Protecting Your Home: Beneficial Steps To Take When Purchasing Home Insurance

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After buying a home, one of the most important things you can do is purchase insurance for it. This process doesn't have to be hard when you take these steps.

Understand the Different Types

To help you make an informed decision, you need to first know what types of insurance you have access to. There are a lot of great choices today, such as HO-1, HO-2, HO-3, HO-5, HO-7 and HO-8 policies.

Most homeowners today get the basic coverage, which is HO-3 coverage. This policy is a hybrid of an open and named perils policy. Your home is covered based on an open perils policy, which specifically lists what perils your policy doesn't cover. Conversely, your possessions are covered on a named policy, which may be perils like fire, water damage and theft.

HO-5 insurance is another good option, and both your home and possessions are covered on an open perils policy. This insurance differs from an HO-3 policy in that existing coverage is expanded and new coverage can be added on.

Lower Your Costs

There are a lot of insurance policies out there that vary in price. In order to get the best deal possible and lower your insurance costs, there are several things you need to do. First, you should start by raising your deductible. Doing this can help you lower your premiums (monthly payments).

Potential risk factors in your home may cause your premiums to be high. You can lower them, though, by enhancing the security of your home. This includes installing a burglary system, setting up deadbolt locks on all of the doors, updating your heating systems and restoring all of the wiring that is within your home. Compare multiple insurance companies as well, so you can track down one that offers the most affordable insurance.

Take Inventory of Possessions

In order to get enough coverage for all of the possessions inside your home, you need to take an inventory and write down their specific dollar amounts. Start by tracking down receipts and recording how much items cost in your home – whether it's furniture, electronics or appliances in the kitchen.

Then, add these amounts together. This gives you an accurate figure for how much coverage you need from your insurance provider. In the event that something happens to your items, you can prove how much they cost with the inventory.  

If you are looking to protect your home from different things, such as natural disasters or break-ins, you need home insurance. Talk with an insurance provider, like Keyes Insurance Services Inc, to see what policy works for you. Buying this insurance doesn't have to be hard thanks to these steps.


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