What’s Included In Your Homeowners Insurance Policy

What’s Included In Your Homeowners Insurance Policy

  September 05, 2019

Homeowners insuranceis a form of financial protection provided to mitigate against disasters. It’s important to know what is included in your homeowners insurance policy and what it covers. This will help determine if you will need any additional insurance and what to know before catastrophe strikes.

Your homeowners insurance policy mainly includes the home and the things or items kept in it. Although it mainly covers property damage. Additionally, it can also cover legal responsibility or liability if there is any property damage or injuries caused by family members to others. This damage also covers pets.

Over the past four years, the severity of weather conditions has increased. Within the same period, the total number of claims paid out has broken records. Weather predictors indicate that extreme storms will continue to worsen. So know what is included in your homeowner’s insurance policy in case you need to purchase more coverage.

What is the status of your home insurance? Are you protected against damage from severe weather? According to a recent survey among homeowners, most of them lack adequate coverage. While the four walls and the roof might be in your coverage, most people do not have adequate protection against their personal possessions. The majority of the standard home insurance packages cover four essential areas:

1. Home Structure

Standard homeowners insurance pays to rebuild or repair a home if disaster strikes. Not covered are earthquakes, regular wear and tear, or floods. It is important to purchase coverage that is sufficient to rebuild a home in the event of a disaster. Tool sheds, gazebos or garages are also covered in some policies.

2. Personal Belongings

Clothes, sports equipment, furniture, and other personal effects are covered if they are destroyed in a fire or stolen. This coverage accounts to about 50% of what is insured on the home structure. Conducting a home inventory is the best way to determine whether this coverage is enough.

Personal items stored away from the premises are also covered under this policy. This means that you have coverage anywhere in the world. Most insurance companies limit the amount to 10%. Some companies offer up to $500 as coverage for unauthorized use of the holder’s credit cards.

Included in the policy are expensive items like art, jewelry, furs, silverware, and collectibles. However, there is a dollar limit in the situation of a theft. An individual should purchase a floater or special personal property coverage to make sure these items are insured for their maximum value. This covers the items to their real appraised value. Standard homeowners insurance also covers, shrubs, plants, and trees for approximately $500 each.

3. Liability Protection

This cover protects the homeowner against lawsuits that occur as a result of property damage or bodily harm caused by members of their family. This also includes pets that cause damage or harm. Also included is any legal fees that incur during representation and any award granted by the court.

This policy also protects the homeowner against any medical expenses if a neighbor or a friend has an injury at your home. This will be settled on behalf of the homeowner.

4. Additional Living Expenses

This coverage pays for your additional costs. It applies when you are living away from home or when your home becomes uninhabitable because of damage caused by an insured disaster. It covers restaurant meals, hotel bills and other expenses beyond an individual’s normal living expenses. Be aware that most of them have time limits.

Although damage by several disasters, is covered, there are exceptions. The major ones covered are poor maintenance, damage caused by earthquakes and floods. Interested parties must purchase separate policies for earthquake and flood coverage. Problems that occur because of maintenance and negligence are the responsibility of the homeowner.

Normal homeowners insurance policies cover several potential damages from windstorms to tornadoes, lightning strikes, winter damage brought by the weight of snow and ice, and fire among others. Most of the disasters listed above are covered by most standard homeowners insurance policies.

It is important to check with the insurance provider on the specifics and details since they vary from one firm to the other. Other disasters covered include volcanic eruptions, landslides, mudslides, nuclear accidents, and hail.

Conclusion

Many homeowners only realize how insufficient their insurance policy is when a disaster strikes. In most instances, they took a cover that is not enough to cover for repairs or rebuilding. It is therefore important to check with your insurance provider to ensure that your homeowners insurance is sufficient to cater for any insured disaster.

Avoid These Mistakes When Buying Auto Insurance news

Avoid These Mistakes When Buying Auto Insurance news

  September 05, 2019

the new ones, view auto insurance as more of a bad thing than a good thing or a benefit. But the truth is that car or auto insurance is more of a benefit than a burden. It is also a legal requirement that any car owner simply can’t afford not to have.

In most States, individuals caught driving without adequate auto insurance run the risk of having their vehicles impounded immediately. In addition to this, such individuals may also be forced to pay heavy fines or have their driving licenses revoked.

The good news is that getting auto insurance is not as difficult as some new drivers believe. Some beginners may make a few common mistakes when choosing their first policies. Mistakes can be very costly but can appear trivial at first. Investing in a policy is a long-term commitment. When the entire process is not weighed carefully, the buyer can easily end up purchasing and paying a lot of money for a completely useless policy.

