Just a few simple measures and you can save a fortune on your house insurance bill Herald.ie
29.08.11
One bill that seems to spiral ever upwards is home insurance. Whether it's the bad winter, excess flooding or more robberies, there's no doubt your premium will be up this year. But there are things you can do to keep a lid on costs.
First of all, and most importantly, there's a good chance you're over-insured. During the boom, building costs were at a premium and cover had to reflect this. These days, builders are ten a penny and you should only cover yourself for what you need. The Society of Chartered Surveyors' excellent website (www.scsi.ie) outlines actual rebuilding costs, as does the RSA (www.rsagroup.ie) where you can find out how much YOUR home would cost to rebuild.
Do not let your insurer dictate the costs. Find out for yourself.
Contents insurance is a bugbear. We hate when insurance companies assume a 50pc rule -- we reckon you could replace everything from the plasma telly to the freezer for 30pc of the building cover, but a spot check is worth carrying out.
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Homeowners insurance to look for? Here are the best places to look for insurance companies and insurance rates.
Where to compare companies
When you buy homeowners insurance that you only want the best price, you also want a reliable company that will be there when you need it and pay claims on time. Here are three sites where you can review the insurance companies:
1. Your status Department of Insurance – All States have a department of insurance website that includes information for consumers. Most of these sites maintain a list of complaints against insurers by policyholders unhappy.
The number of complaints a company gives you a good idea of how it treats its customers.
If your state does not list the consumer complaints, you can get this information to the California Department of Insurance website. GBa. insurance ca.gov, click on "consumers" at the top of the page, then click on "Studies and Documents" and "Consumer Complaint Study."
2. JD Power & Associates – JD Power consumer satisfaction rate characteristics on the basis of policies offered, pricing, billing and payment, and to communicate with the insurer. Their notes to give you a good idea of how a company treats its customers and how it pays its claims.
To see the site of a company go to JD Power:jdpower.com, click on "Insurance" at the top of the page, then click on "Notice of Insurance Company of Owners" at the bottom of the page.
3. AM Best – AM Best financial website provides information on insurance. Compagnie their assessments will give you a good idea of their financial stability and ability to pay their debts.
To check the financial evaluation of business information on AM Best, visit: ambest.com, click"Assessments and...
