What You Need to Know About Fire and Your Homeowners Insurance
Deprecated: Function eregi_replace() is deprecated in /usr/www/users/asiram/resource/wp-content/plugins/link-indication/link-indication.php on line 232
Deprecated: Function eregi_replace() is deprecated in /usr/www/users/asiram/resource/wp-content/plugins/link-indication/link-indication.php on line 232
How much do you really know about your homeowners insurance? More importantly, how much do you know about your homeowners insurance and fire? Do you know how much you’re insured for? Do you know when your homeowners insurance will cover the damages from a fire and when they won’t? Most importantly, do you know how your fire coverage impacts your annual premiums?
When Your Homeowners Insurance will Pay for It, and When They Won’t
Fire insurance comes as a standard part of most homeowners insurance policies, which means as long as you have homeowners (or renters) insurance you’re probably protected from fire. Your insurance will cover fires caused by accidental factors, such as flying grease, a dropped ember or fire spreading from building to building. Simply put, as long as you aren’t trying to torch your home in an attempt to collect on your insurance policy you’re going to be covered. Most insurance providers get a little cranky when there’s arson involved, however. It’s the rough equivalent of theft in the insurance world.
How Much Are You Insured For?
When was the last time you updated your homeowners insurance policy? Most people have no idea how much they’re insured for in the event of a fire, something that doesn’t really matter until you’re actually the victim of a fire and have to find a way to pay for the damages. When the damages total 100% of your assets and you’re left with nothing that can be a lot more difficult than it sounds. It’s a good idea to update your policy every year and make sure you’ve got enough insurance to have a fighting chance at a fresh start when the smoke finally clears.
How It Impacts Your Annual Premiums
Since fire insurance is a standard part of most homeowners insurance policies most people don’t really think about the amount of money they pay each month to be protected from the potential devastation of a household fire. Regardless, taking steps to protect your home from fire and minimize the chances that you’ll be a fire victim at any point in time, whether present or future, will go a long way toward lowering your home insurance premiums. For example:
Installing smoke detectors (the kind you can buy for $10 or less at your local hardware store) can save you 5% or more on your annual premium.
A home sprinkler system with the capability to stop a fire inside the house before it has a chance to spread can save you 15% or more on your homeowners insurance.
Since sprinklers and smoke detectors don’t do you a lot of good if there’s no one around to dial 911 as quickly as possible, most homeowners insurance providers offer their customers discounts of 15-25% to install a home security system that links them directly to their local fire department.
Stop smoking. No smokers in the house equals no hot ash lying around, which greatly minimizes the potential for disaster. This will usually knock at least 10% off your annual premium, sometimes more.
There are over 500,000 household fires in the United States every year, most of them caused by a simple moment of carelessness. Make sure you and the ones you love are protected with a strong homeowners insurance policy.
Anthony M. Peck is the Senior Developer, Software Project Manager, and
Director of Business Development for QuoteScout.com. For more information, please visit
them on the web at QuoteScout.com.
