No homeowner wants to have to file a home insurance claim, but sometimes due to our own lack of foresight, it does happen. The majority of home insurance claims, which boost the insurance rates, were from completely preventable accidents. If you know what to do, you can keep your premiums at a minimum and manage to keep your home safe, at the same time.

Some insurance claims are particularly common and can be prevented if you know what to watch for.

Water Damage

Pipes leaking or freezing can cause a lot of water damage in a short amount of time. Often, we don’t notice leaking pipes until they have already caused a lot of problems. The best way to prevent this very common issue is to inspect pipes on a regular basis and get them fixed immediately if you find any problems. Don’t wait for a major drop in water pressure to warn you that there’s a big problem, have a plumber check out any suspicions.

Frozen and burst pipes can be an issue during the winter in colder areas. If you are going to be out of the house for a while, be sure to set the thermostat above freezing and arrange for someone to check the place a couple of times a week while you are gone, particularly if there is a sudden drop in the temperature.

Electrical Fires

Most fires that cause damage to a home are due to poor wiring or a short circuit. Older homes are certainly more vulnerable to this issue, but any home can suffer from an electrical fire if they aren’t careful.

Regular inspections of cables and cords should be done every 3 months or so. Look for sockets that are coming loose, wires on appliances that may have been stripped or separated from the plug head a bit, and anything else. Wires should never be run under a carpet or across an area where they will be stepped on, since this can cause some serious problems with fraying and later cause a fire.

If you move into a new home, have an electrician do a complete inspection for faulty wiring, just to be on the safe side. Yes, it will cost you, but in the end, it’s worth it because you’ll have lower monthly home insurance rates.

Lamps, Christmas lights and other lights should be turned off rather than left on all night. The majority of electrical fires start during the winter, particularly during the holiday season.

Burglary

You’ll want to make sure that your home is as secure as possible against thieves who could not only cause damage to your home, but also your family. Make sure there are locks on all windows and doors and install an alarm system.

An automatic light system can be a great safety item, turning lights on and off randomly throughout the house while you are away. Even if you tend to work late, this can be helpful, keeping the potential burglars in the dark as to when you actually get home. A predictable schedule puts your home at risk.

Keeping your home safe and secure is just common sense. You don’t want to suffer from any problems in the home, of course, but the added problem of having the rates for your home insurance rise is a big problem when things go wrong.

Take the time now to prevent these common issues and make sure that you schedule routine inspections and you should have no problems with your insurance. Most problems are completely preventable, so you’ll be covered when something unexpected happens.

This is in continuation with our earlier article on �All Your Life Insurance Premium Queries Answered�. Most people make sure to enquire about obvious questions like how the premium is to be paid, how frequently, its tax implications and what if it lapses. But there are also some not so general questions that might slip your mind while purchasing a life insurance policy and could create huge problems later. Like how about if you forget where you have kept the original documents pertaining to your insurance? What if they get misplaced, burnt or stolen?
What if after a few years of buying insurance you realise that the policy is worthless and you might not get much return from it on maturity and hence stop paying premiums altogether? Or from the bulk of policies that you have, you have forgotten to pay premium on some policy for the last few years? Can you get anything back from this policy after not paying premium for so long?
And finally, did you find out if your policy makes you eligible for loans and up to what limit? After all, it is always better to be aware of any and all cheap loan options, just in case you need one some time! Below we try to address some of these irregular but important questions about life insurance.
�What should be done if an insurance policy is lost?
First of all you must try your best to locate it; it is likely that you might have kept it in the office or at home or maybe in a bank locker! It is also possible that your insurance agent might have forgotten to hand over the original document to you, so confirm with him too. Try to remember if you promised it as security against some loan you could have taken. It is always a good idea to make duplicate copies of such important documents in case if the originals get lost or destroyed.
You will need to apply with the insurance company for another copy of your policy which they may provide upon furnishing some documents like past premium receipts and other ID proofs.
�Is there any return on a policy for which premium has not been paid for last few years?
Depends. If you pay the due premium with interest during the grace period, your policy could be reinstated. In case your policy has been in force for less than 3 years and you fail to pay premium for some time, then the insurance company is not obliged to give you any returns. If your policy is older than 3 years and you have missed paying last few premiums, then you might be eligible to some form of surrender value depending upon your policy type, term, duration, amount etc. But all this varies from one insurance company to another.
�What is the loan facility available on a life insurance policy?
Not all insurance policies are eligible for loan. For example, the basic term insurance does not provide loan benefit. But most other policies like with profit, guaranteed returns and even ULIP policies can provide loan facility, depending from company to company and on different policy types. It is prudent to enquire about it from the company at the time of taking out a policy or refer to the company brochures for details. The loan amount is arrived at after considering several factors like nature of policy, term, duration, premium amount etc and may be easily available in the initial years of taking the policy. Almost 80% – 90% of the surrender value can be taken as loan and must be repaid with interest during the tenure of the policy, or else the amount will be deducted from the maturity value of the policy

Years ago, people never bothered about long term care or thought about it. As parents aged, they often relied on their children to care for them. Today, most parents do not want to burden their children with their care in their old age. And people are living to a remarkable old age as well. This is one of the reasons why you should consider long term care insurance.

