If you have been with the same insurance broker for a long time and haven’t bothered to look at other home insurance policies for years, then you definitely need to shop around. Who knows what new deals have materialized since you last checked? For consumers of insurance products, complacency tends to be expensive.

If you purchase home insurance and car insurance together from the same company, you will probably be eligible for a discount. Also, if all the people who live in your home are non-smokers, you may be able to get an additional discount. Retirees can get discounts and so can people who live in homes that were built within the past 10 years. Home insurance companies love it when people have completely paid off their mortgages, and they love people who haven’t filed an insurance claim within the past 5 years even more. Some companies will allow you to pay less if you pay your entire yearly premium upfront instead of every month as usual.

Some people pay extra for their home insurance in order to insure specific items. If you are doing this, make sure that the items you are insuring haven’t depreciated in value. If the items have, then you can reduce the amount of coverage to reflect the new lower value and save money. Making your house more disaster resistant will reduce your insurance premiums – ask your insurance agent what they recommend you should do. Examples of things they may suggest include adding storm shutters, modernizing your heating and retrofitting your house to withstand earthquakes better.

You can also try to go the route of improving the security of your home. Typically companies will offer a 5 percent reduction if you install a dead-bolt lock. Before you rush to install a pricey burglar alarm that will call the police when tripped, ask your insurance company if they will give you a discount – not all insurance companies will provide discounts for the sophisticated and expensive systems. Rather, ask your insurance company what security systems they recommend and go with those.

LifeCover is a website about life insurance. If you’re shopping for life insurance then it is a good place to start your search.

How to Save on Home Insurance is a post from: Insurance Services

The Top Five Famous Insurance Scams

1. The Health PMO Scam. This scam was run by five people who began operating a fake health insurance company several years back. The “company”, Health PMO, sold health insurance policies, collected monthly premiums from their customers, and then failed to reimburse customers for medical expenses. These five scam artists went so far as to place commercials on local Louisiana television stations and set up booths in the local mall. A number of people fell for this scam, many of which were stuck with expensive surgery bills, hospital stays, and one woman even delivered a child under what she thought was Health PMO insurance.

2. The Florida Zurich Insurance Group Scam. This scam was run by a man named Donald Alfred Toohey, who worked for the Zurich Insurance Group as a claims adjuster. Mr. Toohey convinced five individuals, who are also facing charges, to obtain fake car insurance with the intention of falsifying claims. Mr. Toohey helped these five individuals collect insurance money for car accidents and medical expenses that were completely fraudulent. These six individuals, including Mr. Toohey, have recently been charged with Grand Theft and are awaiting trial.

3. The Bonnie Madden Life Insurance Scam. In 2006, Bonnie Madden was approached by a life insurance agent that sold Mrs. Madden two annuities that she could collect in 15 and 10 years time. The agent profited over $50,000 from the transaction. However, Mrs. Madden found her premiums too expensive and almost lost $300,000. Thankfully, authorities stepped in and discovered that Mrs. Madden’s insurance agent had greatly inflated her net worth in order to earn himself a bigger commission. The agent has since been arrested and Bonnie Madden has had her money returned.

4. The Dr. Jorge Martinez Pain “Specialist” Scam. Also in 2006, Dr. Jorge Martinez, who was working as a pain management specialist in Ohio, conned patients into allowing him to fraudulently bill insurance companies for prescription medications in their name. If the patients refused, he would refuse them their pain medication. Because these patients were suffering from constant, unbearable pain, they agreed to Mr. Martinez’s scheme. Many of the doctor’s patient became addicted to prescription pain killers, with two patients dying from an overdose. Dr. Jorge Martinez is currently spending the rest of his life in prison.

5. The Marc E. Thompson Arsonist Scam. In order to avoid bankruptcy and collect insurance, Marc E. Thompson burned down his one million dollar Chicago home in 2002. While many may think that is bad enough, Mr. Thompson burned down the home with his 90 year old mother still inside. If convicted of his crimes, Mr. Thompson will be looking at a 115 year prison sentence.

Britney Baker is a freelance writer who normally writes feature articles for carinsurancecompanies.org.

Top 5 Most Well Known Insurance Scams is a post from: Insurance Services

However, the one thing you must understand is how to file a homeowners insurance claim, as doing it wrong could delay the proceedings for you. This, in turn, can lead to even more problems and a lot more stress.

To help you make the process of filing a homeowners insurance claim much easier on you and your family, consider the following helpful tips:

Review Your Homeowners Insurance Policy
Most people do not know exactly what a homeowners insurance policy covers. Before you submit your claim, you will want to do the following two things:

• Read over your policy in detail. Will your policy cover the type of disaster that caused damage to your home?
• Study the claims process in detail. If your company supplied you with a sample claim for, you can get a better understanding of what they expect. If you did not receive one, check their website for further information on this topic.

