Courtesy of iii.org For many people, their home is their greatest asset, so it is crucial to avoid being underinsured. To properly insure your home, it is important to ask your insurance professional four key questions. 1. Do I have enough insurance to rebuild my home? Your policy needs to cover the cost of rebuilding your home at current construction costs. Unfortunately, some homeowners simply purchase enough insurance protection to satisfy their mortgage lender. Others confuse the real estate value of their home with what it would cost to rebuild it. Quite simply, you should have enough insurance to rebuild your home in the event that it is completely destroyed. Be sure to consider the following: Replacement cost - Most policies cover replacement cost for damage to the structure. A replacement cost policy pays for the repair or replacement of damaged property with materials of similar kind and quality. Extended replacement cost - This type of policy provides …
Floods & Insurance
Courtesy of iii.org Floods occur in every region and 90 percent of all natural disasters the United States involve some type of flooding. Minimize the damage and losses from a flood by taking these precautions. Understand flood watches and flood warnings There are different alerts for floods, depending on the type of and immediacy of the potential danger. Educate your family and yourself about your community's flood warnings: Flood watches are issued when rain is heavy enough to cause rivers to overflow. Flood warnings describe the severity of the situation and indicate when and where the flood will begin. Flash flood watches are issued when heavy rain is occurring or is expected to occur. Flash flood warnings are issued when flooding is occurring suddenly. In the event of flash flooding in your area, move immediately to high ground. Take practical measures to protect yourself, your family and your property Preparedness is paramount when it …
Why Create a Home Inventory?
Courtesy of iii.org Creating and updating an inventory of your personal possessions is one of the best ways to make the most of your homeowners or renters insurance, and makes filing a claim easier and more efficient. A home inventory is simply a list of your personal possessions along with their estimated financial value. You can create a home inventory in a simple, low-tech manner by writing down everything in a notebook and keeping receipts in a folder. Or you can take advantage of technology and use a digital camera or smart phone or app to make your record. No matter how you choose to do it, the important thing is to take action. An up-to-date home inventory will: Help you purchase the right amount and type of insurance. Having an accurate list of all your possessions helps you to have a more productive conversation with your insurance professional when making decisions about homeowners or renters insurance coverage. After all, if you don’t know what you have, how …