Home Owner Insurance Company Rates And Quotes

When you purchase a home owner insurance policy, you want to shop around for the home owner insurance company with the best rates and quotes for you, your home, its contents, and all of your precious valuables. However, as you are shopping, you want to look at more than just the rates and quotes a home owner insurance company can offer you. Because of this, you may end up with a higher quote and rate than you would if you purchased minimal coverage. Since you might end up paying more, you want to make sure the home owner insurance company you eventually choose to do business with can hold up its end of the bargain - provide you with the coverage you pay for.

There are three ways to help you trust a home owner insurance company, and all three ways boil down to one idea - thoroughly research the company.

Find out if the home owner insurance company is licensed to do business in your state. If a home owner insurance company isn't licensed to business in your state, they should not try to offer you home owner insurance policy quotes and rates. Should you purchase a policy from them and later try to file a claim, there could be complications.

Find out the financial rating of the home owner insurance company. Third-party independent research companies do some of the research for you and provide unbiased financial ratings of home owner insurance companies.

Find out information about complaints that have been filed against the home owner insurance company. Look for patterns in complaints that have been filed, and find out how complaints have been handled. Do not expect 100% of the customers to be 100% happy 100% of the time, but do expect complaints against the home owner insurance company to be handled in a timely, and satisfactorily, manner.

Article Source: http://www.insurancearticle.com

The Elements of a Renters Insurance Rate

A renters insurance rate is based on several factors. Everyone considering a purchase of a renters insurance should have a basic understanding of how the premium is arrived at and the various aspects affecting the rate.

The first thing one should ask is whether the insurance company offers coverage for your belongings based on actual cash value or replacement cost value. As the names imply, the actual cash value coverage will reimburse policyholders for the actual cost of the property at the time of the loss, while the replacement cost coverage will pay for the actual replacement cost of the property at the time of loss. A replacement cost renters insurance rate is higher than the actual cash value insurance and it also pays more when an actual claim is made.

A renters insurance will protect a customer's personal property against fire, storm or other natural disasters. It also covers losses due to theft or accidents caused to a third party while within the rented property. Computing for the rate is, of course, based on the actual properties being insured. There is a great risk of under-insuring when renters do not have an inventory of all their personal belongings. An inventory also greatly simplifies the claims process. When drawing up an inventory, it is wise to indicate the prices of each and every item that will be insured. Renters should also take extra note of their high-priced items, such as jewelry. Some insurance companies would deem it fit to ask customers to take out a separate rider policy for high-priced items. The basic rule for claims processors is that if an item, especially a high priced one has not been declared, it is not covered by the policy.

Another standard coverage offered by a renters insurance is for liability. It has a limit of about 30 to 50 percent of the value of the policy. Also called the additional living expenses coverage, this portion of the insurance pays for the customer's living expenses after a loss and the costs incurred when a visitor meets an accident within the premises.

A renters insurance rate is based on several elements including the location of the rented property, the deductible set by the policy-holder, and any additional coverage required by the policy-holder. These elements are used to compute the premium. A high deductible yields a lower premium, but policy-holders should make sure that they can afford whatever deductible they set as this is the amount they will shoulder at the actual time of the loss. Most insurance companies would offer discounts for so-called protective devices, such as fire extinguishers, smoke and fire detectors and burglar alarms. Discounts are also offered to senior citizens and for customers who purchase another line of insurance product from the company, such as a motor insurance policy for their vehicle.

Article Source: http://www.insurancearticle.com

Mortgage Protection Insurance: What to Look Out For

Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance (MPPI) is a form of insurance designed to cover your mortgage payments, in case anything happens to cause you to lose your income.

You may find that when you take out a mortgage, your lender automatically offers you MPPI. Sometimes they try to give you the impression that it's obligatory. But don't let yourself be bullied into taking out their policy unless you are sure it's the best one. You can often get a better deal by shopping around.

Maybe you feel you don't want to do this. Taking out a mortgage can be a lengthy, exhausting and time-consuming experience. It's incredibly tempting to grab the policy the lender offers you, rather than start another lengthy process. Especially if you don't really know what you're looking for.

However you could really save money by shopping around. Of course you want to find the lowest premium - but premium levels are not the only factor. Here are some pointers to help you know what else to look out for.

* Unlike most other forms of insurance, mortgage protection insurance policies usually ignore age, health, smoking/non-smoking etc. Just a few give reduced rates for younger age-groups - under 30 or under 40 - so if this applies to you, it's worth checking this out.

* When will it pay out? Most mortgage protection insurance policies don't start paying out till a month, or sometimes two months, after the problem (accident, redundancy, or whatever) starts. Now there are a few that backdate the payments to day 1, so you may prefer to choose one of those.

* What is the payout term? Most mortgage protection insurance policies limit their payout term - usually to 12 months. They reckon that most people will have found another job, recovered from their illness, or obtained state benefit by then. But this doesn't always happen. Try to find one that will pay out for as long as possible - at least two years.

* What is the maximum payout level? Some mortgage payment protection insurance policies put a ceiling on the amount of their monthly payment during the payout period. If you have a bigger mortgage, or if interest rates have risen, this amount might not be enough to cover your repayments. Try to find out what the repayment policies are.

Sometimes it can be quite difficult to find out exactly what the payment policies are on different mortgage protection insurance policies. It's worth consulting a broker to make sure you find the best possible deal.

Article Source: http://www.insurancearticle.com