Here is a compilation of mistakes to avoid when buying auto insurance, whether you are a new driver or not:

1. Failing to shop around

Every auto insurance company has its own parameters. This simply means that it’s possible for two providers to offer the same coverage but at different prices. It’s therefore wise to try and get as many quotes as possible before finally settling for a provider. This might take some time but at the end of the day, you will be sure that what you have chosen will be provided for the best price possible. In spite of this, don’t let price be the only way to appraise a provider. While it’s important to identify the cheapest providers, cheap is not always the best, and in most cases, cheap eventually turns out to be more expensive.

2. Going with the minimum in a bid to save

As you are probably aware of, drivers are required by law to have at least a minimum coverage, which is usually known as compulsory insurance. While it is true that compulsory auto insurance calls for a lower premium, it can easily turn expensive in case of an accident. For example, if you hit a person’s car and unfortunately, the damages you cause exceed your minimum coverage, the owner of the car you hit has the right to sue you in a bid to recover the difference. In most States, minimum coverage for property damage and for bodily injury ranges from $10,000 to $50,000 per individual per accident.

3. Lying on your auto insurance application

Sometimes, distorting the truth just a little might seem like a clever way to get the best prices, but distorting the truth will definitely come back to haunt you at some point. Reputable auto insurance providers always have a way of identifying a lie and if they have reason to believe that you have given them false information, they have a right to cancel your policy, to decline to pay a claim or to even report you to the police.

4. Not asking for discounts

In most cases, a policy comes with a discount of one type or another and it is always wise to ask if you are entitled to any. Some of the common discounts that come with auto insurance policies include the following:

• Paying up an entire policy in a single installment or in full
• Using EFT to make monthly payments
• Combining auto insurance with other types of insurance, such as home insurance
• Using one policy to insure multiple cars
• Student discount
• Safe driver discount
• Using EFT to make monthly payments
• Low mileage discount

What we have looked at are just some of the various mistakes most car owners make when shopping for auto insurance. There are more mistakes that can easily turn up, but the good news is that with some good research. You can find effective coverage at a good price. Even a little research and a bit of company comparison can save you a lot. Check online to research companies or even talk to friends, relatives, and other acquaintances and see who they recommend.

New Home Owner? Here Are Some Home Insurance Rates You Need to Know About

New Home Owner? Here Are Some Home Insurance Rates You Need to Know About

  September 03, 2019

With the purchase of a new home, you probably are shopping around for the best home

insurance rates. Afterall, your mortgage lender most likely requires you have homeowners insurance. But by making such a large purchase, you need to protect the asset which is your home. Homeowners insurance provides coverage should your home become damaged or destroyed. It also provides liability coverage to protect any visitor to your home in the event they injure themselves. We’ll show you what to consider as you shop for your policy.

If you are a first time home buyer, you may have some experience with renters insurance. One similarity exists between renters and home insurance policies and that is personal property coverage. Know that home insurance entails a lot more. Since there is more to lose when owning a home, basic home insurance typically covers:

• Dwelling
• Other property
• Personal property
• Liability
• Additional living expense

A dwelling is the home and attached structures like a garage. Basic home insurance covers “perils” or the things that cause damage to your home. These can include:

• ice, sleet, and snow damage
• Damage from a vehicle
• Fire and smoke damage
• Hail
• Lightning strikes
• Vandalism and malicious destruction
• Windstorms

Dwelling insurance also covers cooling and heating systems, plumbing and wiring.

Other property coverage is for structures that are unattached such as a fence, shed or detached garage.

Personal propertycoverage is content coverage for property within the home that includes things like:

• Appliances
• Clothing
• Electronics
• Furniture

There are two choices for personal property coverage: actual cash value and replacement value. Cash value won’t provide you enough to purchase similar brand new items, without you spending additional money. Replacement cost provides you with a payment sufficient to replace the lost items.

Liability insurance covers injuries to visitors on your property. It includes a legal settlement and legal fees up to the liability limit.

Additional living expenses are referred to as ALE or loss of use coverage. If your home gets damaged and you and all other residents of the home are required to live elsewhere while it is repaired, ALE coverage pays for meals and hotel rooms while you are displaced.

How to make sure you are covered.

