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Friday, June 13, 2008

Do You Have The Right Amount Of Insurance On Your Home?

Recently, the Arizona Department of Insurance issued a press release on Wildfire Awareness.  While forest wildfires won’t impact those of us in the city, the information is important to all homeowners.

1. Do you have the right amount of insurance?  Marshall Swift/Boeckh, one of the national leading companies in property valuation, estimates that 66% of US homes are underinsured by an average of 18%.  You can get a list of replacement cost estimators at the AZ Department of Insurance website or visit my site at InsuranceRenegade.com for an online form.

2. Do you have the right type of insurance?  Flood and earthquake isn’t covered in your homeowner policy.  Do you operate a business out of your home?  Do you have replacement cost on your home and contents?  Do you have inflation guard?  Do you need to appraise any unique items for proper coverage? Etc.  Visit floodsmart.gov for consumer information on flood insurance.

3. Do you keep an inventory of your property?  If you have a claim, will you remember everything you own and will you be able to quickly itemize it for your adjuster?  You can try this free home inventory tool from the Insurance Information Institute.  You can also walk around your home with a video camera and record a video tour.  Technology has made it easy to store either of these electronically online so if there’s a loss you can easily retrieve it.

4. Check your smoke alarms and dryer vent hoses.  Change the batteries at least once per year in all smoke detectors.  Clean out your dryer vent hose to avoid a fire.  Practice an evacuation plan in case there is a fire.

I always recommend consumers visit the Arizona Department of Insurance website.  There is a wealth of information to help you protect yourself.

		Written By:  Matt Fox President - Fox Insurance Services, LLC (480) 699-7222 InsuranceRenegade.com
Click Here for an “Instant Callback” to speak with our office about your protection!

Other Articles Related to Insurance:
Common Home Insurance Coverage Misconceptions
Monsoons Make Arizona Homebuyers Rethink Toscana

Posted by Matt Fox on June 13, 2008 | Permalink

Comments

I'm a Toronto real estate agent and I guess the area in which I live is not quite as risky as some others on the continent. But nevertheless, a right type of ensurance is valuable for the peace of one's mind. And, considering the latest developement, things like inflation guard should be part of an insurance. It may sometimes look as you're overwhelmingly concerned, but I think it's all about knowing the worth of your money.

Posted by: Toronto real estate agent | Jun 15, 2008 6:55:44 AM

Good info. I forget about dry vents.

Posted by: Kevin | Jun 16, 2008 11:35:54 AM

Thanks for the info, I found your site helpful because I have always been interested in insurance !

Posted by: investment property Sofia | Jun 17, 2008 3:00:20 AM

I think this post is right on “target”. It seems it’s much easier to be successful getting a lot of a little rather than a little of a lot.

Posted by: Sofia apartment | Jun 19, 2008 1:29:00 AM

Great post. I took your advice. Thanks very much.

Posted by: investment property Sofia | Jun 19, 2008 1:31:35 AM

I took your adivce as well. I am not in Arizona but these things can happen anywhere. Thank you for your advice and also the information to help make sure we are insured propertly.

homebuyerfirst

http://first-time-home-buyers.com

Posted by: homebuyerfirst | Jul 21, 2008 6:09:59 AM

On the other hand, you also have to make sure that you are not carrying to much insurnce. When I received a 50% increase in the cost of my policy, I went to price a new policy. When I did, the old policy had a replacement value of $400,000. Since it is now valued at $250,000, unless the insurance company was going to build me a much nicer home, I was really over-insured and over paying.
I actually saved $500 by getting a new policy for the proper replacement cost. Something, we shoud look at.
Larry Lang
South Florida Real Estate
South Florida Homes

Posted by: Larry Lang | Dec 5, 2008 7:42:05 PM

Great writeup. This area is unbelievably overlooked when buying a home. Buyers are so concerned about closing and financing, often insurance is just an afterthought, and the bare essentials at that.

Posted by: Matthew Coates | Dec 24, 2008 5:54:29 PM

I agree with Larry. You can always be under insured but make sure you are not over insured as well. I have a great insurance company in Arizona that took all my rental properties that where under insured and increased the policies and actually saved me over 3K a year on those properties and then my primary residence was actually over insured and they redid that policy and saved my 1K a year on that. Now I have them review my policy annually to make sure I’m always accurately cover and not paying to much. So far they have saved me bundles.

Posted by: Brewer Cladwell | Feb 12, 2009 1:21:36 PM

I often wonder do most persons really just sign a policy without ever realizing what coverage they have?

Posted by: Alexandria Homes for Sale - Ellen Crawford | Jul 30, 2009 2:21:13 PM

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