Quality Claims at the San Diego Fall Home Show

Quality Claims exhibited at the San Diego Fall Home Show this past weekend.  They informed homeowners how to prepare for a property insurance claim and how to properly manage insurance claims after experiencing a loss to their home or business.  The San Diego Fall Home Show, held at the San Diego Convention Center, featured hundreds of exhibitors who offered home improvement products and services.

Buying Home Insurance

The amount you are asked to pay when you ask for a quote for home insurance is determined by how big a risk the company think you are. In giving you a quote they take into account many things, such as how secure your property is, the area in which you live and the cost of the possessions that they would have to pay to replace if some mishap occurred. However there are ways in which you can help to lower the premium quoted with the biggest being shopping around either yourself or with a broker’s help, for a policy.

When looking for insurance make sure that you get at least four or five quotes from different companies as policies and premiums do vary from company to company. All policies are different and will have exclusions within them, so it is essential that you understand what you are and are not covered for.

Where you live will affect the price that you have to pay for your insurance, while you cannot change your address there are some things you can do to help lower the cost of your insurance. Installing more security is one of the best ways you can reduce the premium, insurance companies will list certain brands of alarms for instance which are considered the best and by having these you can cut the cost of your premium.

If you are thinking of making any big home improvements such as adding a conservatory then take this into account, the more value that you add onto the property then the higher the premium will be. Also take into account any patio furniture or garden equipment which is kept outside, some policies will include this in their policy while others insist that you take an addition to the policy in order to cover them.

If you have items in your home which are of particular value then make a note of these, any items which are classed as antique or say any collections such as records or art, might not be included in your policy unless you have particularly stated these at the out set of the policy.

Also check if computer equipment is covered in the policy, if you have more than one home computer then they might need adding to the policy as extras, some policies say that computer equipment such as printers and scanners are classed as commercial or business equipment and as such are not covered by the standard policy.

How To Pay Less On Home And Contents Insurance

Buildings Insurance went up again last year, costing homeowners another 1% a year, taking the average to just over £205 for a year's insurance. Contents insurance also went up, this time by 2% - now it costs the average homeowner £151 a year. However, some lenders are hiking prices even higher than that – Norwich Union for example, raised its prices by a whopping 6% last year.

The question is - why? There's so much competition out there, you'd expect prices to be falling, not increasing – but there are other forces at work, as we go on to discuss.

No 1 – the cost of having a house repaired or rebuilt

Labour and building materials are getting more costly, so when the insurance company calculates how much it would cost to rebuild your house, prices are higher. This is due to inflation, and the same thing affects the insurance company and its own operating costs. Wages, bills, office rental – all these costs are increasing year on year – so of course insurers have to factor these in.

No 2 – the weather

The British weather is getting more and more tempestuous, whether it's due to global warming we are not qualified to say, but it's a fact that we have been experiencing a lot of extreme weather in the past few years. The 1987 hurricane was a freak occurrence, but flash floods such as the incident in Boscastle, Cornwall, Helmsley in North Yorkshire, and Carlisle are making the headlines on a regular basis. The Association of British Insurers has stated that the average insurance claim due to flood damage could be anything from £15,000 to £30,000, making huge dents into the insurance industry's profits. In fact, floods cost insurance companies millions every year.

No 3 - Burglary

Claims due to burglary have been going up, now average at around £1,400. The 2 main causes are:

• From digital cameras to laptops, game consoles to ipods – our houses are full of electronic gadgets with a high value bought new, and a high value resold. Burglars are after these items and it's hitting the insurance industry where it hurts – their pocket.

• Burglars pick posh neighbourhoods to ensure they get away with the best items - with expensive items like jewellery for the taking, the value of these kind of claims is increasing.

Insurance companies use statistics relating to a postcode area to calculate premiums for everyone in that area. If your neighbours have suffered subsidence, or your area is near a river which has been known to flood – you will have to pay higher premiums. Similarly, if people in your area have been broken into, then it will be assumed that you are at a higher risk of making a burglary claim too.

Having a no-claims discount is a help when it comes to offsetting the annual rise in premiums, but insurance companies cap these discounts once you have 5 years no claims, so you will not get any further discounts.

So is there any way to avoid the rising cost of home and contents insurance?

The first thing you can do is look around for the best deal. Try the Internet for the best deals, because most insurance companies offer a discount, often 10%, for customers that buy online. You will also save if you pay by direct debit. It's tempting to accept your current insurer's renewal quote but don't be fooled – the small amount of effort it will take to shop around will pay good dividends. One of the reasons for this is because insurers always offer their best deals to new customers, existing customers are virtually penalised for showing loyalty!

Improving your home security is another good way to reduce premiums – while giving you essential peace of mind. Neighbourhood watch schemes, external security lighting, a burglar alarm, security locks on windows, and industry-recognised locks on external doors will make a difference. Obviously these things cost money to install, but they pay for themselves in the long run.

Insurance Can Help You Sell Your Home

Does your home insurance policy include things like plumbing or electricity failures? It most likely doesn’t.

What will you do if something goes wrong in the home after you’ve successfully closed the deal?

(there is a free ebook: 101 Tips For Selling Your House,for you to download, from a link at the bottom of this page).

Even worse, what if something goes wrong after the buyer has already moved in? You could end up paying thousands of dollars to have the problem fixed.

Don’t think that just because ownership of the property has transferred from you to buyer that the buyer won’t come to you if there is a major home failure.

Imagine if your brand new vehicle malfunctioned within days of its purchase.

Would you pay for repairs without word to the dealer? Of course, you wouldn’t.

Neither will your buyer if there is a problem with the home after closing.

As a for sale by owner home seller, you can benefit from the purchase of a seller’s home warranty.

Not only will it cover the cost of repair in the case that a major home item fails, it can also make your home look more attractive to buyers.

Prospective buyers will be pleased with the assurance that comes from a home warranty.

The last thing you want is to have to have the pressure of dealing with a surprising failure in the home after you have successfully closed the deal.

Deciding whether you or the buyer is responsible for paying for the damages could result in a heated debate.

Even in the unfortunate event of a home failure, you can avoid this type of situation by purchasing a seller’s home warranty.

Essentially, the home warranty picks up where insurance coverage leaves off by paying for failures in items like heating, plumbing, electricity, and air conditioning.

Be advised that the warranty only covers these items if they fail on their own.

Improper installation or maintenance, code violations, and unordinary wear and tear can lead to a denial of coverage.

Even without a home warranty, the buyer could not reasonably ask you to cover damages that were caused by actions taken on their part.

Depending on the provider, seller’s home warranty coverage can differ.

Make sure you carefully study and completely understand the policy you are purchasing before you pay for it.

In some cases, the home warranty might cover different items before and after the closing.

In most cases, the home warranty lasts for a year.

Buyers are given the option to renew the warranty coverage when it expires.

Be sure to advise your buyer that the cost to renew the policy might end up being more than the initial cost of the policy.

One of the good things about a seller’s home warranty is that it can be included as one of the closing costs.