General Business and Finance Blog

The real question is to decide exactly what government is for. One side may say there is no real need for centralized services of any kind except for defense and broader economic management. The other side will say government is there to offer some degree of protection to all the people who live in the country. This can be supporting minimum standards of education and healthcare, offering a safety net if there is unemployment, and so on. Thus, the little government side would always avoid regulation, saying it was for the markets to regulate themselves. While the big government side would be there with regulation every time it felt the markets were not working properly to protect people’s interests. There is no right answer. Capitalism as a system works well so long as the economy is sound. It gets confused about what should happen when a recession hits.

As an example of the knots politicians can tie themselves into, let us go down to Texas where the Democrats are challenging for the governorship. One of the top issues is proving to be the premium rates for homeowners insurance. The Democratic candidate asserts the rates are an average of $625 higher in Texas than in other states and this justifies detailed regulation to protect consumers. The Republican incumbent accepts the Texan rates are the second highest in the US, but denies the need to intervene in the market. As it stands, insurers do not have to seek prior approval for any rate increases. The Department of Insurance can intervene after the event if there is evidence the rates are excessive.

The campaign is coming down to a choice between keeping the current system or requiring all insurance companies to justify increases before being allowed to apply them. The insurance industry says any more regulation would kill whatever was left of competition on price. As it is, an insurer will lose market share if prices are raised too high. As the internet allows people to compare and contrast prices, it is quickly obvious when one company is out of line. If the state regulated prices, there would be no incentive to continue competition. The Democrats reject this saying the insurers collude to increase their prices together so that no company is ever really out of line. Since they are never asked to justify their increases, they think of a number and announce it. The largest homeowners insurance company, State Farm, has been locked in litigation with the Department of Insurance for the last eight years, alleging it wrongfully instructed it to reduce it premiums. Pending the outcome, no further premium rate increases have been challenged. Overall, rates have risen by 50% during this period.

How can you tell that you really need home insurance? Well, if you’re not planning any illegal things like insurance scam (which is definitely not a good idea, especially these days), it will be really hard to predict any situation when you will actually need some insurance coverage for protecting your house. Until, of course something bad happens and you will need the money to pay for the damage. However, there’s a range of circumstances that make an insurance policy for your house a really welcome if not necessary addition to your paperwork portfolio.

The following are the most typical events that will make having home insurance a necessity unless you have a lot of money and can rebuild your home from scratch without worrying about finances.

Fire

Fire is definitely one of the most hazardous of perils that can happen to a house. It has the potential to completely destroy an entire building within minutes and there’s a very little chance that any of your personal belongings will survive it. Fire is very hard to control and it can happen any time, with most cases of fire being reported when the home owner is actually away. It can be a spark from a malfunctioning home appliance or a cigarette butt that lights up a pile of dry leaves that you’ve left in your front yard. And the moment you arrive home you find nothing but a pile of ashes instead of all of your belongings. A standard homeowners insurance policy provides protection against any forms of fire.

Flood

Living in an area with no large bodies of water nearby doesn’t mean that you don’t have the risk of having flood damage in your house. Things like heavy showers, bad water pipes and even a broken washing machine can flood your house and damage a large part of your belongings beyond repair and restore. Sometimes, the damage from flood can be much worse that that caused by fire. Standard homeowners insurance policies do not carry coverage against flood damage and you will have to purchase such a policy as a weaver to your current one or buy it separately.

Earthquake

Earthquakes are certainly the hardest to predict and hardest to protect against of all natural disasters. An earthquake can destroy an entire town or city within just a few minutes, turning even the most durable of constructions into a pile of dust. And the best thing you can do during an earthquake is to stay away from your house that can collapse over you. Standard insurance policies include coverage against earthquakes, too. However, in order to make sure you will also be paid for the lost belongings you should have an inventory of all the items (especially valuables and electronics) with detailed information on every piece that can further be used for reimbursing the cost of all the lost belongings.

There are other circumstances that can also be a threat to your house and you want to have coverage against them. Having tornado insurance in an area where they are common is definitely a must. However, keep in mind that no one is imposing you to have home insurance, It’s a decision choice that can save you a lot of money and time in case something bad happens to your house.

Myth 1: Standard policies include coverage against flood.

Fact: All insurance providers do not include any flood coverage into their standard policies. In case you require this type of coverage you can purchase I either as an addition to your current policy or as a separate policy.

