking to trim your budget, you might want to start with your insurance to save a few bucks. Some life insurers will reduce your premium if you can prove you've quit smoking or reduced your cholesterol. If you lose the life insurance you had through work, replace it with a term life policy. It's reliable and less expensive than a whole life policy. Health insurance consultants say shop around for insurance because there are big differences in what you get with a given deductible at a given price. The Insurance Information Institute suggests that if your vehicle is more than eight years old, drop your collision coverage. You can save between $200 and $1,000. Also, drive less. Some insurers will knock 10 percent to 20 percent off your premium if you're annual mileage is below 7,500. Defensive driving classes also can add up to savings of as much as 10 percent. To save on home insurance, insure the house, not the value ...

Navigating What’s Available in Home Insurance

The Editor — Thu, 21 May 2009 22:26:54 +0000

Home insurance policies differ on the amount of insurance coverage provided.

The types of home insurance policies are fairly standard throughout the country. However, individual states and companies may offer policies that are slightly different or go by other names such as “standard” or “deluxe”. The one exception is the state of Texas, where policies vary somewhat from policies in other states. The Texas Insurance Department ( http://www.tdi.state.tx.us ) has detailed information on its various homeowners insurance policies.

The chart below lists the disasters covered in each …

Does Home Insurance Cover Flooding?

The Editor — Thu, 21 May 2009 22:20:35 +0000

Standard homeowners insurance and renters insurance does not cover flood damage. Flood coverage, however, is available in the form of a separate policy both from the National Flood Insurance Program - NFIP (888-379-9531, www.floodsmart.gov ) and from a few private insurers.

The NFIP provides coverage for up to $250,000 for the structure of the home and $100,000 for personal possessions. The NFIP policy provides replacement cost coverage for the structure of your home, but only actual cash value coverage for your possessions. Replacement cost coverage pays to rebuild your home as it was before the damage. Actual cash value is replacement cost coverage minus depreciation so that the older your possessions are, the less you will get if they are damaged. There may also be limits on coverage for furniture and other belongings stored in your basement.

Flood insurance is available for renters as well as homeowners. You will need flood insurance if you live in a designated flood zone. But flooding can also occur in inland areas and away from major rivers. Consider buying a flood insurance policy if your house could be flooded by melting snow, an overflowing creek or pond or water running down a steep hill. Don’t wait for a flood season warning on the evening news to buy a policy—there is a 30-day waiting period before the coverage takes effect.

Excess flood insurance is also available from some private insurers for those who need additional insurance protection over and above the basic policy or whose community does not participate in the NFIP. Depending on the amount of coverage purchased, an excess flood insurance policy will cover …

Fewer firefighters won’t necessarily raise rates

Muncie Star Press - Muncie,IN,USA — Wed, 20 May 2009 07:32:54 +0000

As the number of people providing fire protection in Muncie is looking to go down, a question comes up over the matter of casualty insurance. Namely, are property owners going to see skyrocketing home and business insurance hikes because Muncie Fire Department has 20, versus 29, firefighters on duty every minute of the day? Or if the department went down to 18 folks on duty 24/7. Or 16, which I think remains realistic. Here's the answer: Ask your insurance agent. Most homeowners won't see any change. The single biggest factor in home insurance for fire protection is the nearest fire hydrant, according to my agent. Business owners have ...

Storm Season, Be Prepared

Monroe News Star - Monroe,LA,USA — Sun, 17 May 2009 07:13:04 +0000

Tornadoes hit Dodson and nobody was hurt. We witnessed the best in people and we thank them so much. Sadly, a very few of us tried to give a false impression to the public. We are good people in general. Dadson is our home. People live here by choice. Nobody is holding anyone against their will. We help anyone if they are also trying to help themselves. A few people are trying to take anyone for all they can. Personal responsibility is the rule. I guess nobody likes to pay home insurance costs in case you might one day need it. Anyone can afford to pay some home insurance or renters insurance if they want it. It is a choice; if you didn't buy it, don't blame anyone else or the town. We have an excellent school. Several churches are here. The kids are well-mannered. People treat one another pretty well. We are friends and we respect others. We help others in other places. Dodson has the best doctor around the state. We have a flower-gift shop. We have two grocery stores and a newspaper. We are not like you hear. We have a dining place to fill your needs. There is a machinery shop and lodging places galore. Most people work for what they have. It's not fatal. People should be preparing for storm season. Check your insurance coverage today...