Home insurance takes the worry out of unfortunate, unexpected events such as break-ins, slippery sidewalks, and fallen trees. Things to know when comparing coverage and prices are:

• Buy enough insurance to cover rebuilding your home
• Take an inventory of your possessions
• Replacement cost coverage is worth the extra expense
• A home insurance policy does not cover everything

Cover the Cost of Rebuilding

A mistake many new homeowners make when buying insurance is to purchase coverage equal to the market value of the home. Home insurance is meant to pay for rebuilding a home that is destroyed.

The amount to cover rebuilding your home can be higher or lower than the purchase price. Homeowners who lose a home in a disaster may be caught short if underinsured. A reliable insurance agent can help with the estimate. Additionally, you could consult with a local contractor to ask about building costs in the area. HMFacts is an online calculator we found thatestimates replacement costs.

Inventory

An inventory will let you know how much coverage you will need. Some insurance companies offer an inventory app. Free online software from the Insurance Information Institute can also help inventory your possessions.

Standard home insurance policies have dollar limits placed on coverage for special collections and valuables. You may require additional coverage for those items. The inventory also helps make the claims process easier if something unfortunate happens.

Replacement Cost Coverage

This is the amont of money it would cost to buy a new, comparable item(s). The replacement cost coverage is more expensive than cash value coverage.

Cash value coverage pays the current value of damaged or destroyed items. With replacement coverage, the five-year-old furniture damaged by a broken pipe would prompt funding for a new piece of furniture. Cash value coverage reimburses the cost of new furniture minus depreciation.

Things Not Covered

Standard home insurance policies do not cover floods or earthquakes. You may need a separate policy depending on where you live. You can find out how much the average home insurance ratesare where you live. You enter your zip code, the approximate cost of the dwelling, the deductible you want, and an estimated amount of liability.

Discounts

Homeowner insurance companies offer discounts that you may qualify for such as:

• Automatic payment
• Bundling
• Claims-free
• Loyalty
• Security System

Check an insurance company’s website for a list of discounts it offers. Bundling is an easy means of saving money on insurance. Bundling means getting multiple policies from one insurer. Motorcycle, auto, and home insurance can be bundled. Some companies also offer life insurance.

Does my credit score influence my homeowners insurance?

Insurers sometimes use credit scores as a determining factor for insurance rates. Insurance companies see a person’s credit history as a glimpse into the risk of insuring that person.

Alternatively, some insurers use an insurance credit score which is separate from your financial credit score. You could alternatively request a CLUE report. The acronym stands for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange. The report tells of claims filed by the homeowner and the home’s claim history. Insurance companies want to prevent risks. A house with multiple claims over a few years will mean paying higher rates or being declined to insure.

Deductibles

The deductible is the homeowner’s share of repair costs if an insurance company approves a claim. The higher the deductible is, the lower the premiums will be. A higher deductible saves money and reduces insurance claims.

It is essential to know the tradeoff being made when deciding on a deductible that makes sense for your financial situation. There are three kinds of home insurance deductibles.

• Dollar amount
• Percentage-based
• Split

A dollar amount deductible is a specific amount the homeowner pays before an insurer pays its portion. A percentage-based deductible is a percentage of the amount covered by the policy. For example, if the deductible is 2% and the home is insured for $200,000, the homeowner pays the first $4000 of a claim.

Split deductibles are hybrids of the other two. Most claims have a dollar amount deductible. Specific events such as an earthquake or hurricane trigger a percentage. Homeowner deductibles are different than health plan deductible.

Health insurance deductibles typically have a yearly deductible. Once you meet your deductible, the insurer will pay for evertyhing else for the remainder of the year. Those payments are still subject to coinsurance and copayments.

Home insurance deductibles apply to every claim. From the insurer’s stance, deductibles cut down on the minor claims that have to be processed and lower payments for major claims. Taking less risk, allows the insurer to reduce premiums when higher deductibles are chosen.

A high deductible can reduce premiums by as much as 20% to 40%. A minimum deductible is imposed by most insurers, but increases are allowed in exchange for premiums that are lower. The lower premium is an attractive deal when claims are unlikely, and the homeowner has sufficient savings that will cover the deductible if a severe loss occurs.

In conclusion, buying a home is an important life event and investment. Protect yourself, others and your home if the unforseen happens. Take time to learn about your options in home insurance.

Do You Need Travel Insurance? Here are 12 Reasons

Do You Need Travel Insurance? Here are 12 Reasons

  September 03, 2019

Are you planning on traveling and wondering do you need travel insurance? While not every trip you take will require travel insurance, it is wise to consider coverage. Insurance can give you extra protection should something unfortunate and unforeseen happen.

What is Travel Insurance?

