When buying a new home, you need two things: a homeowners insurance policy and a home owners insurance agent you can trust. Your home owners insurance agent is going to be directly responsible for the coverage of your property and your liability as a homeowner. Your homeowners insurance agent MUST be trustworthy, reliable and someone you are very comfortable with and who will go to bat for you come claim time. But how do you find a great homeowners insurance agent? Use our instant agent finder to locate local agents in our network, ready to help answer your questions.
Here are a few tips:
If saving money is your aim, the best thing you can do is shop around. You can even check for insurance quotes online. The best thing about shopping around is the competition that builds between home owners insurance agents. When you shop for quotes, they know other home owners insurance agents are also vying for your business. That makes them work harder to get you as a client and offer you the best available plan at an affordable rate. The best thing about shopping around is that you can find an agent and a plan that suits your needs. For instance, you should know whether or not your home insurance agent provides mortgage protection insurance options or can suggest a company that their agency works with, to help you in times of financial need. You home insurance agent should care about making sure you're covered in the case of job loss.
A great source is real estate agents, preferably the one who helped you find your current home (but if you’ve got a real estate agent in the family, that works, too!). Many real estate agents work with homeowners insurance agents, so they’ll have an idea of which homeowners insurance agent is the best fit for you and your home.
When interviewing home owners insurance agents, feel free to ask about discounts and deals they may be able to offer you. Not only will this give you the opportunity to save you a ton of money, but it'll also give you an idea of which homeowners insurance agents have your best interests at heart or their own bottom line. Tip: With your homeowners insurance agent, discuss safety measures (like an alarm in your home) that can get you a discount on your policy.
What you want from your homeowners insurance agent is education and expertise. You’re not paying for a novice to handle your property and financial future (the more “green” an insurance agent, the higher the risk for coverage gaps in your policy). Don’t be shy to ask specific questions about their background, their education and how long they’ve been a homeowners insurance agent. Also, ask specific questions about, perhaps, how the age of the house will affect your premium, or how much of your personal property (jewelry, antiques, heirlooms, etc.) is covered and under what circumstances. Ask your homeowners insurance agent about what kind of coverage you’ll have to purchase additional insurance for and how that will affect your rate.
Make sure you speak with licensed home owners insurance agent. If it makes you more comfortable, ask for proof of their license. It’s incredible the amount of “homeowners insurance agents” practicing in the field who do not have proper licenses. Check with your state’s insurance department to make sure your homeowners insurance agent is properly licensed.
If you're not sure where to start, simply fill out our no-obligation, free insurance quote form.
Published: Wednesday 11th March 2009
