Personal Finance Tips

In this day and age we’re especially being bombarded with ads and commercials for homeowners insurance.

It’s nice to have options but most homeowners find it difficult to listen to so much “gimmicky sales hype” and separate the good, reputable, honest companies from the bad ones.

That’s Where Homeowners Insurance Company Ratings Come In

There are plenty of resources you can check to get the “inside story” on homeowners insurance companies, including info that will help you find the best rates!

The first place I always suggest is your local “Department of Insurance”… every state has one! The department of insurance will let you know any and all “complaints” that have been made against an insurance company.

Keep in mind that even good companies tend to have a few complaints (you can’t keep everyone happy!) but it will be nothing compared with the large number of complaints the bad ones get!

A “Tricky Behind The Scenes” Way To Get The Inside Secrets

Some state departments won’t show you complaints… if that’s the case you can always contact the California Department of Insurance or the New York State Insurance Department and they’ll give you the inside secrets!

Other Services That Rate Insurance Companies

You’ve probably heard of “JD Power & Associates” before… they’re kind of like the ‘Better Business Bureau’ but they only rate insurance companies. You’ll find lots of customer opinions and comparisons between insurance companies based on price, how they handle claims, customer service, etc.

Obviously the companies which treat their customers better will have higher ratings and you can have more confidence in them!

Common Insurance Myth: All Homeowners Insurance Rates Are Pretty Much The Same

Too many people don’t do their homework and think insurance rates are “regulated” between companies.

Do not make this same mistake! I’ve literally seen homeowners insurance prices differ by more than $1,000.00 between companies!

There really is no excuse for you to pay more than you have to these days. The Internet makes it extremely easy for you to contact a huge number of companies and “shop around” for the best deal.

If there is only one major benefit to be named of the implementation of the internet, it is in providing consumers the tool to price shop for anything they need without leaving the privacy of their bathrobe and fuzzy slippers. In the early years of the internet, the time saved just by surfing individual websites for necessities, like personal property insurance quotes, at any time of day or night make life much easier. Today, there are conglomerate websites that will allow you to shop for auto and home owners insurance from hundreds of individual providers by simply filling out one form on the website and submitting it to all available insurance carriers by a single keystroke.

The individual insurance carriers will then email you a personal quote for your auto or homeowners insurance needs, based on the information that you provided to the website. The information you will be required to provide will be in depth, so have a copy of your current insurance policy on hand so you can request all of the same coverages for comparison.

In some cases, the insurance companies will follow up with a phone call, but most agents will not bother you, as they recognize that the consumer is shopping from a group website and will obviously call them if they have provided the best quote. The number of general quotes they provide is just too vast to follow up on each one. Be sure, when you fill out the information form, to provide a current email address. In order to protect your privacy, it is illegal in most states for a sales agent to trace your email address to contact you, and the group website will not provide the root email address to the individual insurance companies, on the chance that you are transmitting from somewhere other than your home or personal email address.

In addition to auto and homeowner’s insurance quotes, you can also obtain quotations for health, life and business liability insurance through the same internet avenue. By using this simple tool, it is easy to acquire $250 dollars in savings over your current insurance carriers and thereby reduce your bill paying costs.

If you’re entering the real estate market and looking to buy a home you are also going to have to look into buying homeowners insurance. If you’re borrowing money to pay for a new home there is a very strong chance that your lender requires that you insure your home or they will not lend you the money. Whether you are a new home buyer looking to obtain coverage for the first time or you are a longtime homeowner looking to get a better deal on your coverage you may want to look into some homeowners insurance company ratings to help you make your decision.

Whenever you do any comparison shopping price is obviously a factor. Everyone wants to get the most value for the money they spend but in addition to price there are some other factors to keep in mind. It’s a good idea to go with a company that is financially strong. If your insurance company doesn’t have enough money to cover your claims this could lead to some serious headaches at some point in the future.

In addition to the financial stability of the company you choose to go with you may want to look into some other things such as consumer reviews and the company’s customer service record. There are a number of places that you can go to find homeowners insurance company ratings so that you can make an informed decision.

Some of these places include:

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners - The NAIC has a website at – naic.org where you can select your state and be redirected to your state’s Department of Insurance website. Your state’s website will have a lot of information about any insurance providers operating in your state. The information will include things like a list of licensed agents and any complaints that may have been filed against the company.

A. M. Best Company - This company reviews many insurance providers and evaluates them on a number of different factors including the strength of the company and whether it’s under regulatory supervision.

J. D. Power company - J. D. Power conducts consumer surveys and rates companies based on prices, policy options, the way they handle claims, and customer service.

There’s a lot to think about when you’re shopping for homeowners insurance. After you’ve determined the type of coverage and the amount of coverage that you need its a good idea to evaluate any companies you might consider going with by finding homeowners insurance company ratings to help you make the most informed decision possible. And of course when shopping for anything price is always a factor. The good news is that you can get multiple online insurance quotes in just a matter of minutes and this makes finding the best price one of the easiest parts of the entire process.