Travel Insurance is a policy you purchase that protects you from financial risks and losses that can happen when you are traveling. These losses can be things such as a delayed suitcase or a canceled vacation or even a medical emergency.

Travel insurance provides coverage for you as you travel for work or vacation. There can be many options including trip cancellation and interruption, medical, evacuation, baggage, and flight insurance. Basically, there are generally two kinds of trip insurance:

• Basic trip cancellation protection (Covers lost baggage, missed connections, and trip cancelations due to injury or illness.)
• Comprehensive travel insurance (Includes all types of coverage as well as medical emergency related coverage, coverage if your trip is delayed, if you miss your flight or other itinerary changes).

Benefits of Travel Insurance

Travel insurance has many options and many benefits. It can give you the ability to accommodate and make changes during your travels. Travel insurance allows you to reschedule vacations as needed and provide services during travel to make things easier. Ultimately, insurance will help avoid losing money and put your mind at ease.

Do You Need Travel Insurance?

#1 You Need to Cancel Your Trip

The ability to cancel your trip is a top reason where travel insurance will protect you. If you or someone you are traveling with gets sick or cannot travel for whatever reason, you are covered. Consider that unforeseen things do happen. While you don’t want to cancel your trip, sometimes you have no other choice. What if a work emergency comes up or there is a death in the family? There are many covered reasons that a travel insurance policy has that will allow you to recover the costs of a canceled trip.

#2 Canceled or Delayed Flights

While traveling by plane, you do run the risk of canceled or delayed flights. Did you know that almost 2% of flights are canceled and 20% of flights are delayed? If you opt for travel insurance, specifically trip interruption coverage, you’ll be refunded money to cover a new ticket or for hotel expenses. Additional benefits could be meal or travel expenses.

#3 You Miss Your Connection

Often times your travel itinerary is complex where you might be flying different places, meeting up with groups or even boarding a cruise ship. These details make it more likely that if something goes wrong, such as missing your connecting flight, additional parts of your trips are negatively impacted. Consider a missed connection coverage in your travel insurance policy. This way you can opt to take another flight to catch you up to where you want to be without additional costs.

#4 You Get Sick or Injured

You can plan and plan but if you end up getting ill or hurt while on vacation, it is devastating. You might not know that your health insurance may not completely cover your out-of-pocket expenses. If you need emergency medical care while traveling, consider travel medical coverage. This way, you will have some assistance in getting medical care and you won’t be caught off guard with a huge medical expense.

#5 Natural Disasters

Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes all can wreak havoc on your vacation plans. With travel insurance protection for weather damage, you won’t lose all the things you’ve paid for and you can reschedule your vacation or change destinations.

#6 Terrorist Event

We live in a time where you need to consider this. With terrorism coverage, you can cancel your vacation without penalty.

#7 Your Passport is Lost

Traveling out of the country? With coverage for lost passports, you’ll have assistance in replacing and paying for a new passport as quickly as possible. Passports can be stolen in an attempt to steal your identity and can wreak havoc on your trip and more. Travel insurance can help including coverage for missed or delayed flights as a result of not having your passport.

#8 Delayed or Lost Baggage

Your personal belongings and baggage are important when traveling. But what if your things are delayed or even worse, lost? Consider coverage for delayed, lost, stolen, or damaged bagsto help you recover your belongings. Especially consider this if you are traveling with something expensive, such as sports equipment, a camera, or a musical instrument. You might really appreciate being able to replace clothes and toiletries and more if something happens.

#9 Your Travel Company Goes Under

If you’ve planned your trip by way of a travel agency, what if they suddenly go backrupt? Or the cruise you’ve booked goes under? How do you protect yourself? With trip insurance that covers financial default, you’ll be able to recover your expenses and make plans to reschedule.

#10 You Need Emergency Medical Attention

This is one is rare but should you find yourself in a medical emergency, it would be a relief to have coverage for ER services or even a medical evacuation. Then you could arrange medical transportation without the catastrophic price.

#11 To Avoid Change Fees

Changing your flight costs money. If you have opted for travel insurance, you can reduce or avoid change fees. It will provide you more freedom in making choices during travel.

#12 Round the Clock Assistance

Most travel insurance policies offer 24-hour customer service assistance to help you during your travels. This is invaluable in an emergency and an extremely helpful resource.

Remember, anything can happen in your travels. When planning your next trip, consider travel insurance to give you peace of mind. There are many options but shop around and consider our reasons when purchasing travel insurance.

How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?

How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?

  September 02, 2019

When it comes to figuring out your life insurance needs, it might seem tricky and confusing. Well, it’s actually not about how much life insurance you need. It’s simply how much your family will need when you’ll no longer be with them.