Myth 2: The Medical Payment part of the policy will pay for the injuries I and my family have sustained.

Fact: The Medical Payment part of a standard home coverage policy is designed to pay for the injuries any third party suffers at your property. Whether a friend, visitor, neighbor or worker gets injured within your premise the MedPay coverage will pay up to $1,000 per claim. However, nor you not any of your family members will be covered by this type of coverage as your medical policy takes force in such situations.

Myth 3: In case my home is completely destroyed the insurance company will pay for anything I tell them I had in the house.

Fact: In case your house gets destroyed due to different circumstances you insurance company will always ask you to make an inventory of all the items you have had in the house, including specific data like serial numbers, purchase prices and so on. If you cannot provide such information you won’t be reimbursed for the items lost. The best way to assure proper coverage of any lost items, you should make an inventory of all the items you have now with detailed information on every piece of equipment, jewelry, furniture or any other item.

Myth 4: Filing an insurance claim will automatically raise my premium

Fact: It all depends on how frequently you’re filing claims. If you have insurance situations once every few years, your premium might stay at the same level. If you’re filing claims on a regular basis, especially with no substantial reason for doing so, your premium will definitely go up. First of all, think whether you really need the coverage if the damage is minor and try to avoid filing claims too often.

Myth 5: Valuables like jewelry and furs will be paid for if stolen

Fact: Standard homeowners insurance policies have a limit on the amount of coverage used to pay for the stolen valuables like jewelry. Most policies limit this amount to $1,500, so if you feel you need more coverage on this specific type of risk you can purchase additional coverage and include it into your policy.

Myth 6: Flood coverage is useful only if you live in a flood area

Fact: Flood insurance coverage is strongly insisted in special flood zones, especially by mortgage companies that finance the purchase of new homes. However, if you live in a low risk zone it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t carry flood coverage with your homeowners insurance policy. A damaged water-pipe, heavy showers and even a broken dishwasher can lead to flood damage in your home, which otherwise won’t be covered by yours standard policy.

Myth 7: It is impossible to buy a home without homeowners insurance

Fact: In most cases you can actually purchase a home without having any insurance. However, most mortgage companies include strict requirements on certain types of coverage you have to buy in order to get the necessary financing if you’re purchasing your home using a mortgage loan.

Insurance policy for the house is often a single important investment most people make after actually buying a home of their own. An insurance policy is used for protecting the house, its contents and visitors from different circumstances that otherwise can be quite hard on your wallet. When you first start looking for a policy to insure your house with the number of options and providers can be overwhelming, making it hard to find exactly what you need. There are a lot of types of policies, different coverage options and amounts, special provisions and other elements that you may include in your policy. So it’s evident that learning more about home insurance is crucial before you start looking for an actual policy for your house.

Consider your options

When looking for a policy to insure your home with, always keep in mind the following tips as they will be very helpful for finding the right offer for a reasonable price:

• Take some time for comparison shopping – look for insurance quotes online, ask your agent or friends, who have purchased home insurance for their house. The more information you get from different sources – the better. Remember to get as much insurance quotes as possible before actually buying a policy. The difference between two companies can be impressive.
• Try purchasing home and other types of insurance from the same provider – this usually lets you get about 15% discount for each type of insurance you get.
• Increase the amount of your deductible – a higher deductible means that your premiums will be lower. However, always make sure that you can afford paying the amount of deductible you have chosen when needed.
• Make your house more durable – anything you do to improve the durability of your house that will help it resist a disaster will be a welcome action from the part of your homeowners insurance provider. Ask the company what you can do to improve your house and receive discounts.
• Make your house more secured – any improvement you make to your house that increases its security can give you a discount from the insurance provider. The best options are installing video systems, alarms, special locks, anti fire and smoker alarms. However, ask your provider about these improvements first because each company has its own requirements regarding security features of their customers.
• Always try to keep a good credit score – the price you pay for homeowners insurance is directly linked to your credit score. If you have a good score your rates will be much lower than if you have bad credit rating. Review your credit record, make everything possible to improve it and maintain a good score. This will lower your other insurance like auto and health insurance too.
• Try staying with the same provider – if the company you get homeowners insurance from has good rates and fair conditions, staying with the same provider for several years can qualify you for a special long-term customer discount, most insurance providers have. Ask your insurance company about that and see if you qualify.
• Review your policy on a regular basis – always make sure that your policy is adequate to your exact insurance needs. And if needed, modify it so that your house would be properly insured.