Columbia SC Insurance

Save Money on Homeowners InsuranceMany home buyers forget to shop for home insurance until the last minute and end up choosing the first company that comes along.

Well, don’t be that buyer! If you’re buying a home, make sure you start shopping for homeowners insurance as soon as your offer is accepted.

Here are some tips to help you save money on homeowners insurance:

  • Keep tabs on your credit score. Just like with home loans, the better your credit score, the better pricing you’ll be able to get for homeowners insurance. By keeping track of it, you can identify any mistakes and fix them before they affect you negatively.
     
  • Combine policies. Check with your current car insurance company to see if they offer special pricing when you combine policies. Many companies do offer combined policy discounts.
     
  • Ask for a discount (if you’ve been with same insurance company for many years, they want to keep you). Many times companies will agree to lower your premiums if you have been their customer for a while, have never missed a payment and always pay on time. Also, many companies offer discounts for seniors.
     
  • Insure only what you need to. Sometimes homeowners don’t realize they’re paying to insure the land where the house is located. However, this isn’t really necessary because if something were to happen, like a fire or flood, the land remains unchanged. So, in reality, you only need to insure the actual structure. It’s also a good idea to review your policy every once in a while, to make sure you’re not overpaying for items that may not be as valuable to you now as they were when you first insured them. (Remember – Flood and earthquake insurance may not be included in a standard homeowner insurance policy).
     
  • Learn about small home improvements that make your home safer. Simple things like smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and burglar alarms can make your home much safer and cheaper to insure.
  • Increase your deductible. Increasing your deductible can also save you some money, if, of course, you have an emergency fund large enough to cover it in case of a disaster.
     
  • If it’s a new home, learn about the safety of the area. Is the home in a flood zone? Your real estate agent has to let you know whether the home you’re interested in is located in a flood zone. Also, it’s a good idea to research the crime rate and the locations of the closest police department and fire station. All these things mentioned can affect your premiums.
     
  • If it’s for your existing home, let your insurance company know of any changes that may improve the safety of your neighborhood. For example, additional fire hydrants or new storm drains will make your neighborhood safer.

There may be other ways to reduce your homeowners insurance premiums, so contact your insurer and ask them what you can do to save some money. Because of the increased competition among insurance companies, they’ll want to make sure they do everything to keep you as a customer.

For more insurance tips and articles, see our “Insurance” category in the list of categories in the right hand column.

Home and Commercial Inspections in the Columbia SC area is our specialty! Every year we help hundreds of clients save tens of thousands of dollars, by responsibly finding and exposing conditions that threaten property, value and safety. To learn how we may be able to serve you, please click and read, or call 803-261-5810.

Are You Covered With The Right Homeowners Insurance?If you’re a homeowner, you most certainly have a homeowner insurance policy to cover your home. Not only is homeowner insurance a necessity, lending regulations require every homeowner with a mortgage to have some form of homeowner insurance coverage. It is a vital investment you need to make in order to protect your home and everything in it against accidents and hazards like fire, storm, flood, and others. Any accidents which occur in the house or on your property should also be covered, including medical reimbursements in cases of accidents and injuries.

You may have homeowner’s insurance, however, the question is, is it the right coverage? Home owners insurance differs depending on the type of coverage included in your policy. Different areas may require different types of coverage. Areas most commonly affected with natural disasters like flood, hurricane, and storms, also have special coverage against these types of natural hazards.

A good example is the homeowners insurance policy in some states where a special section called the wind policy is included. This is especially provided for homes in areas which are often experience hurricanes. This will provide home owners the necessary coverage against a very common hazard in those areas.

Upon signing your homeowners insurance policy, you need to know what is included and not included in the coverage. This will help you decide whether to provide additional homeowners insurance for other specific coverages. Some homeowners insurance policies may not cover your home against earthquake, nuclear exposure, and tsunami. If you feel you live in an area where nuclear exposure is a known hazard or if you are along the ring of fire and may want to provide additional coverage against earthquake, try to talk about this with your insurance provider and get possible coverage for these types of hazards.

Your homeowner insurance may also provide coverage for the belongings you have within your home. However, if you have expensive and valuable items within your home which the standard home insurance policy may not completely cover, you might opt to add another type of insurance — content coverage.

Make sure you have the right homeowners insurance coverage. If you are not sure about it, always seek the help and assistance of your insurance provider.