What is long term care insurance? Long term care insurance allows for you to provide for your own care if you happen to become incapacitated and need long term care. As people get older, there is a 70 percent chance that they will need some sort of long term care in their lives. While part of this care can be covered by Medicare, most of it is not. This is where long term care insurance steps in. It can cover what Medicare does not instead of allowing your care to eat away at your savings.

Who should get long term care insurance? We never know what the future will bring. It is advisable for you to plan for your future as there is a good chance that you may need long term care. This involves care in a rehabilitation facility as well as an assisted living residence. Most hospitals will send patients to rehabilitation facilities as soon as they are out of danger and Medicare does not cover much of those costs. This is why it is important for anyone to get long term care insurance – to plan for their future.

What type of plans are available? Your plan will depend on your age and health. You can get a plan that will pay $150 a day for your long term health care for up to four years. One of the best aspects about this type of plan is that the money is drawn out of the pool of money set aside in the plan for your long term care. Many times, people go to rehab and then are back out. When this occurs, you do not have to continue paying and your money stays safe in your plan, ready to be used again if you need it.

You can also get an inflation option on your long term care insurance package as well. As you know, $150 years from now will not be worth as much as $150 today. For a few dollars more a month, you can get an inflation rider on your insurance package.

One way to save money for the long term care insurance package is by getting a higher exclusion period. There are exclusion periods of 30, 60 and 90 days. This is similar to a deductible on auto insurance. The longer the exclusion period, the less expensive the policy.

Long term health care insurance is something for everyone to think about, no matter what health you are in. We never can be sure of what the future holds. It is best to be prepared with long term care insurance.

Insurance can be a confusing field to navigate for many. People want the best coverage, but no one is happy about having to pay too much for it. Read on for some tips on how to handle insurance matters, and empower yourself to handle such things with ease.

Many insurance providers offer significant discounts for bundled services. For one set price, you can get home owner’s and car insurance. Insurance companies usually offer discounts if you have your car insurance and your residential insurance such as homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy with them. You should however make sure you are purchasing insurances that you really need.

Find an overall insurance carrier to handle all of your insurance needs. Very often, if you bundle all your insurance needs and bring them all to one carrier, you are eligible for major discounts. If you change car insurance companies on one type of insurance and not the other, you may lose money as the rate increases on the other insurance you have with that company.

Always document your claims and keep accurate records. This will make your claim experience smoother. If you speak with an insurance company representative regarding your claim, make a note of the person’s name and the date on which you spoke with that person. Each time you communicate with an insurance company representative confirm what transpired during the communication with an email or letter to preserve the content of the communication in writing.

Explain to your insurance agent what happened as soon as you can. You should take photographs of any damaged property. Don’t attempt to falsify information to get more money. Not only would you not get paid, you will probably get into a lot of trouble.

Look over your coverage on a yearly basis and ensure that it is still the best suitable option for your current situation. It’s a good idea to get new automobile and homeowners insurance quotes yearly to make sure you’re getting the best rates. Also, review your deductibles and coverage amounts to make sure that you are not over-insured. Things like a new child or a changed financial situation should be taken into account.

It is often best to have a specific strategy in mind as you select your insurance policy. If you pick one with a lower deductible, you pay a larger upfront cost, but you’re completely protected in an accident. You could set your insurance policy to have a high deductible and pay less per month, but if something does happen, you will be responsible to pay the higher deductible before the insurance company will fix any of the damage that is done to your vehicle.

Check over your insurance policies periodically. Get quotes from several agents to see if they can offer you lower rates. The extra costs from these oversights can really add up, so pull out those policy documents and read them thoroughly.

Learn the ropes about the insurance you need and make sure to shop around for the best rates you can find. When someone is well educated about many insurance companies, they can be sure to make the right choices on their coverage. When one knows more about insurance, the better prepared they are when getting a plan.

As stated at the beginning of the article, there are many different types of insurance available. Hopefully you have discovered ways you can insure yourself and/or your property that you hadn’t thought of before. Having insurance gives you piece of mind that in the unfortunate event of a tragedy, illness, or accident, you and your family will be covered, and a bit more prepared