Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Home Insurance and Renters Insurance: Why It is so Critical

By steve Putnam

If you are buying a home you know that you need home insurance. If you already own your home or are renting your home, you still should have home insurance. You need this to protect your investment if you own the home, and to protect your personal property whether you own or are renting your home.

You should keep a current itemized list of your personal property, including appraisals and receipts of purchase. You should also invest in a fire proof lock box or safe and store any things of sentimental value, monetary value, and your itemized property information. This is especially true if you own any fine art, antiques, rare jewelry, or coins for example.

You should also look at ways to lower the cost of your insurance premiums. You can install a security system, put deadbolt locks on all of the doors, update the windows, make sure you have working smoke detectors, and even owning a dog for protection against intruders is a good idea. These steps can also reduce your insurance costs.

Another thing that you can do is to keep all of your insurance with one company for example; life, auto, and home insurance at one agency can get you a discount. Renters insurance is relatively inexpensive because the insurance company does not have to pay for the home, just the contents in the home.

A lock fire proof lock box is something that you should have to place your personal documents and things of monetary value or sentimental value to keep them safe in case of a fire or other natural disaster. This can also help to decrease your insurance premiums.

Other ways to decrease your insurance costs is to invest in an alarm system, new deadbolt locks on the doors, updated windows, and a dog. These are a few ways to keep your house safe, and make your insurance premiums less. Other ways are to have a working smoke detector and fire extinguisher handy. Keep your furnace filters clean and clean dust and debris from around pilot lights. Keep your dryer free of lint and also the dryer exhaust hose.

If you are a renter it would be a good idea if your policy covered a down payment for a new rental or home. Just having your property insured is often enough for many people. If you have a family, you may want to have a place to live until you get a new home. - 16492

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