Entries Tagged 'home insurance' ↓

As with every group of businesses, there’s an association for the insurance industry. It’s called the Insurance Information Institute. When individual insurers fear adverse publicity, the III usually gets the job of making general announcements. That way, the news comes out with less damage to the member companies. So, for example, when there was flooding because of the melting snow and then the torrential rains, it was left to the III to warn people that the majority of policies do not cover damage caused when sewers back up. That’s not the most reassuring of news. Making equally bad reading was a report that premium rates for property insurance were likely to rise by an average of 3% this year. This reflects both the aforementioned bad weather and the rise in the costs of repairs. You might not have noticed it yet, but builders have been steadily increasing their charges. The price of gas has been rising, labor costs are up, replacement materials are more expensive – it’s all bad news even though there’s supposed to be a recession.

So why might you have a heart attack when your renewal notice hits the mailbox? Although the politicians may not have accepted the reality of climate change, the insurance industry is watching the statistics and reassessing weather risks state-by-state. There’s been tornadoes and major storms across the southern states. Their premiums will be rising faster. The other common reason flows from the insistence that you all shop around for your next policy. In the days of habit, you picked an insurer and bundled your auto and home policies. This earned you a discount and everyone was happy. As more people use internet search engines to find the cheapest auto insurance, they are breaking the bundle and the rate for the remaining home policy goes up sharply. You should always look at all your policies together and not deal with separate policies. Continue reading →

When facing an insurance case, people often find it frustrating to wait for the insurance company to settle their case and ask how long it takes to process a claim. Many customers look for legal support of their anticipation, asking if there are any laws regulating the duration of insurance procedures.

Every state has its own regulations and legislation concerning insurance activities to which the insurance companies have to abide. In some states you may also find things like “Unfair Insurance Practices Act” or “Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act”, which are more specific and targeted at insurance activities in contrast with broader laws and regulations presented in other states. The nuances and specifics of such regulations have their own peculiarities across different states, however there are certain common points that they all share in regard to insurance companies, imposing them to: a) accept your insurance claim within a specific period of time (usually 15 days); b) conduct a prompt investigation on your claim a) make everything possible to process and settle the claim with a clear liability. Besides, the insurance company has no right to refuse your claim a payment without delivering a valid and clear reason. Continue reading →

This might sound strange to you if you have spent the money on putting an insurance policy in place, but there are times when you should consider not making a claim. It really can protect you from greater losses if your premium rates suddenly rocket up or, worse, the insurance company decides it would prefer you to take your business elsewhere. So let’s take it one step at a time. Almost every policy imposes a duty on homeowners to make claims either within a set time or a “reasonable” time. If you miss out on a time limit, you have no right to claim. When is a claim made on a “timely” basis? You will be expected to notify the insurer of a theft or vandalism within days. Reports of serious damage will be expected within two weeks and certainly never longer than 30 days. This can put you under pressure if the policy requires you to get estimates from local contractors, but no-one ever said a policy was going to be worded in your favor. So, if you have reliable estimates of the amount lost and/or costs of repair, now comes the big decision. Continue reading →