Home Insurance Daily Journal

by mheo soriano

Plan Ahead for Construction:

If you plan to build an addition to the home or other structures close to the home, you should consider the materials to be used. For example wood structures will cost more to insure because they are highly flammable while cement- or steel-framed structures will cost less because it is less likely to catch fire or get damaged by weather conditions.

You should, also consider the insurance costs related with building a swimming pool. In fact, structures that are potentially injurious can make annual homeowners’ insurance costs up by 10% or more. Although it is not much of a deal, it is still something that to be considered in connection to the purchase or construction.

• Get a home energy audit every couple of years with your power company to find ways to cut costs.
• Check with your utility company for rebates whenever you install energy-saving equipment.
• Add more energy-efficient insulation to your attic, with the appropriate R-value, or resistance to heat flow, for your climate and the type of heating in your house..
• Turn down your home thermostat two degrees and save 24 kilowatt hours a month. It might not sound like much, but it adds up.
• Buy a programmable thermostat, especially if your home is vacant most of the day. Set it to turn on a half hour before anyone arrives home.
• Adjust your thermostat to a comfortable temperature and wait. Turning your thermostat up or down dramatically wastes energy and increases your heating costs.
• Lower your hot water thermostat 10 degrees, but no lower than 120 degrees. You’ll still get all the hot water you need and save 25 kilowatt hours a month.
• Fix leaky faucets — one drip a second is 20 kilowatts a month.
• Invest in weather-stripping kits if you’ve got drafty doors.
• Trade your standard candescent bulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs. They are more energy-efficient, last for years instead of months, consume little power and generate little heat.
• Turn off your computer when not in use, or use the energy-saving “sleep” mode.
• Seal energy leaks. Caulk over cracks and small holes around windows and exterior walls. Look carefully around plumbing pipes, telephone wires, dryer vents, sink and bathtub drains and under countertops.
• Participate in your power company’s special energy-saving program. Some programs shut down electric appliances for short bursts of time during peak hours. You hardly notice the difference — except in your bill.
• Buy major appliances that sport the “Energy Star” sticker. That shows the appliance meets or exceeds standards set by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency.
• Consider a front-loading washing machine. They use 50 percent less energy and one-third less water. Plus, they remove far more water in the rinse cycle, and that translates into big savings in dryer time.
• When building a home or replacing a roof, select a roof based more on energy efficiency than on how it looks. Light-colored roofs, such as white, galvanized metal or cement tile, do the best job of reflecting the sun, and cool quickly at night.
• Landscaping with the right mix of trees and shrubs can lower your energy bills by blocking winter winds or the summer sun.

Are you looking to increase the value of your home while staying within your budget? Full remodels, even for one room, can cost many thousands of dollars, and while the cost may be worth it if you’re planning on staying put, most remodeling projects increase your home’s value by at most 80 or 90 cents for every dollar you invest. Thus, if you’re looking to sell your home right away, or if you’re buying and selling a home for profit, you want to keep your improvements simple and cheap. Here’s how.

1. Spruce up the yard. Get rid of trash and yard waste. Keep your lawn in good condition and mow it. This includes using a weed whacker to get in the tight corners and along the edges of sidewalks and the house. Trim the hedges, get rid of weeds, and mulch the flower beds. If you don’t have much to work with, plant some flowers or install some landscaping appropriate for your home and climate.
2. Eliminate clutter inside the home. If you’re going to be showing the house to potential buyers, get the house organized and get rid of clutter or put it in storage. A nice, tidy house will seem larger and more elegant.
3. Wash walls and windows. It’s a lot cheaper to wash walls or siding than to repaint or replace siding, and many times a good cleaning will make your home’s finishes look good as new. Pressure-wash your home’s exterior, and wash interior walls. Clean your windows so that you can’t tell they’re there.
4. Add a fresh coat of interior paint. Sometimes you just really need to repaint, but you can do it yourself relatively cheaply on interior walls. First, patch up any holes, no matter how small. To get a silky smooth finish, apply a coat of primer. After the primer dries, lightly sand it with a fine grit sandpaper (220 grit). Apply the first coat of latex paint, and then lightly sand that layer also. Wipe the walls down with a damp cloth after each sanding session. Then apply the final coat of latex paint.
5. Put up fresh curtains and blinds. Blinds don’t cost much, and curtains can be cheap also. Over time, the sun fades the colors from your blinds and curtains, so new ones will make a better impression than old ones.
6. Clean up the carpet. You can shampoo or steam clean your carpets, or you can use a dry cleaning system (available from various sources, such as Oreck), which requires no water or steamer rentals, and which dries instantly and kills virtually all mold and bacteria. Apply according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and then vacuum. If all else fails, get a professional to do the carpets for you. You’d be surprised how much better your carpet will look after a good cleaning.
7. Install modern light switches and outlets. Some of the new style switches can be easily installed using the wires already running to the old switches. Just be sure to turn off the power to the room or entire house before doing any work. The new outlets look nice, and give the impression that the electrical wiring in the house is newer than it really is. Dimmer switches are especially desirable, although this can be illegal if the outlets are of three prong type while the wiring is two prong. It also could lead to trouble if the buyer’s home inspectors catches on.
8. Refinish kitchen cabinets. Outdated or worn cabinets can bring the whole kitchen down, but refinishing them is relatively cheap and easy to do. If you have a dark or small kitchen, make it look larger and brighter by using a lighter finish on the cabinets.
9. Up the wattage of your light bulbs to make things even brighter. Just make sure you don’t exceed the maximum specification for lamps and other lights. (You could use compact florescent light bulbs in order to make the room brighter without getting new fixtures, plus they save electricity meaning they save you money.)
10. Get a professional floor plan company to check on your home’s square footage, which is sometimes higher what your county assessor has recorded. Because homes sell for hundreds of dollars per square foot, even a small increase will more than pay for the service (typically a few hundred dollars). You’ll be able to list your home for more money, but at the same price per square foot.
11. Wood Trim and Cornicing are a cheap and easy do it yourself idea that can add tons of “WOW” factor to the look of your home. Simple ceiling trim and armchair railing are the easiest and most typical upgrades found in newer homes. To make an even bolder statement, paint the walls a neutral, flat color and paint the trim a high gloss white.