Warning Over Insurance Cut-backs

HomeInsurance-News — Fri, 15 May 2009 09:14:00 +0000

Businesses and homeowners in the South West are being warned against cutting back on insurance in a bid to save money or risk being left underinsured should the worst happen. "Some savings could prove to be far more costly in the long run," says Chris Ridgers from Cornish Mutual, who specialise in insurance for the rural community like farmers and holiday home insurance. "If you cut back on your insurance policy, when it comes to the crunch and you need to make a claim, you could run into trouble and find you're underinsured or worse still, end up in front of an industrial tribunal." Some savings could prove to be far more costly in the long run. If you cut back on your insurance policy, when it comes to the crunch and you need to make a claim, you could run into trouble and find you're underinsured or worse still, end up in front of an industrial tribunal. The best advice is to check your cover and policy details carefully, get a second opinion if necessary and make sure you look at all your options. The important thing is not to leave crucial cover to lapse and make sure you have everything you need but are not underinsured - check the level of insurance purchased. Many families will be looking to trim their budgets as the recession bites, but cutting back on home insurance is a false economy. Last year, insurers paid over 6,000 claims, some £7 million, every week, to burglary victims. Without insurance, becoming another crime statistic could plunge you deeper into financial trouble, from which it may take years to recover. Make sure your insurance provider is aware of your efforts in investing in health and safety or preventing accidents and losses - this could help reduce your premiums. Ask yourself what risks you are prepared to take and what do you want to transfer to an insurer. The overriding message is to find the best way of saving money without putting the future of your business on the line. Some business insurance policies, such as farm insurance, can have legal requirements attached to them - for example, legal liability for damage to the property of others or injury to them, where compensation awards and legal fees run into hundreds of thousands of pounds - reducing cover here can be unwise. In the case of employers' liability and motor third party insurances, there is compulsory insurance legislation to be taken into account. Chris, Business Development Manager with the company which has offices in Exeter and Truro, adds: "The best advice is to check your cover and policy details carefully, get a second opinion if necessary and make sure you look at all your options. The important thing is not to leave crucial cover to lapse and make sure you have everything you need but are not underinsured - check the level of insurance purchased." This comes as homeowners are also being urged not to forgo home and contents insurance, following recent Government figures showing a four per cent rise in home burglaries ...

Insurance Rates Must Go Up

Insurance Journal - San Diego,CA,USA — Fri, 15 May 2009 00:59:43 +0000

With the start of the hurricane season just a few weeks away, a leading Florida consumer advocate joined independent agents at a press conference today to warn that property insurance rates need to be raised if insurers are going to be able to pay claims on time or at all in the event a major hurricane hits. Florida homeowners can "pay now or pay later," said Walter Dartland, executive director of the Consumer Federation of the Southeast, suggesting that if insurance companies are not allowed to adjust their prices upward as needed to cover potential losses from a major storm now, then insurers might not be able to pay their claims and taxpayers could end up footing the unpaid bills. "We can't turn our backs on the reality of the market," Dartland said. The state's "artificially low" rates for state-backed Citizens Property Insurance, strict rate regulation on private insurers, an underfunded state hurricane fund and an unfriendly regulatory climate have created a "fragile system" that is not sustainable, said Jeff Grady, president and CEO, Florida Association of Independent Agents (FAIA), at a joint conference with the consumer organization. Grady said that despite being asked, Congress has not embraced the idea of bailing out Florida should its insurance system fall short of what's needed after a hurricane. Dartland said he thinks Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty should take another look at some of his rate decisions. "Rates have to go up," he said. According to Grady, the need for pricing freedom is critical given that, based on his group's research, 40 percent of the property insurers writing in Florida reported net losses in 2008, a year in which no major storms hit. He called for pricing deregulation for all property insurers and not just for State Farm and a select group of large carriers, which would happen if Gov. Charlie Crist signs legislation passed by lawmakers in the recently-ended session. Grady stopped short of endorsing that legislation even though it deregulates pricing because he said it continues the subsidies for Citizens and it helps larger insurers but not the many smaller domestic insurers that may need the pricing flexibility more. State Farm's Florida subsidiary is leaving the state because it has not been granted home insurance rate increases it says it needs. State regulators and the insurer are still negotiating the exact terms of the withdrawal, which affects nearly one million policyholders. Grady noted that a major part of the problem is that private insurers must compete with Citizens, whose premiums are below what they should be and subsidized. "Citizens can get into every taxpayer's wallet...private carriers can't do that," said Grady. Citizens' rates are as much as 40 to 50 percent under what they should be, according to actuaries. Citizens' rates are slated to rise somewhat over the next year as a result of new legislation allowing the insurer ...

Extra Insurance Can Protect Those Diamonds and Pearls

The Editor — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:24:09 +0000

Ask almost anyone about insurance on jewelry and you hear, “Oh, it’s covered by my home insurance policy.” Not exactly.

True, nearly every home insurance policy in America comes with a provision that pays for stolen jewelry. But that provision is very small. Many policies pay up to $2,500 for a stolen item, regardless of how expensive it may be. Some pay as little as $1,000, and a few provide coverage of up to $5,000.

People often forget about inflation when they think about the value of jewelry. The price they paid sticks in their mind. But almost every year, the cost of that same piece of jewelry rises, so the value of even a few items could be higher than the minimal coverage. The sharp rise in gold and silver prices lately has increased the likelihood that replacing jewelry would cost more than expected.

The standard home insurance policy may cover the full value of jewelry that is destroyed in a fire or an explosion or in the collapse of a house.