video courtesy of Howcast
Here are my personal tips on Homeowners Insurance.
- Take the videos advice and check your policy annually. You may be able to save money, increase your limits, or cover new items that you have added to you home. My wife and I were recently surprised that it was possible for us to increase our coverage and cut our costs by about $300 per year.
- Having a relationship with your insurance agent can help. If they just sell you the insurance and they're done with you, they aren't the best agent in the world. Insurance agents function much like real estate agents - we thrive on referrals and our contact should not end at the close of a transaction. Look for a pro-active insurance agent who will hunt down new policies for you and make suggestions on how to improve your coverage or lower your costs.
- As you home appreciates in value, keep up with your insurance coverage. If you buy a house tomorrow and insure it for full value (let's say $100,000) and in 10 years your house burns down. Now is not the time to remember that your house has appreciated in value and you are not covered for the value of the house.
- If you have jewelry, let your agent know about it and have it insured on your policy. Our home was burglarized last year and we lost a lot of very good jewelry. We had never covered it - receipts, photos...nothing mattered to the insurance company. It was not covered and we lost the value of the jewelry and some very sentimental items. This applies to other big ticket items as well (art, electronics, antiques, etc.).
- If you belong to any trade organizations, check with them to see if they work with any insurance agents to provide discounts. Over the years we have saved on insurance through our affiliations with AFM and AGC.
- If you're looking for an insurance agent, a great place to start is by asking friends, family, and even your real estate agent.
All content ©2008-2010 by Matt Stigliano unless otherwise noted.
Matt Stigliano, Realtor® Becker Properties | (210) 646-HOME | www.RErockstar.com
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