If you are in the market for home insurance, the varying number and types of insurance policies can become overwhelming and confusing very fast. This is why you need to know what to look for and what questions to ask any insurance agent you intend to do business with. Not just that, you also need to be sure that your preferred coverage is sufficient for your needs. You do not want to have to make compensation claims later on only to find out that your home insurance policy was not enough in the first place. With that in mind, here are some of the most important questions you need to ask any insurance agents you meet.
What Are Your Monthly Premium Rates?
The first question that you need to ask them is what their monthly premium rates are. This is important because if their rates are far higher than you can afford, there’s no need to continue with any further questions. Even if the insurance agent scores highly in all other areas of your assessment, if you can’t afford their prices, you would have wasted both their time and yours. Worse still, you might be pressured into signing up even though you may be unable to afford it. Besides, it is always a great idea to compare insurance rates from different providers. This way, you can get a decent deal.
Does Your Policy Extend to Water Damage?
This is a very crucial question particularly if you live in low to medium risk areas. Moreover, even if you do not you should still ask this seeing as the weather and climate can take a turn for the worse at any time. Most home insurance policies do not extend to water or flood damage. Some will, however, provide insurance policies that will cover any sewer back-up in your home. So, find out if you will need to take an extra sewer or flood insurance package. If they cannot answer this question, you should keep looking until you find an agent that can answer that question.
How Much Do You Charge for Deductibles?
In case you do not know what deductibles are, they are out of pocket expenses that you will have to fork over while the insurance company pays the rest. For instance, if you have a $2,000 deductible and your roof repair costs $7,000, you will have to pay $2,000 while the insurance company pays $5,000. As a rule though, you should know that the higher your deductibles, the lower your premiums will be. So, ask the agent and see what they charge, then compare the rates and decide.
Are There Any Discounts?
Most insurance companies will offer some discount on your home insurance costs if you have a security system, smoke alarm, fence, motion detectors, guard dogs or anything that will help minimize damage or loss in the house. Homes with little or no security, however, may not get any discounts as they are considered high risk.
Will You Provide Guaranteed Replacement?
The current value of your home will determine how much the insurance company will have to pay to rebuild it if the time ever comes. That said, most insurance firms will reassess and increase the value to match rising costs and current prices. However, even with that, you may still be underinsured. If this happens and there’s a guaranteed replacement policy included in your package, the insurance company will undertake the reconstruction regardless of whatever previous arrangement. This policy varies from provider to provider. So find out from your insurance agent about this.
By asking the above questions, you can be sure that both you and your insurance agent will come out of this with everything you both are after. For finding a good insurance plan, there are many online resources available such as Insurance Land to help you find the best deals.
The writer, Oscar King, is himself a homeowner who writes articles on the side with tips to his fellow homeowners to make sure their assets are covered and they will always be covered no matter what life throws at them. If you’re interested in learning more about Oscar you can visit on Google+.