{"id":5533,"date":"2019-09-21T09:23:09","date_gmt":"2019-09-21T13:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/?p=5533"},"modified":"2019-09-21T09:23:16","modified_gmt":"2019-09-21T13:23:16","slug":"homeowners-insurance-check-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/21\/homeowners-insurance-check-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Homeowners Insurance Check-Up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"homeowners<\/a>
Protect from flooding (infographic from ready.gov)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Have you thought about your homeowners insurance lately?\u00a0 Chances are that unless you\u2019ve made a recent claim, you probably haven\u2019t given it much consideration.\u00a0 If you\u2019re like most homeowners, you probably think that you homeowners policy <\/a>is a \u201cset-it and forget-it\u201d item.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s time for a “homeowners insurance tune-up” to make sure you\u2019re protected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, most homeowners don\u2019t really know too much about their homeowners policy until it\u2019s needed.\u00a0 And it\u2019s only when they make a claim they are surprised to know about the limitations of their policy.\u00a0 In fact, United Policy Holders<\/a> (uphelp.org) states that about two-thirds of homes are underinsured by an average of eighteen percent! (United Policy Holders is a non-profit whose mission is to be a trustworthy and useful information resource and an effective voice for consumers of all types of insurance in all 50 states).\u00a0 Besides the many underinsured homes, many homeowners are surprised to find out about policy exclusions when they make a claim.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although it may seem unfortunate, it\u2019s not unusual for home buyers<\/a> to underinsure their home at the time of the purchase to help save on their closing costs.\u00a0 They either believe they will upgrade their policy at a later date, and\/or believe that they will never have to make a claim.\u00a0 This is especially true for first-time home buyers, who are most vulnerable and rely on their Realtor and loan officer for advice.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help homeowners understand and chose their policy coverage, the Maryland Insurance Administration<\/a> publishes A Consumer Guide to Homeowners Insurance <\/em>(insurance.maryland.gov).\u00a0 First, understand the purpose of homeowners insurance is to help you recover from the financial effects of a loss that is covered by your policy.\u00a0 Additionally, a homeowners policy may \u201chelp protect you if someone is hurt or has their property damaged because of something you do or if something that you own hurts someone else or damages their property.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to The Guide<\/em>, there are a number of types of homeowners insurance.\u00a0 To save money, many homeowners opt for a specific hazard policy that meets the requirements of their mortgage lender.\u00a0 Nonetheless, they may not realize that their coverage is severely limited, and their home is underinsured.\u00a0 However, there are broad coverage policies that are more comprehensive.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The price of a homeowners policy is not fixed.\u00a0 There are many considerations that go into the pricing.\u00a0 For example, your insurance company will investigate if you have a history of making insurance claims.\u00a0 They will also research your home\u2019s claim history through a CLUE <\/a>(comprehensive loss underwriting exchange) report or an equivalent.\u00a0 Other considerations include (but not limited to) age and construction of your home, the access to and quality of local fire protection, amount of coverage, and deductible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One way to possibly save on your homeowners insurance is to adjust your deductible.\u00a0 A deductible is an out of pocket expense that is required from you when you make a claim.\u00a0 Typically, the lower the deductible, the more expensive the policy.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take the time for a homeowners policy \u201ccheckup\u201d with your insurance agent.\u00a0 Review your coverage and make adjustments as needed to protect you and your home.\u00a0 The Maryland Insurance Administration\u2019<\/a>s Consumer Guide recommends that your read the Declaration Page as well as your policy to make sure you have the coverage and amounts you requested.\u00a0 Also, because your valuables coverage may be limited or excluded, you may need additional coverage or policies.\u00a0 Also, consider purchasing a separate flood insurance<\/a> policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Original article is located at https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/21\/homeowners-insurance-check-up<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Dan Krell
Copyright\u00a9 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you like this post, do not copy; instead please:
link to the article<\/a>,
like it on facebook<\/a>
or re-tweet<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Protected<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Disclaimer<\/a>. This article is not intended to provide nor should it be relied upon for legal and financial advice. Readers should not rely solely on the information contained herein, as it does not purport to be comprehensive or render specific advice. Readers should consult with an attorney regarding local real estate laws and customs as they vary by state and jurisdiction. Using this article without permission is a violation of copyright laws.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you thought about your homeowners insurance lately?\u00a0 Chances are that unless you\u2019ve made a recent claim, you probably haven\u2019t given it much consideration.\u00a0 If you\u2019re like most homeowners, you probably think that you homeowners policy is a \u201cset-it and forget-it\u201d item.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s time for a “homeowners insurance tune-up” to make sure you\u2019re protected. … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Homeowners Insurance Check-Up”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-real-estate"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1VZLf-1rf","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5533"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5543,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5533\/revisions\/5543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dankrell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}