Wednesday, March 6, 2013

All Peril, Wind/Hail, Percentage Deductibles...what?

Homeowners insurance has been in the hot seat for the past few years with the increased number of major storms that seem to be happening each year. Traditionally homeowners policies were rather inexpensive for all of the coverage you would have. The likelihood of a total loss is pretty small but the chance of wind damage is getting more and more likely. To battle the rising dollars in claims payments and the lousy financial markets, insurance companies have had to increase the premiums quite substantially over the years. One way companies are trying to offset some of these rate increases are to make changes to the deductible options. This can cause some major confusion for the average homeowner that buys an insurance policy expecting just to have a small amount of money out of pocket if they have a claim. Most companies have done away with the lowest deductible options of $100 or $250 and now have a minimum for new customers at $500, $1000, or even $1500. If you had one of those low deductibles at one time, you might want to check your current policy because a lot of them have increased as the policies renew. Some companies have a minimum requirement based on whether or not you've had a claim in the last few years or not as well which could be a percentage of your total coverage rather than just a set dollar amount. Some have higher deductibles for if you have a loss that is from wind or hail and a lower one for all other damages. If your policy has renewed and you haven't seen much change with your premium, make sure you know what your deductible is - they may have increased it to offset raising your premium and what they've done is just made you share in a little more of the risk. I encourage all of my clients to choose the highest deductible you could comfortably afford at the time of an unforeseen disaster so that you can take advantage of the up front savings. But keep in mind - it is real  money that you will have to pay or have your claim payment reduced by if you do have a loss. If any of this is unclear in your current policy  - give us a chance at MVP Agency to look over your policy and help you understand it so that you can decide if that or something better would be your best value. With our affiliation with some of the top rated insurance carriers that all have different guidelines and deductible options we can search out a plan that will suit just what you are looking for and you get to decide how you want to be covered rather than just keeping a policy that may have renewed at something other than what you chose originally.

 -Alison Speck

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