Home Insurance Claims: Prevention Is Better Than Payouts

Also: Shopping For Homeowners Insurance Quotes Yields Savings

By Meha Ahmad, InsuranceAgents.com Staff Writer

Making fewer home insurance claims may be the key to saving money on your premiums. Home insurance is one of those things that everyone needs, but hopes they’ll never have to use. Remember, the more often you file home insurance claims, the more you may pay for your premium and the harder it will be to find affordable homeowners insurance quotes.

To save money right now, you can use our online quote form to compare up to five homeowners insurance quotes. Qualified agents will work to offer you the lowest homeowners insurance quotes in your area.

To limit the likelihood that you will have to file insurance claims, the best thing for you to do is to take precautions. Insurance will help you clean up the mess after it’s made, but your own safety measures will prevent the mess from ever happening and reduce how often you make insurance claims. The more a homeowner is viewed as “low risk,” the more affordable the homeowners insurance quotes they receive will be.

Take Precautions, Make Fewer Home Insurance Claims

If you’re looking for low-cost homeowners insurance quotes and reduce your insurance claims, be sure to follow these simple preventative measures:

Insurance Claim Tip #1: Prevent a fire. Home fires are one of the most common causes for home insurance claims. While it is disastrous, there are ways to reduce the amount of damage to your home and property if a fire does break out. Here are several fire-safety precautions that may also result in lower homeowners insurance quotes for you:

• First, clear away trees, firewood, or gas/propane tanks (perhaps in the nearby shed or attached garage): these materials can add fuel to the fire, increase damage and home insurance claims made. By having these materials near the house, your home is at a greater risk of damage and it may make finding cheap homeowners insurance quotes more difficult.
• Have fire extinguishers at hand on every floor of the house at least. Remember, you’re not going to have time to run upstairs if your fire is in the downstairs kitchen. To find cheaper homeowners insurance quotes, investing in fire extinguishers is a good idea that will prevent serious insurance claims.
• Do not overload electrical sockets. Ideally, homeowners are recommended to use one appliance for one socket, and unplug appliances when not in use (including the TV). Electrical sockets are often the cause of insurance claims.
• Install a smoke alarm. Having a smoke alarm will reduce insurance claims and help you find lower homeowners insurance quotes.

Insurance Claim Tip #2: Prevent burglaries. You won’t have to make insurance claims for a burglary if you make it near-impossible for a break-in to occur. Invest in a reliable security alarm, deadlocks, and window locks (particularly on windows on the ground floor and are easily accessible) to prevent burglary-related insurance claims later. If you have a ladder, do not keep it anywhere on the grounds that a burglar can find it; they can use it to gain access to your home. Each safety measure (alarm, deadbolt, motion-sensitive lighting, etc.) can get you lower homeowners insurance quotes and reduce premiums by 5 percent each.

Insurance Claim Tip #3: Prevent doubts. Document all of your personal property so your insurer doesn’t doubt your insurance claim. In the event of, say, a burglary, your personal belongings may all be taken. If you don’t document your home’s content ahead of time, it’ll only make the insurance claim process harder. Before anything happens where you’ll need to make an insurance claim, take photos, video and even a written inventory list of all your personal belongings and keep it in a location separate from your home, such as a safety deposit box.

Insurance Claim Tip #4: Prevent liability insurance claims. Often, homeowners insurance quotes will reflect the risk a property presents. A huge drain on insurance companies stems from liability insurance claims. If someone is hurt on your property, you are held financially responsible to cover all medical and legal costs. If your home presents any dangerous risks—for example, if you have an open backyard pool with no fence, a neighbor’s child can wander back there and get hurt or even die in the pool—the homeowners insurance quotes you receive may be much higher than you can afford.

Home Insurance Claim Preventions: Ask A Home Insurance Agent

Get in touch with a homeowners insurance agent. They can advise you on what precautions you can take to prevent your filing insurance claims. Remember, the fewer minor insurance claims you make, the easier it will be to find affordable homeowners insurance quotes and premiums. By using InsuranceAgents.com to shop online for homeowners insurance quotes, you can find low rates in your area today.

Published: Tuesday 4th August 2009