Should your house need a claim due to floods, fire or any other related disaster, the “sum insured” is the amount of money for which your home will be covered. Let’s say your house is insured for $ 250,000.00, then the amount that will go back to you will exactly be just that, to help you rebuild your home and get your feet back on the ground.

The person in charge of preparing your home’s professional rebuilding cost assessment for buildings insurance purposes will be a chartered surveyor and a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. This person will make the job easier for you of finding out how much your buildings insurance should be insured.

There are insurance companies that have policies wherein they offer unlimited cover for buildings and contents insurance. This is a good thing, meaning you need not worry about how much cover you need on your possessions.

Previous knowledge tells us that home insurance is one thing and one thing alone. However, it is best to be educated now, while it is still early on, that there are two insurances your house MUST have.

1. Buildings cover – This type of insurance ensures that your house is covered should there be fire, etc.
2. Contents cover – Your possessions and contents of your house are well-ensured under this type of insurance.

These two types of insurance can be obtained separately, however, it is wiser and more cost-effective to buy it under one insurance plan.

Granting that you live in a community with more chances of being burgled than others, this would mean your premiums will be higher than those who live in the more safe places. If you, however, wish to pay less for your premiums, take my advice and do the following precautions so as to save you from all that money and all that stress.

Report any structural damage of your home at first sight to your buildings insurer. It is always a good idea to be one step ahead of everything that goes on inside your house. So before your walls fall down, better to have it repaired or reported to your insurer.

Plant trees at a good enough distance from your house. Planting trees very close to the walls of your home could be disastrous in times of strong winds and storms.

Clear all gutters regularly. Prevent your drainage system from being blocked so as to keep all gutters clean and regularly checked.
• Always check for leaks. You wouldn’t want to enter your house one evening and see all your belongings floating around the house.

Is it really NECESSARY?

Why wait for it to happen to you? Isn’t it they say that prevention is ALWAYS better than cure? And it always pays off to be prepared once the storms in our lives come. Literally and figuratively.

Home insurance – what do we know about it? Home insurance offers a wide range of services for everyone. From homeowners, to tenants and landlords. And it is highly advised by mortgage lenders that you apply for buildings insurance to obtain a mortgage.

Whatever is it for? Buildings insurance protect us from being too burdened with the many costs of having to rebuild back our homes due to strong floods, storms and fire. Hand in hand with the buildings insurance, the contents insurance protect us from being too burdened if ever our homes do get burgled at some point in our lives. With thefts occurring as a normal part of life, it is the contents insurance that ensures our things will be highly backed up and protected.

If you get surprised because your agent tells you one price but your bill is more expensive, don’t hesitate to ask your agent regarding this. The reason could be that there was a mistake made somewhere during the processing of your application. Check the insurance, deductible, scheduled items and policy endorsements and see if they are identical on the quote and the policy. If everything is okay then check with the agent or company. Sometimes there is a misunderstanding or misinformation involved and you need to talk this out. Tell the agent accurate information regarding your property and the specific coverage you want so that you would have what you expected.

If buildings insurance covers the main structure of the house, what does it not cover? Here is a list of common exclusions to buildings insurance:

1. General wear and tear, corrosion, mechanical/electrical breakdown
2. Computer viruses or loss of computer data
3. Damage resulting from acts of terrorism
4. War, invasion, act of foreign enemy, hostilities whether war be declared or not, civil war, rebellion, revolution or military/usurped power.
5. Radioactive contamination from nuclear fuel or nuclear waste.
6. Radioactive, toxic, explosive or other effect of any nuclear equipment.
7. Loss of value of an item following the payment of a claim
8. Some types of chemical or biological pollution or contamination

Insurance companies offer many types of discounts but not the same discount or same amount in all states. Example of this is discounts for retired people. Since they stay at home more than working people, they may spot fires sooner and be less likely burglarized. They may have more time to maintain their homes. If you’re retired and at least 55 years old, you are eligible for a discount of a maximum of 10% at some companies. Some employers and companies administer group insurance programs that may offer a deal that you would find better compared to other insurance programs.

If you shop around for insurance, you could save a lot. Check online sites, ask friends, check Yellow pages, contact state insurance department Also check online insurance quote services, insurance companies and consumer guides. Check the stabilities of the companies with rating companies. By doing so you will get an idea of how much insurance costs and you could choose what you can afford. But take note that cheap doesn’t mean good. You must demand quality service and talk to insurers to know what exactly to expect from your insurance. After that, you could ask them what they would do to lower the costs of your premiums.

Home warranty insurance is insurance that is acquired by the builder and issued to the homeowner. This kind of insurance is used to protect them against loss due to non-completion, defects and breach of statutory warranties by the builder. This is needed because it motivates builders to do their work well and the consumer to trust the builders’ work. This is required by law and only effective if a builder becomes insolvent, disappears or dies before finishing the house or fixing defects in the house. This doesn’t cover contractual disputes or defective work by a builder who is in business.

To make taking your claim easier, keep your policy documents in a safe place and your policy number and claims line number easily accessible. You could call them anytime of the day and the paperwork can be done quickly while talking on the phone. If you’re properly insured, you will be provided with a brand new item but there are a few exceptions to this. However if you need to make a claim, be sure that it’s honest because if you exaggerate, the insurer will refuse and cancel your policy. You may also find it harder to get insurance in the future.