Insurance News & Articles

Over 5 million college students in the U.S. lack coverage under their parents’ health insurance plans. Most colleges try to fill this gap by offering a school-sponsored health insurance plan. But a school’s seal of approval does not mean the plan will be sufficient in a time of need. In fact, better options may be available elsewhere. Students and parents should thoroughly examine the plan before signing up. Here are a few things industry experts say you should consider when looking for a college health plan: (more…)

Flooding causes £1 billion worth of damage in the UK every year, according to the Environment Agency, and that is just a normal year unlike last summer’s exceptional rainfall. (more…)

Shopping for home insurance online is easy. There are a ton of websites that make it so easy to enter the proper information in order to give you an accurate quote. The home policy has less required information than the auto policy. Auto insurance depends so much on extensive driver and vehicle information. The homeowner policy depends on some basic information. The most important calculation is the actual square footage of your home. When you shop online they will want this information. (more…)

There are many companies online that offer free homes insurance quotes and I have listed some of the top ones below -

Home Town Quotes

Net Quote

 2 Insure 4 Less

- Whenever you submit  any kind of information online, make sure the url start with “https”.  This option makes sure that the information is only being exchanged between your computer and Insurance Quote provider.

- Also, look for “business reliability” seal like BBB on the site and check to verify the status of the company.

The companies that we have listed here for “free home Insurance quote”  are member of BBB and provide a secured means of communication.

The AARP Homeowners Insurance Program from The Hartford offers the following coverage subject to eligibility requirements that may vary from state to state:

• Homeowners
• Condominium
• Personal Property (if you rent a home or apartment)
• Rental Property
• Watercraft
• Scheduled Personal Property
• Earthquake

There are also programs to cover:

• Flood
• Home Business
• Jet Skis

Basic Coverage

The following coverage definitions should help you understand your Homeowners policy–but be sure to consult your insurance company representative to assure that you have the right coverage for you.

Dwelling Coverage/Coverage A: The dollar amount carried to cover your home and any structures attached directly to it. Ideally, the amount of coverage you carry should equal the cost of rebuilding your home after a total loss.

Other Structures/Coverage B: Covers other structures set apart from the dwelling on the residence premises such as a detached garage. This coverage applies up to the limits provided in your policy and can be increased if necessary.

Personal Property/Coverage C: This coverage provides worldwide coverage for personal property owned or used by the insured.

Loss of Use/Coverage D: This coverage is available when you cannot live in your home due to a covered loss. It pays living expenses which go over and above your normal living expenses up to the limit provided in your policy.

Liability/Coverage E: Liability coverage protects you in two ways. First, it provides for your legal defense against a liability claim–whether the claim is legitimate or not. Second, it will pay any court judgments against you up to the policy limit.

Medical Payments/Coverage F: This pays emergency medical bills for anyone injured on your property or any injury caused by a member of your family or a pet regardless of where it happens. All bills are paid, up to your policy limit, whether or not you’re legally responsible.

Homeowners policies have many other optional features available to you depending on your individual need. These include earthquake and scheduled personal property coverage.

For more information - http://www.aarp.org/aarp_benefits/offer_insurance/hartford_home_insurance.html 

1. You can lower your premiums by increasing your deductibles (amount of money you must pay if you encounter any kind of loss)
2. You can obtain a huge discount if you obtain your home insurance from the same company as your auto insurance company.
3. You can make your home attractive to insurers by installing safety devices around the home such as automatic sprinklers, smoke detectors, deadbolts, alarms etc. Most companies will offer some kind of discount if you have such devices installed in your home.
4. You can also obtain a discount by allowing interior inspection.
5. Always ask for loyalty discount if you have been with a company for a long time.
6. You might be able to get a discount if you don’t smoke
7. Finallly, compare different insurance policies online.

Residential Policies*

RESIDENTIAL BUILDING COVERAGE
Building coverage insures a house or dwelling, attached and detached garages, as well as certain permanently installed fixtures such as built-in dishwashers, permanent shelving and cabinetry, furnaces and radiators, hot-water heaters, plumbing fixtures, stoves, ovens and refrigerators. (more…)

Floods and flash floods can happen in all states and keep in mind that most homeowner insurance does not cover damanges that occur from flooding.  Finally, it takes 30 days after purchase for a policy to take effect, so it’s important to buy insurance before the floodwaters start to rise.

It’s very common for people to insure their laptops, new television set but many give very little attention to themselves.  According to a survey, 1 in 4 families are at risk of losing their home if the main breadwinner died.  One of the main reasons for that is many are forgetting to take out insurance to pay for the mortgage.  Most people don’t like the fact that their family having to sell the property if they had died.  Around 69% of the people have life insurnace that will cover the mortgage if they died while around 92% of have content insurance only.  It is very important for one to realize that life insurance can soften the financial burden during tough times.

House lawmakers are planning on hurricane coverage by charging owners of vacations and second homes.  They also plan to charge three percent more for all Florida homeowners.  They money will be used to pay for the debt that have been accumulated from two hurricane seasons in a row.  The committee also plan to charge second and vacaton homeowners two times as much as more Floridians will pay per year.  According to Citizen Property Insurance Corp., the agency susbtained $515 million in losses for year 2004 and aroound $1.4 billion from last year.  In the end, consumers have to realize that they have a little choice when it comes to insurnace and they have to pay higher rates whether they are covered by private or state.