No homeowner wants to have to file a home insurance claim, but sometimes due to our own lack of foresight, it does happen. The majority of home insurance claims, which boost the insurance rates, were from completely preventable accidents. If you know what to do, you can keep your premiums at a minimum and manage to keep your home safe, at the same time.
Some insurance claims are particularly common and can be prevented if you know what to watch for.
Water Damage
Pipes leaking or freezing can cause a lot of water damage in a short amount of time. Often, we don`t notice leaking pipes until they have already caused a lot of problems. The best way to prevent this very common issue is to inspect pipes on a regular basis and get them fixed immediately if you find any problems. Don`t wait for a major drop in water pressure to warn you that there`s a big problem, have a plumber check out any suspicions.
Frozen and burst pipes can be an issue during the winter in colder areas. If you are going to be out of the house for a while, be sure to set the thermostat above freezing and arrange for someone to check the place a couple of times a week while you are gone, particularly if there is a sudden drop in the termperature.
Electrical Fires
Most fires that cause damage to a home are due to poor wiring or a short circuit. Older homes are certainly more vulnerable to this issue, but any home can suffer from an electrical fire if they aren`t careful.
Regular inspections of cables and cords should be done every 3 months or so. Look for sockets that are coming loose, wires on appliances that may have been stripped or separated from the plug head a bit, and anything else. Wires should never be run under a carpet or across an area where they will be stepped on, since this can cause some serious problems with fraying and later cause a fire.
If you move into a new home, have an electrician do a complete inspection for faulty wiring, just to be on the safe side. Yes, it will cost you, but in the end, it`s worth it because you`ll have lower monthly home insurance rates.
Lamps, Christmas lights and other lights should be turned off rather than left on all night. The majority of electrical fires start during the winter, particularly during the holiday season.
Burglary
You`ll want to make sure that your home is as secure as possible against thieves who could not only cause damage to your home, but also your family. Make sure there are locks on all windows and doors and install an alarm system.
An automatic light system can be a great safety item, turning lights on and off randomly throughout the house while you are away. Even if you tend to work late, this can be helpful, keeping the potential burglars in the dark as to when you actually get home. A predictable schedule puts your home at risk.
Keeping your home safe and secure is just common sense. You don`t want to suffer from any problems in the home, of course, but the added problem of having the rates for your home insurance rise is a big problem when things go wrong. Take the time now to prevent these common issues and make sure that you schedule routine inspections and you should have no problems with your insurance. Most problems are completely preventable, so you`ll be covered when something unexpected happens.
Home Owners Insurance Claims
Contrary to all you might have come to expect, you don't really have to do very great things in order to enjoy the most affordable policy that meets your needs. You may be shocked to discover that all that's making it difficult for you to get far lower Arkansas homeowner insurance rates are minor things you can easily deal with. Let's examine some of them here...
1. Motion-sensitive lighting lowers your home's risk of burglary and, therefore, helps you get cheaper home insurance premiums. Your home becomes a no-go area for thieves as they'll be spotted easily. The risk of burglary is a strong factor in checking a home's risk to an insurance company and, by extension, your rate.
2. Do NOT leave ladders in areas where someone can easily pick them. They might really help a burglar. Do not also leave your tools, machinery or such on the lawn or wherever in the open as they could result to accidental injury and add to your liability claims. They also make breaking and entry a lot easier for thieves. Keeping these things properly will save you many heartaches along with cheaper rates.
3. It's more expensive and needless to insure the land on which your home is standing. Some folks spend much more than they should on home insurance due to this mistake. Insuring your home for the full price you bought it without deducting the the land's worth is a big mistake.
For those who've mistakenly done this, meet with your agent and go through your home insurance coverage again. Subtract the cost of your land and use only the cost of your structures and its contents.
This implies that you will spend far less on home insurance. Always remember that insuring the land your home is standing on is real waste of money because it does you no good whatsoever.
4. Yearly premium payments will save you a lot when compared to monthly payments. A strong reason for this is the cost an insurer incurs for posting you 12 bills instead of just one yearlly.
If you include the fact that each check you cut is considered a transaction by their bankers, you'll see that they still spend extra on transaction charges for each check you pay in. twelve checks mean 12 transactions which attract 12 separate transaction charges. These and other costs so incurred by your insurance company are eventually passed over to you, the insured..
Therefore, you'll attract cheaper premiums if you choose to pay your rates yearly. The actual amount you could save may differ but you may be able to save up to a month's premium worth with most insurance companies if you choose this option.
5. Let your insurer be paid your premiums automatically and you will be given a considerable discount. If you don't know how to do this, ask your banker or agent. Apart from being more convenient, you will receive a discount for this.
6. Visit at least five quotes sites. Using not less than five quotes sites increase the chances that you'd get better home insurance quotes. This is because insurance companies not represented by one site would be covered by the other. Moreover, you know that because the likelihood of receiving lower home insurance quotes has to do with the number of quotes you receive, the more insurance companies you obtain quotes from, the brighter your chances will be. Requesting for your home insurance quotes online will help you save far more if you take out just 25 minutes to get quotes from a minimum of five quotes sites.
Both A Nutt & Chimezirim Odimba are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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