Entries Tagged 'Home insurance' ↓

It’s a sad fact of life but, when it comes to the causes of accidental damage around the home, one of the most common is fire. There are two main reasons. The first stems from the materials used to build your dream home. The sad reality is there’s a heck of a lot of wood in most modern buildings. It starts with wooden floors and ends with wooden frames to support a pitched roof. Why is there so much stuff that will burn? It comes down to one simple fact. Large parts of North America are covered with trees and this makes it a cheap building material. Not only is it quick and easy to use, but it also allows for considerable flexibility in the shape of the resulting construction. Better still, just as it’s cheap to put up your home, it’s equally cheap to clear the site and put up another one should something go seriously wrong. Add in the fact that most furniture and fittings are made out of wood or have a wooden frame, and you have the recipe for a first-class fire.

The second problem is the number of chances you have for starting a fire. Many people rely on gas for cooking which brings the equivalent of explosives into the building. If there’s a leak, a single spark can produce a fireball. Should you be cooking using oil, a single moment of carelessness can set the kitchen on fire. Then you come to the electrical wiring. How long ago did you have the wiring installed? The statistics show an increasing risk of fire through a short circuit as your home ages. Finally, there are all those other accidents around the home, in your garage or yard where something catches alight. We didn’t get to external sources like a lightning strike, a neighbor whose private fire spreads to your home, or the passing psychopath who thinks it would be fun to watch your home burn. Continue reading →

When facing an insurance case, people often find it frustrating to wait for the insurance company to settle their case and ask how long it takes to process a claim. Many customers look for legal support of their anticipation, asking if there are any laws regulating the duration of insurance procedures.

Every state has its own regulations and legislation concerning insurance activities to which the insurance companies have to abide. In some states you may also find things like “Unfair Insurance Practices Act” or “Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act”, which are more specific and targeted at insurance activities in contrast with broader laws and regulations presented in other states. The nuances and specifics of such regulations have their own peculiarities across different states, however there are certain common points that they all share in regard to insurance companies, imposing them to: a) accept your insurance claim within a specific period of time (usually 15 days); b) conduct a prompt investigation on your claim a) make everything possible to process and settle the claim with a clear liability. Besides, the insurance company has no right to refuse your claim a payment without delivering a valid and clear reason. Continue reading →

This might sound strange to you if you have spent the money on putting an insurance policy in place, but there are times when you should consider not making a claim. It really can protect you from greater losses if your premium rates suddenly rocket up or, worse, the insurance company decides it would prefer you to take your business elsewhere. So let’s take it one step at a time. Almost every policy imposes a duty on homeowners to make claims either within a set time or a “reasonable” time. If you miss out on a time limit, you have no right to claim. When is a claim made on a “timely” basis? You will be expected to notify the insurer of a theft or vandalism within days. Reports of serious damage will be expected within two weeks and certainly never longer than 30 days. This can put you under pressure if the policy requires you to get estimates from local contractors, but no-one ever said a policy was going to be worded in your favor. So, if you have reliable estimates of the amount lost and/or costs of repair, now comes the big decision. Continue reading →

When it comes to the rates you get for your home insurance there are numerous factors affecting them in complex. Starting with the location of your house to square footage and actual house type, as well as insurance claims history – these all contribute to the price you will have to pay every year. And if you want to change your actual rates you will certainly have to learn more about these factors and see how changing them can affect the amount of money to be paid for insurance. Continue reading →