Home and Commercial Inspections in the Columbia SC area is our specialty! Every year we help hundreds of clients save tens of thousands of dollars, by responsibly finding and exposing conditions that threaten property, value and safety. To learn how we may be able to serve you, please click and read, or call 803-261-5810.

House FloodedA new report details the cost and extent of one of the worst years for floods in recent history.
 
CoreLogic estimates flood losses in the U.S. this year at approximately $10.67 billion, three times the amount forecast for next year, based on various flooding and storm events recorded in the National Climate Data Center.

CoreLogic suggests that flood insurance coverage to be expanded to protect more territory. The floods of 2011 heightened awareness of the flood risk outside of the FEMA 100-year flood zones, the report states. There has also been an emphasized need to raise current flood protection standards for the critical and strategic infrastructures in the U.S.

Based on the trend pattern, 2012 should not be an extreme flood year – in fact, there should be several more years before the next extreme flood loss year. U.S. flood loss in 2012 is projected at approximately $3.53 billion.

Before the federal program was launched in 1968, few private carriers provided flood insurance because of the cost and destructive power of floods. Under the program, homeowners in FEMA flood zones are required to buy policies from insurance companies — about 90 provide it — and the government pays for flood damage with federal funds collected largely from homeowner premiums.

This year’s big losses could drive the program further into the red, or it could underscore the need to continue and possibly expand the program to protect property that does not qualify for coverage today.

Do you have flood insurance? We’d love to hear how you feel about the federally funded flood insurance program. Is it too costly for our government to continue funding, or do you think it’s something our government should offer at whatever the cost? Click the comment link below and tell us what you think.

Home and Commercial Inspections in the Columbia SC area is our specialty! Every year we help hundreds of clients save tens of thousands of dollars, by responsibly finding and exposing conditions that threaten property, value and safety. To learn how we may be able to serve you, please click and read, or call 803-261-5810.

Concierge doctors offer special treatment at a premium price.

Questions or comments about this, or any story on our site? Just click the comment link below and ask. We’ll get back to you with answers.

Home and Commercial Inspections in the Columbia SC area is our specialty! Every year we help hundreds of clients save tens of thousands of dollars, by responsibly finding and exposing conditions that threaten property, value and safety. To learn how we may be able to serve you, please click and read, or call 803-261-5810.

Insurance myths can cost you moneyHomeowner’s insurance can be a bit complicated. One of the best ways to make the most of your homeowners insurance is to have an up-to-date home inventory of your personal possessions.

You can also better protect yourself by knowing what’s covered and what’s not.

Here are the five most common misconceptions about homeowners insurance:

  1. Damaged items are replaced at cost. When surveyed, most policy holders did not know the difference between cash value vs. replacement cost. Actual cash value refers to the amount it takes to repair or replace a home’s contents after depreciation. On the other hand, replacement cost pays the amount actually spent to repair or replace the property. Replacement cost coverage for your personal items is included in some policies, but if your policy does not provide the coverage, it is typically available at an additional cost.
     
  2. Flood damage is covered. Not true. Most standard homeowners policies do not cover damage sustained by floods, even though 33 percent of policy holders think otherwise. Be sure to check your policy’s limits, and get flood coverage if you think you’re at risk.
  3. Mold damage is covered. Not true. Like termite infestation, mold damage is generally not covered under the typical policy, although some policies cover a limited amount of mold damage if the damage is the result of a covered water loss. Take measures to reduce your risk by:
     
    *Moderating your home’s humidity level.
    *Check for damp walls or carpets that could serve as mold breeding  grounds.
    *Repair water leaks promptly.
    *Replace washing machine hoses on a routine basis to avoid accidental leakage.
    *When leaving your home for an extended time, turn off water and drain pipes.
     
  4. Sewer backups are covered. Not true. Sewer backups are generally excluded from most policies, but some companies offer extra coverage for damage caused by water or sewage which backs up from off the homeowner’s property.
     
  5. Earthquake damage is covered. Not true. As with floods, standard insurance policies generally don’t cover earthquake damage, so if you feel your house is at risk, you may want to purchase a separate Earthquake endorsement to make sure you’re protected.

If in doubt, ask! Check with your insurance provider BEFORE disaster strikes and you find out you’re not covered for that.

Home and Commercial Inspections in the Columbia SC area is our specialty! Every year we help hundreds of clients save tens of thousands of dollars, by responsibly finding and exposing conditions that threaten property, value and safety. To learn how we may be able to serve you, please click and read, or call 803-261-5810.