It could be a snowy day in January when someone knocks on your door and wants to sell you the world’s greatest vacuum cleaner. Since you already have a perfectly good vacuum cleaner, you politely turn them away. Disappointed, the ambitious sales person turns around, takes two steps, and then slips and falls on an icy patch of concrete on your property. If they get injured, you could be responsible for their medical bills.

That is just one reason why you need home insurance. Your Minnesota home insurance policy not only covers liability claims resulting from injuries sustained by visitors to your property, but also covers damage to your house or loss of personal property.

Not every insurance company sells home insurance and companies that do sell home insurance charge different rates for a policy. When you have a mortgage, your lender will require you to carry home insurance. Even if you own your house free-and-clear and are not obligated to carry a home insurance policy, it is usually a smart idea to still maintain coverage. If you don’t have coverage and you suffer a loss to your dwelling or property, you alone will be forced to bear the expense of repairing or replacing what was lost. Worse yet, if someone is seriously hurt on your property and you are found liable, you could face a lawsuit for hundreds of thousands, or even a million dollars. If a judgment goes against you, you could be wiped-out financially. You could even lose your house!

It is important to select the right insurance company when you are buying home insurance. You want a company that is fair when you suffer a loss. Some insurance companies will deny valid claims or only pay you a portion of your loss. Some insurance companies charge rates that are significantly higher than other insurers. By using an independent agent who can get you quotes from a number of home insurance companies, you can get the best coverage for the most affordable rate.

When a fire occurs and your house is damaged from the smoke, it may be necessary to file a claim with your home insurance provider. Although many policies will cover any damages that are related to a fire, including the damages from smoke, the exact details relating to the plan can vary.

Type of Policy

Before you assume that your insurance provider will pay for all of the damages to your property, look at the type of policy that you purchased. Be aware of the method of replacing or repairing the damages. Generally, insurance providers will either provide the replacement cost of the item or the market value based on depreciation rates.

The type of policy that you purchased can impact the amount that you receive after filing a claim and the details related to the damages that are covered.

Provide Appropriate Paperwork

Although you may be able to make a claim, it is important to file the appropriate paperwork. You may be asked to provide details related to the items that were damaged from the smoke. Furthermore, you will be asked to provide official reports and any details that are relevent to the situation.

Insurance providers can ask for a variety of documents, so make sure that you provide as many details as possible so that your claim will go through. The details that are required can vary between policies and insurers.

There are a variety of factors that contribute to making a claim on your homeowner’s policy, but most plans will protect against damages from smoke or fires. The exact amount of coverage that is available may vary based on the plan that you purchased. To learn more about filing a claim after a fire, contact us to talk to an agent today.

If you’re concerned about the high cost of homeowners insurance premiums, there are things you, a homeowner, can do to lower your rates, add value to your home, and increase your sense of safety at home. As your independent agent in Albertville, MN, we will help you understand every factor that might impact your homeowners insurance premium rates, and show you what you can do to cut those rates.

Safety Factors

We look at things that might impact our bottom line. A secure home is less likely to be a target for burglars. Realtor.com encourages all homeowners to look for discounts on homeowners insurance they may be missing. One of the most common missed discounts relates to home security. People who live in gated communities, for example, may be eligible for discounts on their premiums because the gated enclosure gives them added security.

As MSN Real Estate explains, it doesn’t occur to most people that insurance companies look at the crime rate in their neighborhood. You may be living in a well-built, secure home, but if all your neighbors live in less secure homes, and many of the homeowners have filed claims with their insurance companies lately, that could really impact your home insurance rates.

The government’s Insurance Information Institute suggests that you can cut your premiums by five percent by installing dead bolts, smoke detectors and burglar alarms. The institute goes on to add that some companies will cut rates by as much as 15 to 20 percent for homeowners who have automatic sprinkler systems, or home security and monitoring systems that automatically contact the police or fire department if an alarm is triggered. These are not cheap systems, so it is important to weigh the cost of the system against the long-term savings you’d get on your home insurance rate.

Many homeowners make a common mistake when deciding on the amount of homeowners insurance they really need. They consider the cost of the house, forgetting that to insure their contents on top of the house itself, they need to increase the amount of their homeowners insurance to include the cost of those contents. When you are talking about the type of coverage your need for your home, ask your independent agent to explain how the dwelling coverage part of your policy works. Most companies put a cap of 75 percent of the total dollar amount of your home insurance policy so you couldn’t receive any more than that amount for your jewelry or art work – regardless of their appraised value.

Kiplinger explains that although these possessions may be included in your standard home insurance, the amount the company is likely to pay you for certain items like jewelry may only be $2,000 or $3,000 at the most, unless you insure each of your valuables separately. What’s more, while you may be protected against theft, you probably won’t have that coverage for breakage.

USA Today urges homeowners not to assume that their homeowners policies will cover them for valuables like art and jewelry, or even an ATV. A more likely scenario is that IF you were even covered, the amount of your reimbursement would be far less than the value of the piece or pieces, and wouldn’t factor in appreciation from the time you bought or received those items.

The best way to protect your valuables, is by asking your insurance agent to show you options for adding endorsements or riders to your existing homeowners insurance policy. By insuring valuables separately and having a floater – or policy that buffers your standard homeowners coverage, you also don’t have to pay a deductible if you had to replace them. You may be able to get broader riders, floaters or endorsements to cover your jewelry in bulk so you don’t have to insure every item individually. The same goes for artwork.

To be sure you have adequate coverage for these valuables, make a point of having yearly reappraisals on valuables you insure with an endorsement to increase your coverage. You don’t want to be under insured for valuables you couldn’t afford to replace, if the insured value is lower than the appraised value. Also insist on insuring art work, jewelry and other valuables for replacement cost, because any other coverage subtracts depreciation– even on valuables that appreciate