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Home Equity Loans

Mortgages come in many forms. The type of mortgage or home loan you apply for may depend on why you need the mortgage in the first place. If you already own a home, home equity loans are a great option if you need money and want to benefit from the value of your home. A home equity loan or second mortgage is a way to unlock that money that is, as they say, “in the walls” of your home. If your home has appreciated in value since you purchased it, or there is a substantial difference between the amount you still owe on your mortgage and the value of your home, a home equity loan may be a great way to unlock this money if you have a considerable expense to pay off. There are many benefits to applying for a home equity loan:

• Even if you already have a mortgage, you can borrow against the amount of money your home is worth minus what you still owe on the first mortgage. Some lenders will even let you borrow over 100% of this difference.
• You can use the money from your new home equity loan to make home improvements, pay off credit card debt, or pay the costs of tuition, and medical bills. How you use this money is not usually restricted.
• Home equity loans and second mortgages are generally for a much short period of time than traditional mortgages.
• In many circumstances, the rates on home equity loans are tax-deductible.
• You have two options for receiving the money from your home equity loan — an open end loan or a closed end loan. An open end loan is a home equity line of credit (HELOC), which will let you decide when and how much money to draw from the equity in your home. A closed end loan is an equity loan that offers you all of the value of the equity in a lump sum of money at the beginning of the loan term.
• Many home equity loans and second mortgages are fixed rate mortgages (FRMs) and are for about 10-15 years.

Pursuing a home equity loan or a second mortgage is an important and serious decision, so it’s important to think it through before signing off on it. Be sure to discuss with your lender or mortgage company what course of action is best for your situation. Many fees are involved in getting your home appraised for the home equity loan process, so this and the other fees are to be taken into consideration before pursuing this option.

by mheo soriano

Have an Eye for Multiple Policy Discounts:
Some insurance companies dish out a 10% discount or more to their clients who maintain other insurances under the same insurance company. You should try considering getting a quote for other types or insurance from the same company that provides your home owner’s insurance, by doing this there is a high chance of saving dollars from policy premiums.

Increase Your Deductibles
Like health insurance or car insurance, the higher the deductible the you choose, the lower the annual premiums. But the problem with choosing a high deductible is that are you are most likely pay for the minor problems.

by mheo soriano

One of the ways to lower your annual premiums is to establish a security system such as a burglar alarm that is connected to a local police station. The discount is usually about 5%. In order to claim the discount, you usually have to give a proof of central monitoring in the form of a bill or a contract to the insurance company.

Smoke alarms are also essential. Putting up smoke alarms may cut 10% or more from the annual premiums. Even though it is expensive you will benefit from the deductions, plus a good home security system will add safety to your household as well.

We touched on the subject as to how installing a home security system can give you discounts on your home insurance premiums, we’ll be giving you more info on how much on this post.

According to insurance.com, the rates would be as follows:

If you do all of that, you get a whopping 30 percent home insurance premium discount based solely on security devices. This doesn’t include setting up smoke detectors or sprinkler systems yet.

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With the rising price of gasoline, it’s a good idea to know where you can save. If you’ve recently bought a new house and want to cover it with home insurance, then the following tips would be beneficial to lowering your rates:

You need to shop around for the cheapest you can find. Eventhough you previously enjoyed your previous home insurance company, you might want to check out the others just to be sure. Things change and improve quickly.

It would be best, if you don’t go overboard in what you’d like to cover. If you’re not sure what it is that absolutely needs to be covered then a call to an insurance broker may be a good time as any.

Lastly, get those discounts! Ask your insurance agent or broker for ways to lower your rates. Sometimes, installing a home-security alarm may greatly reduce your premiums.

With the goal in saving more money in mind, most UK residents have decided to go the DIY (Do It Yourself) route when it comes to remodeling or repairing their house. No more contractors to deal with, eh? However, if it doesn’t conform to the insurance agents standards or it wasn’t properly finished then things may go for the worse.

Zurich’s technical underwriting manager, said: “Doing it yourself can be a great achievement but we would like to remind all DIY novices that they can often endanger themselves and their property, so if you are unsure, always call in a professional.”

For those who dream of the DIY life, but don’t want the risk involved, then calling in the right people: plumbers, carpenters or contractors, would best suit you , your house, and your home insurance.

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While the cat is away the mouse will play. This is what thieves do when you’re all out of the house and in a long vacation.

According to reports by Churchill Insurance, one in ten UK homes have been broken into while the occupants were out on holiday. The loss averaged £3,288 per incident. The thieves are focusing more on portable but expensive items instead of the usual big items like TVs and radios.

With home insurance, you can somewhat feel better. Claire Foster, spokesperson for Churchill Insurance said,

“While insurance cannot prevent burglary, it can provide reassurance that the monetary value of anything stolen is covered.”

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