Call Your Insurance Company With Questions Before You File
The one thing you do not want to do is to wait to ask your questions until after the claim is filed. Always call them beforehand to ensure you are providing them with the information they need (browse this list of home insurance company claims filing telephone numbers if you need contact details for your insurer). The following are two things you will want to look further into if you discover they will not cover the damage from this particular disaster:

If your policy does not cover the disaster, such as a flood, you will need to ask if they would cover your out-of-home living expenses while you get the damage repaired. Many policies will still provide coverage on this aspect of the claim on the Loss of Use coverage on the policy (sometimes even a car insurance policy will cover home damages so you may not even need to file a home insurance claim but rather an auto insurance claim!)

You also do not want to wait to see what other damages will occur from the situation. For example, if your basement is flooded, you do not want to wait until the water recedes to see what else is damaged. Call your insurance agent and ask them how to handle the matter if further damages are found.

Access the Damage Done to Your Home and Belongings
While the insurance agent will come in and take pictures, you will need to document the damage to your home and belongings, as well. The following are some tips to help you get started:

1. Take enough pictures or video that it documents all of the damage. The closer pictures you can get, the better they will be for the insurance company.
2. By separating all of the damaged home items from your own personal belongings, you and your insurance adjuster can get a better idea of the value lost.
3. Do not throw any damaged items away until your insurance adjuster tells you that it is okay.

Prevent Further Damage from Occurring
The biggest mistake a homeowner can make is not preventing further damage from occurring. For example, if you had a tree come through your roof in a bad storm, until the problem is repaired, you will need to make sure that no water can get through to cause more damaged.

If you were to not step forward and try to prevent anymore damage to your home, the insurance company could claim that you were negligent and actually refuse to pay the claim.

Stay Calm for Better Results
While this may be the most stressful time of your life, you can not let your stress over the situation interfere with the process. The insurance company will be doing everything possible to get an adjuster to your home as quickly as possible. However, if the disaster caused damage to a lot of homes in your area, it could take time. During the process, try to remain as calm as possible and you will get much better results.

When a disaster strikes, a homeowner can quickly become very emotional. The home is where the heart is and it is very easy to become unglued. However, by considering the above information when filling out a homeowners insurance claim, you will find that the process will go much smoother. The main thing to remember is that when you are in doubt, call your insurance agent for an answer.

Author Bio: Susan is a writer and insurance guru. She contributes for both a homeowners insurance quotes website and a car insurance quotes website. She loves finding new ways to save money on insurance almost as much as she loves stuffed crust pizza!

How to File a Homeowners Insurance Claim is a post from: Insurance Services

Home insurance isn’t just an extra that you should buy if you have extra cash floating around, it’s one of the essentials that you should strive to purchase as soon as possible. Protecting your home and your assets is vital and something that you should really spend time thinking about if you are currently uninsured or underinsured. Imagine something happening that meant the bulk of your possessions were damaged – or what if your home was robbed? And that’s not even considering the possibility of natural disasters and accidental damage, including fire and flooding, earthquakes (however minor) and even things like storms causing trees to fall on your house and similar random occurrences.

If you don’t have home insurance protecting your home, or you do have a policy and suspect that you haven’t valued your possessions at their true value, it could be time to start thinking about getting a new policy. It may be an extra expense to consider, but when you think about the value of home insurance in protecting your belongings and the home you live in, then it makes a lot more sense than risking it and hoping for the best. Are you undervaluing your possessions? Perhaps – which is why you should get in touch with a home insurance provider and see how you could be protecting your home so you won’t have to worry about anything happening to it.

Jennifer is a part of the digital blogging team at cashzilla.co.uk who work with brands like Confused.com. For more information about me, or to keep up to date with the latest in finance news, check out my posts at cashzilla.co.uk or visit my Twitter account, @cashzilla.

Are You Undervaluing Your Possessions? is a post from: Insurance Services

Act Of God is a very important term on any insurance policy. This refers to accidents and emergencies that occur without any warning or any way to prevent. This term includes damage done by earthquakes, lightning, or even war.

Depreciation is the term used to describe the every day, normal wear and tear your home or other claimable items may have suffered since it was first purchased. When your claim is being decided, your insurer will take into account your item’s value, after normal wear and tear. For extra cost, you may be able to get a “new for old” clause, which will account what you are claiming as new.

Due Diligence is the term used to describe the proper and expected care that should have been taken on any claimable item. If you haven’t taken the proper care of something in or on your home, it is likely that your claim will be denied.

Rebuild cost is the calculated amount that it would cost, if your home were to be destroyed. Your insurer can help you figure this out, or you can have a surveyor out to help you figure you rebuild cost.

Author Byline:

Al writes and blogs on home improvement, home insurance, home security and personal finance issues.

Confusing Home Insurance Terms Explained is a post from: Insurance Services

2. Purchase adequate coverage -
Special collections and valuables must be covered under riders that are added to the basic homeowner’s policy. Whenever these items are sold, the insurance policy can be changed to lower the premium. Check the coverage limits on the policy to ensure they are sufficient but do not carry more insurance than required to cover the home and the contents.

