Things to consider when purchasing your homeowners insurance

1. Don't always go with the cheapest rate. You can always find cheaper insurance than the major homeowner providers, State Farm, Allstate, Farm Bureau, etc, but going with a reputable company is worth the few extra dollars. If you ever have a claim and need help from your insurance company, you'll be happy you have an agent and not a 800 number to go through.

2. If you have auto insurance, it always makes sense to let the same insurance company insure both. Typically, most insurance companies offer discounts when they insure multiple things in a household, and the end result is you will save money!

3. When deciding how much to insure your home for, don't always think of what the market value is. Insurance companies are more concerned with what the replacement cost is for the home, not what you can sell it for in the open market. Example-Does it make sense to insure a home for $300,000 when it would only cost $225,000 to rebuild? The answer is obviously no. Remember, insurance companies are not insuring the land, which in most cases is wrapped into the mortgage, only the structure itself. Your agent can help determine what the replacement cost is of your new home by asking a few simple questions.

4. If you have a finished basement, make sure your homeowners policy covers water back-up claims. This is not flood insurance. Water back-up claims result from when your sump pump fails or the sewers back-up. It can even be caused by toilets backing up. These types of claims are usually expensive and without the water back-up endorsement, it typically is not covered under the general homeowners policy.

5. Don't carry too high of a deductible! When choosing a deductible, ask yourself what you would be comfortable paying in the event of a claim. If you are not in a position to pay the first $1,000 of a covered claim, then you should not carry that high of a deductible, lower it to a $500 deductible. Now, carrying a $500 deductible will cost more, but usually the difference in premium between a $500 and $1000 deductible (for example) is not very much at all.

6. If you are like most people and carry a mortgage on your house, do yourself and your family a favor and carry mortgage protection insurance. Mortgage protection insurance is a type of life insurance policy that will pay a death benefit equal to your outstanding loan amount. Be careful when choosing a company to go through for this. Check out their financial ratings to make sure you are confident the company isn't going anywhere, and its always good to have faith in the insurance company when its time to settle the claims.

Submitted by:
Kyle Dempsey // State Farm Insurance
6934 Indianapolis Blvd.
Hammond, IN 46324
219-845-1571
219-845-1574 (fax)

http://www.kyledempsey.com