How much coverage should you choose for life insurance?

Determine whether or not you need life insurance

Generally, not every individual needs life insurance. For example, if you’re still young without any dependants, arguably there is no need for life insurance. But if you’re planning to have dependents, it will be an imperative idea to get insurance when you’re still young.

Evaluate your family’s needs

Determine the amount of life insurance coverage you should carry using either the lump sum need method or the income replacement method. The lump sum need method will help you calculate the money needed to pay:

• Household expenses
• Outstanding debts
• Educational costs
• Taxes
• Funeral expenses
• Emergency needs

The other method calculates the amount you will need to replace a certain percentage of your income for a specific number of years, in most cases, until when your mortgage is paid off or when your youngest son/daughter gets out of college.

Calculate future spending

It’s very important to consider your family’s future financial obligations. You don’t have to commit all your income to buy life insurance. But of course, you should have enough coverage to pay for future financial obligations. For instance, if you’re planning to help pay for college for your children, you can factor in pending tuition bills and fees. Outline your family’s cash-flow needs and financial goals. Sum up your income and that of your spouse and the figure out the estimated amount that your dependants would need. Now, look at the amount of money that would be available. Basically, the difference between the available resources and your family’s financial needs will tell you how much life insurance you should carry.

Determine the type of insurance you need

When you’re figuring out to buy a life insurance policy, be sure to choose the right amount of coverage. It’s obvious that you may not want to have too much and pay for protection you actually don’t need. Neither will you want to have too little, leaving out some of your loved ones under-protected. There are two basic types of insurance; term and cash-value insurance.

Term insurance

This type of coverage has no investment component. Well, it’s up to you to decide how much coverage you need and how long you want that insurance to remain in effect. You can obtain term insurance that has a level premium over the term of the policy. The good thing about Term insurance is that it has lower premiums compared to cash-value insurance. Most of the financial planners generally recommend buying this insurance and then investing the difference between a cash-value premium and a term-insurance premium. If you have kids, term insurance will provide you with the most coverage for the lowest premium.

Cash-value insurance

Cash-value insurance is also referred to as permanent insurance. It can be one of the most confusing subjects when it comes to personal finance. Permanent insurance can be an excellent product; however, it’s a bit difficult to understand. Most of the insurance salespeople take advantage of its complexity and go selling high-commission policies when in fact other policies would be more suitable.

If you choose the coverage that you will pay an annual premium of $10,000 or more per year, it’s very important that you consider retaining a fee-only insurance advisor who doesn’t have any financial stake in your decision. Having the advisors at your side can certainly save you far more than their fee. You will even feel more assured because their advice is objective and in your best interest.

Regular reviews on your coverage

Once you have the life insurance, don’t get tempted to stash the paperwork in your drawer and then forget about it. Make sure you regularly review the amount of cover you have so that it still offers enough protection when your circumstances change. For instance, you might have another kid, move to a bigger property, and get divorced, so you may need to reduce or extend your cover.

Tip

You should consider buying smaller, multiple life policies, instead of going for one larger policy, it will be easy to vary your coverage as your needs change.

Beautiful New Custom Home in Castroville TX.

Beautiful New Custom Home in Castroville TX.

  September 02, 2019

THE PERFECT DRIVE HOME

Uniquely located in Castroville Tx.

Only 25 minutes from downtown San Antonio and 20 minutes from Lackland Air Force Base.

Voted the best-rated school in Medina County.

This single story home is approximately 3,129 sqft, per builder’s plans, has 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, office, dining room, and a fireplace. This gorgeous open floor plan masonry home comes with a custom entryway, large living area,  and breakfast area. Walk into a spacious kitchen with plenty of counter space, custom cabinets, granite counters, and stainless steel appliances. The large master bath has dual sinks with a granite topped vanity, corner tiled shower, jetted garden tub, water closet, and a large walk-in master closet. Crown molding, recessed lighting, and dimensional ceilings are featured throughout the home. 

Custom homes for your new life

Custom homes for your new life

  September 02, 2019

The Country

Texas Casual Cottages is possessed and worked by PARTNERS IN BUILDING, the #1 Custom Builder in Texas. Regardless of whether you need an end of the week retreat or a perpetual home in the Brazos Valley or Texas Hill Country, our Build on Your Land groups make it simple to construct a custom home on your property in the nation.

To discover increasingly about the Texas Casual Cottages involvement with PARTNERS IN BUILDING, visit one of our model parks.