3. Insure the home but not the land -
The sale value of a home includes the land underneath, but the land is not at risk from fire, flood, and natural disaster. Verify that the policy specifically covers the structures on the land but does not include the land value.

4. Install safety measures -
Deadbolts, fire extinguishers, fire alarms, security alarms, and fire suppression systems are viewed as fire and theft deterrents by the insurance actuarial department. Each of these measures lowers the perceived threat risk to the home and will reduce the incident occurrence on the property.

5. Update major home systems -
Electrical wiring in older homes is the number one cause of fire in neighborhoods that were built more than thirty years ago. Insurance rates reflect that increased risk, but the homeowner can invest in updates that will reduce the risk to the home and decrease the insurance costs.

6. Leverage multiple policy discounts -
Most insurance providers offer home, auto, and life insurance. When one policy holder purchases all of their insurance policies from one insurer, the company will offer multiple policy discounts on all of the policies.

7. Install optimal roofing material -
In areas where wind and hailstorms are prevalent events, the additional cost to install shingles that are wind and hail resistant will lower the insurance premiums by as much as 15% in one year. Where forest fires are prevalent, fire resistant shingles are normally required by law whenever a roof is replaced. Insurance premiums are lowered to encourage homeowners to use the best roofing materials available.

8. Minimize claims filed -
File a claim against the insurance policy when the claim amount is unaffordable out of pocket. Pay for a broken window to be replaced with a personal check and do not tell the insurance company. Every insurance claim will increase the annual home insurance premium.

9. Avoid pet risks -
Liability coverage is meant to cover any event that may occur on the insured property. Many insurance companies increase premiums for certain dog breeds because of the risk to family members and other people. Other animals are also discouraged because of the perceived risk. Investigate what impact your pets may have on your policy rates.

10. Seek additional discounts –
Certain associations, fraternities, and sororities negotiate group insurance rates for their members. Ask the insurance agent which discounts may be offered for homeowner’s policies in the area.

Most homeowners realize that carrying a higher deductible will reduce the annual insurance premium, but many people do not realize that their credit score plays a role in the premium charged by the insurance provider. Contact your insurance agent and ask about the differences between the various levels of credit scores and then spend some time improving your credit. Ask for any additional discounts that might qualify the policy to retain the coverage limits at a lower annual premium.

Author Byline:

Zach Young has been in personal finance for 5 years. He currently blogs about ways to find a free online insurance quote online and helps people save money online by recommends sites to save money such as savings.com.

10 Easy Tips for Cheaper Homeowners Insurance is a post from: Insurance Services

Salon though is indicating (for today only!) that the public option may be back on the table.  Their article of today (Oct 6, 2009) is a well written piece on the seemingly rise in the tide with regards to the public option.  Check it out.

What Will Health Insurance Look Like? is a post from: Insurance Services

Now, where should you look for refinance calculators? The following details can help.

If you’re looking for a calculator without the help of a mortgage lender, the mortgage refinance calculator offered by Bankrate.com that can answer your query: “would I save if I go for refinancing?” Bankrate.com refinance calculator furnishes you with the following:

• Monthly savings
• New monthly payment
• Number of months to recover the costs
• Variation in interest payments

Money management software programs such as Quicken incorporate mortgage refinance calculators as a component of the software. These tools are usually available below the Planning Tab. If you have money management software installed in your PC, find out if it contains a refinance calculator.

Money.CNN.com offers a refinance calculator which is featured in the personal finance section of their official website. You can input up to three distinct loan products simultaneously to find out whether it is sensible to refinance.

How To Locate A Mortgage Refinance Calculator is a post from: Insurance Services

Great Tips on Negotiating for Your Totaled Car is a post from: Insurance Services

Also when defining term insurance, we need to know that it’s different from mortgage insurance. This type of policy is a long term policy designed to be taken out for a span of fifty years. The premium doesn’t change for the life of the policy, and the final benefit remains intact as well.

With your mortgage insurance, you’ll find that it’s life is just like the life of your mortgage. It maintains the same premiums, but when it comes to the payoff, it reduces along with the total of your remaining mortgage. Should you die at a point in your life where you owe only $1,000, then that’s the amount you would collect from your policy.

As a standard issue, terminal illness coverage usually is included in your term life insurance policy. There’s a clause in the policy to trigger payment in the event of terminal illness. This usually happens when the diagnosis specifies around a year or so before death. At this point, a payout can be made to either the policy holder or someone with power of attorney, and in a lump sum. This is really a good benefit for the remaining life of the policy holder.

Once the payout has been made due to terminal illness, the policy lapses. This will conclude any further obligation by the insurance company to the policy holder.

Many of these term life policies come with exclusions and restrictions. This can be something like a term policy holder who should become ‘critically’ ill, but not necessarily ‘terminally ill’. Then the payout may not be so easily forthcoming. The only way to collect in this situation, is if there was a ‘critically ill’ policy added to the term life insurance policy.

Hopefully, by defining term insurance in this article, you get a much better idea of what’s best for you and your family.

Defining Term Insurance is a post from: Insurance Services