Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Underinsurance Can Spell Disaster For Homeowners

Insurance is designed to give property peace of mind, but an increasing number of policyholders are putting themselves at risk of neglect to insure your home and contents adequately.

There is often confusion about the difference between the guaranteed value and extended Replacement insurance. Guaranteed replacement means that if the home is destroyed or seriously damaged, the insurance company will pay to be rebuilt, whatever the cost. This is the most secure insurance for the homeowner, which literally means the house is guaranteed to be replaced, but the deal carries a degree of risk to the insurer. While this type of policy to use standard, it is now increasingly difficult to find even an offer of a guaranteed replacement policy. Now, it is more common to be offered a full replacement value policy, which covers a percentage of the value of the house up to one hundred percent, plus an added percentage for building costs. The replacement value policy simply pays a set amount agreed if the property is destroyed or badly damaged.

Consumers must also take into account the depreciation of the value of their content over time, and insure their replacement value, rather than its resale value. After all, if the items are lost or stolen, they must be replaced with new items, not second-hand ones.

An important aspect of policy management in the long term is to keep it up to date. Some policies will have an effect on inflation constructed so that the amount insured will automatically increase each time there is the policy of renewal. A professional evaluation must be done on the property regularly so that the policyholder insurance can renegotiate with the supplier if the level of coverage fell behind.

David Cannell is a freelance writer and university educator. He is also the owner of http://www.insurance-andmore.com sandee brandy



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