How can you tell that you really need home insurance? Well, if you’re not planning any illegal things like insurance scam (which is definitely not a good idea, especially these days), it will be really hard to predict any situation when you will actually need some insurance coverage for protecting your house. Until, of course something bad happens and you will need the money to pay for the damage. However, there’s a range of circumstances that make an insurance policy for your house a really welcome if not necessary addition to your paperwork portfolio.

The following are the most typical events that will make having home insurance a necessity unless you have a lot of money and can rebuild your home from scratch without worrying about finances.

Fire

Fire is definitely one of the most hazardous of perils that can happen to a house. It has the potential to completely destroy an entire building within minutes and there’s a very little chance that any of your personal belongings will survive it. Fire is very hard to control and it can happen any time, with most cases of fire being reported when the home owner is actually away. It can be a spark from a malfunctioning home appliance or a cigarette butt that lights up a pile of dry leaves that you’ve left in your front yard. And the moment you arrive home you find nothing but a pile of ashes instead of all of your belongings. A standard homeowners insurance policy provides protection against any forms of fire.

Flood

Living in an area with no large bodies of water nearby doesn’t mean that you don’t have the risk of having flood damage in your house. Things like heavy showers, bad water pipes and even a broken washing machine can flood your house and damage a large part of your belongings beyond repair and restore. Sometimes, the damage from flood can be much worse that that caused by fire. Standard homeowners insurance policies do not carry coverage against flood damage and you will have to purchase such a policy as a weaver to your current one or buy it separately.

Earthquake

Earthquakes are certainly the hardest to predict and hardest to protect against of all natural disasters. An earthquake can destroy an entire town or city within just a few minutes, turning even the most durable of constructions into a pile of dust. And the best thing you can do during an earthquake is to stay away from your house that can collapse over you. Standard insurance policies include coverage against earthquakes, too. However, in order to make sure you will also be paid for the lost belongings you should have an inventory of all the items (especially valuables and electronics) with detailed information on every piece that can further be used for reimbursing the cost of all the lost belongings.

There are other circumstances that can also be a threat to your house and you want to have coverage against them. Having tornado insurance in an area where they are common is definitely a must. However, keep in mind that no one is imposing you to have home insurance, It’s a decision choice that can save you a lot of money and time in case something bad happens to your house.

No one knows when they will need their home coverage because it’s really hard to predict anything like an earthquake, theft, flood or hurricane. And unless you plan doing some fraud with our insurance policy (which is, of course, not the smartest thing to do) you might never suspect that you really need it before something bad happens. That’s what insurance is for – it covers you against situations that are unpredictable. But what exactly are these situations that home coverage is designed for protecting against? The fact is that the list of such circumstances is very large and varies from one policy to another.

However, most insurance policies are designed to provide coverage against circumstances listed below. Each of them can’t be predicted. But sure has the potential to devastate your house and leave you without a home unless you have proper coverage.

Fire

Fire has the potential to turn your entire house into ash within minutes even before you can call for help. All that is needed is a small leak in your oven, a spark from the fridge or a forgotten candle to fire your house up, destroying all of your belongings in a very short time. Even if you’re fully confident about your appliances and devices, you aren’t fully protected from fire. A single cigarette butt thrown into your yard can be just enough to turn your precious house into a pile of burnt stacks. And taking into account that most fires happen when no one is at home and can’t control the disaster, the risk of leaving your house with respectful insurance is too high for you to assume. Most homeowners insurance policies provide coverage against fire.

Flood

Flood poses a risk to many households, even those that aren’t situated near rivers, lakes or other bodies of water. Pipe problems, heavy shower and even a malfunctioning dishwasher are also considered as flood risk, and if you feel that your home might be subject to such a situation, make sure that you have flood coverage with your home insurance. If a main water pipe gets damaged somewhere beneath or near your house and you are not at home the damage can be as bad as in the case of fire. Of course, there is a chance that you will be able to restore some of your belongings, still it can be quite costly to repair the soaked house and buy new appliances that usually tend to get ruined by water. Not all policies cover flood damage, so you have to make sure your does if you need this type of coverage. Some companies offer flood damage insurance as a separate policy.

Earthquake

Earthquakes are certainly amongst the most disastrous and haunting of natural disasters because they are impossible to predict and you know there is one when your entire house is already shaking like cardboard construction. The damage delivered by an earthquake is usually very serious, making entire towns and cities impossible to live in. Even if your house has sustained an earthquake and is still standing, the structural damage can be so serious that the house should be demolished and built anew in order to be possible to live in. Most policies include this type of damage, however make sure to get as many homeowners insurance quotes in order to get the best rates.