In Europe, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) gave a warning about the alarming danger caused by global warming. If nothing is to be done about this environmental issue, there is a tendency that the present value of the claims can be doubled or tripled by the middle part of the century. ABI desires that the climate change must be considered when it comes to designing the accounts of flood defenses and to check the regulations implemented in buildings so that it will be a bit more opposed to the bad weather. They also reminded that motor insurance must also be considered in this issue.
Most of you may not notice it, but the constant climate change cause an increase in number risky weather conditions. As homeowners, it is our responsible to be prepared as early as possible by checking the present home insurance that one has. In the recent horrifying storms, about 35% of the affected homes failed to purchase a home insurance.
Better prepare your home by checking the roofs, trees, tiles and gutters. Lawn furniture must be secured as early as now. You must be sure that these valuable items are included in the coverage.
Most of the time, there are delays in giving out payouts after big incidents that’s why insures gave an advice to homeowners that they must have an emergency repair fund for faster repairs and to avoid bigger damage.
Just a year ago, storms invaded some parts of the world. A lot of roofs of British homes were destroyed because of the high winds in 2007 that is worth £5billion in total damage. Halifax Home Insurance made a report and said that the estimated total cost of the damage caused by the wind is £2,800. The insurers were covered and the parts of the houses that mostly got damaged are the sheds and gardens.
A senior claims insurance manager named Martyn Foulds gave a piece of advice to homeowners to perform systematic inspection on houses from the ground level up. The high winds can cause a lot of damage on our homes. The water can come in through the broken or missing tiles.
by: Christine Zafra
Do you find fireplaces romantic? Oh yes, imagine your hubby/wife with you on a cold Christmas eve, drinking wine in front of the fireplace. Isn’t that sweet?
Though fireplaces give you benefits during cold seasons (aside from the fact that it adds to the ambiance of your home), insurance companies might raise their eyebrows and question you about it. Before you can install a fireplace (or any other wood burning appliance), you need to get a permit. You can’t just get a hammer and chip off a part of your house so that you’ll have a fireplace this coming Christmas—there’s a building code for that. If your wood burning appliance does not comply with the code, chances are, you can say goodbye to your insurance too (or if you’re lucky enough, just get your house a little devalued).
Photo taken from http://www.germes-online.com
by: Christine Zafra
Old homes are fortunes. Those old Victorian style houses you see around plush villages that date back around 1800’s are worth millions. But, if you think these houses can get as much in insurance companies, you’re wrong.
I’m not saying all old houses are valued little by insurance companies, but chances are, if these houses have the old “knob and tube” wiring system, then yes, insurance companies may lessen the value of your home.
The knob and tube is an open wire type of wiring. In addition to that, old homes do not have much electrical boxes installed in their homes. What most owners do is they attach new electrical boxes to the old ones. This is hazardous according to insurance companies since this can cause overheating, short-circuit and on extreme cases, fire.
Photo taken from http://images.oldhouseweb.com
by: Christine Zafra
Aluminum wiring was widely utilized in some homes about four decades ago. However, some problems have been associated with these handy, ready made electrical insulators such as, overheating and failure of some of the electrical boxes; and these problems are covered by home insurances. Some signs of faulty aluminum wirings include the discoloring of the surroundings of the electrical boxes, the flickering of some bulbs or perhaps the smell of burning electric. These aluminum rods are said to be compatible to 220 volt circuits but not to the most widely used 110 volt circuits in the United States.
Some insurance companies, upon inspection of your home and upon discovery of these wires, can devalue your homes because of these.
Photo taken from http://www.copper-aluminum-wire.com
One of the largest ventures that a person makes is buying a home, and protecting it would be your main concern. A standard insurance provides coverage for damages, including the major items, in your home. The coverage includes the following causes: theft, fire, smoke, frozen pipes and ice and snow. They also cover homeowners’ claims for liability, third party medical payments and legal costs for lawsuits filed against you. However, most insurers do not include damages brought about by acts of war, nuclear disaster, terrorism and natural calamities – flood, volcanic eruption and earthquake. These events can be covered by separate insurance policies
Thinking of improving your home? Replace a roof? Before starting, update your home insurance. Any renovation or remodeling done on your home, it doesn’t matter whether it is a small or a major one, will certainly raise the value of your home. Check the provisions of your property insurance and make sure that they show the changes you add to your home. This addition should be specified in your policy to ensure that if anything happens that cause damage to your property, they will be covered by your insurance. If you hired someone to do the renovations, check whether that the person is insured or you may be held liable for any accident that may happen to him.
In order to lessen the risk of being caught unaware of accidents happening during the construction of a new home, you should avail of a standard homeowners’ insurance policy. This will insure you for any damage to the building while it is being constructed, and may also afford some coverage for the loss of construction materials. It also provides liability coverage, just in case something happens to the people working on the construction or to anyone else who happen to be it that place. Coverage for personal property will commence only once security measures for the building are in place.
Now that you’ve confirmed that the insurance company you are eyeing is not a ‘scam, it’s time to take a look at the financial strength of the insurer. Make certain that it maintains sufficient reserves in order to pay claims in the event of large catastrophic disasters. There are also insurance rating services that rank the financial strength of insurance companies .
It also advisable for you to ask your neighbors. You may find that a lot of your neighbors insure with a particular company that has a good track record with respect to payment of claims, and generally has decent premium rates for your neighborhood.
