By Charlie Brown
Home insurance is something that most people think to be a necessary evil. However, you will be really glad that you had it when you actually need it. Your home is very likely the biggest financial asset that you own and you must have spent a lot of money to acquire the home of your dreams and to maintain it the way you want. Having put in so much effort, it is only sensible that you protect it from all sorts of harm; hence home insurance. Since most people do not have much idea of how it works, it is all the more necessary that you understand it well before you go ahead and purchase a policy. Some essential tips:
Know How Much Home Insurance You Need
The first thing to establish before you can get to know how much home insurance you require is the value of your home. It is important to know how much it will cost to replace or repair a portion of the house in case of damage. You can easily get a true value by consulting with a home assessment company or builder. Do not depend upon an insurance agent for a valuation as his income depends upon how large a policy he can sell to you.
Know the Risks That Your Home Is Exposed To
The insurance premium that you will pay for home insurance depends upon not only the value of your home but also the nature of risks that your home is exposed to. If your home is situated near a flood-prone zone, if the crime rate in the neighbourhood is high, if there is the possibility of storm damage; everything will be taken into account by the insurance company before a quote is given to you.
How to Save Money on Your Premium
Once you know what are the risk factors that are being factored into the calculation of your insurance premium, you can become proactive in trying to minimize the risk perception. Of course there is nothing much you can do to avoid storms and severe weather conditions, you can certainly take steps to ensure that your home is not burgled by installing deadbolt locks, an alarm system for intruders and proper lighting and motion sensors/CCTVs. Installing advanced fire alarm systems as well as sprinklers besides updating the wiring system can to a large extent protect your home from fires.
It also helps a lot if the location is close to the police station or the fire department or even a fire hydrant. All the steps that you can take to make your home safer, not only for the structure but also for the residents and visitors can be very useful in driving your home insurance premium down.
Make a Proper Inventory of the Household
Many people are not aware that apart from the structure of your home, the home insurance policy will also cover the possessions of the owner of the home. Modern homes have a lot of expensive gadgets, appliances, and furniture besides clothes, personal jewellery, works of art, etc. that all can add up to quite a fancy amount. It is thus important to make a proper list of all the items and preserve the receipts so that you can substantiate your claim in case of a loss.
A professionally-constructed inventory would also include photographs of the listed items. It is vital that you do not casually store the inventory list, photographs, receipts, etc. at home. The best place is a fireproof safe in a separate facility or even a bank locker where you can also keep other important papers of your family members such as the title deed of your house, educational certificates, insurance policy, etc.
Understand What Your Policy Covers
Most people do not bother to read the fine print of the insurance policy and do not have a clue as to what exactly they are paying the premium for. Unless you know exactly what you are covered for, it will be practically impossible for you to file a claim when something does go wrong. Many acts of God like earthquakes or floods may not be automatically included in your policy. If there is sufficient perception of such risk, then you need to get additional cover by paying the extra premium. If the policy seems to be too complicated, consult someone with adequate knowledge like your accountant or lawyer to explain it to you in simple language. Know the numbers you need to call and how to file a claim when the need arises.
While there are many more tips for buying home insurance optimally, taking care of these basic issues would go a long way in protecting your home.
Image Credit: https://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2015/01/08/15/53/family-593188_960_720.jpg
Charlie Brown
Author Bio : Charlie Brown is a freelance content writer. He has written many articles on technology, fashion, beauty, lifestyle, career, travel, health, etc. He has great experience in the field of writing. In his free time, he loves to spend more time in sharing his knowledge with his friends.
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