7th February 2012

Filling a home insurance claim

January 8th, 2010 Cat: Financial Services with No Comments »

The least pleasant and most stressful moments of home insurance is of course filing a claim. Insurance companies are rarely happy to receive a claim from their customers, although it their direct job to handle these things. And most people, especially when having and insurance situation for the first time, are quite nervous about contacting the company. To make it a bit easier both for you and your insurer, here are some steps to follow in order to file a claim and get all the benefits of your policy when they’re needed.

1. Inform your company about filing the claim as soon as possible. Contact your insurance agent to discuss any damage that you think your insurance policy should cover. This is the person that will help you with information and advice on how to proceed according to the coverage your policy delivers. It’s better to have all the information regarding your policy and your agent’s contact information somewhere outside your home (in the wallet for example). It is also recommended to record all your conversations with the agent to have a reference if needed.

2. Evaluate and document the overall damage to your property for the claim. The best way to do that is to have a digital video or photo camera to record all the damage along with comments and documentation immediately after the property was subjected to any influence. Keep these recordings and documents available when needed, having multiple copies will also be handy.

3. Make intermediate repairs before your policy kicks in. You have the responsibility for your property after the damage and should prevent it from getting even worse. If there’s a leak in the roof, try stopping it in order to avoid getting your house flooded. Remember to store all the receipts from the store when buying repair supplies, but keep the expenses reasonable in order to avoid reimbursement denial from the insurance company.

4. List all the items on your property you think are missing or damaged. Ask your family for help, inspecting one room after another and listing all the items that are damaged. It is very important when you have replacement cost coverage, because all of the damaged items will be replaced by new ones even if the old ones were much cheaper in value. Having an inventory list of your property before the damage done will be very helpful for processing the claim so take your time to do that after taking even a cheap home insurance policy.

5. Be patient. In case the damage was caused by a natural disaster with the whole area being affected it may take a longer time for you to get coverage, because those with more serious damage are likely to be covered first. Keep track of what is going on with your claim and speak to your insurance agent from time to time. In case you suspect that your insurance claim is not processed properly and laid off, even if it’s cheap home insurance, you should contact your state insurance department with a complaint. This is especially important if the damage to your house makes it impossible to live in it.

Is your health a healthy option?

December 11th, 2009 Cat: health with No Comments »

If nobody is willing to take you on the insurance plan or you can’t get any type of coverage due to your health condition such as heart attacks, strokes, epilepsy or other serious illnesses don’t give up to early. Don’t think this is the end and please do not feel left alone or useless. There is just some other variant waiting for you. But, as a matter of fact, before you get used to some other idea of “insurance” substitution you should know that if you stay for 63 days without any type of insurance it will be very problematic to get one afterwards. Here are some plans that you may use but please read carefully through them.

Plans with discounts: Insurances can hit your wallet with a wooden stick if you are not careful about them. That is why these so-called plans with discounts started to appear. You can get info on the plans with discounts of insurance company’s websites as they are known to satisfy needs of every client they have. Anybody will find something suitable for himself there. Get your consultation daily on internet’s best websites dedicated to insurance and health. But let us introduce you to what is named: plan with discounts. This plan will never pay for hospital – so don’t even count on it. But you will receive your discount – from 20 to 60% off the original payment you are supposed to make for it. Some plans will even offer you a discount as big as 80% so that definitely helps. But don’t get happy before you find out more precisely about these discounts and how you can receive them. It is important to talk to your doctor about this plan. Healthcare institutions always have their own staff that is willing to help you with any of your questions so do not hesitate to ask anything you like. These insurance plans are not your regular insurance but they can substitute it good though won’t work together with a real insurance.

Indemnity plans: These plans are to be paid at the event of an accident or some misfortune that happened to you. It doesn’t have to be something serious but regular illness and hospitalization may count as well. What one has to know about this insurance “substitution” is that there is a premium that you have to pay that will surely cover all of the members of your family. If you suffered some case of sickness, you can file a claim and the company will compensate you, giving you the money back. Let’s view such an example – you were taken to hospital and it costs quite a lot. Let’s say it is 600 dollars per day but that is the treatment you need to receive. Most companies will do the following – they will show you the most they will pay for your treatment, giving you a chance to add to the sum from your own pocket. This is not good but that is the most they can do for you.

Health insurance plans are always the best option but for those who cannot obtain such a plan there is always an alternative. What you must know is that it is easy to trip and fall into some trap with anything – whether it is health insurance, discount plan or indemnity plan. For you not to suffer a case like this please use resources or health insurance quotes to find out more. We wish you to stay healthy!