- Are the deductibles the same?
- Are there any credits (discounts) given?
- How are your contents covered?
- What is the “RCE” amount? Are they the same? What is the difference?
- How are “other structures” covered?
- Are the deductibles the same? If you are able to ‘self insure’ to some extent, you may want to have a higher deductible, which will lower your premium. It is important to know how much you can truly afford in the case of needing to make a claim. If your deductible is higher than what you can realistically save, then you won’t be able to use your insurance to replace whatever it is that has been destroyed. Keep in mind that your first quote may have a higher deductible that you will ultimately go with.
- Are there any credits (discounts) given? In Florida, it is important to have a current wind mitigation report done. What this report does is shows that your roof meets the current standards, and if it does then you will receive a discount – you get credit for having that type of roof. Often times, it is the standard practice of agents to give a quote which includes the roof discount, even if you don’t have the right type of roof. It is just the default, especially on houses built after 2002. If your home is built before 2002, be certain that your quote is accurate. It is possible that a policy can be written, and bound, and then later if the paperwork isn’t accurate, you can end up with a big charge you weren’t expecting.
- How are your contents covered? Sometimes quotes will not include personal property. That is, your furniture, your clothes, your electronics, your jewelry, your art, etc. are not included in the quote. That lowers the quote, and ultimately the premium. If the quote seems lower than others you have received, check to be sure that contents are covered — if that is what you want and expect.
- What is the “RCE” amount? This is the dollar amount that the insurance companies assume it will cost to rebuild or replace your home. This is not the same as the value if you were to sell your home. The RCE is typically done through software created by the insurance company. It includes things like square footage, type of flooring, quality of counters and fixtures, if there are any special things in the design like bay windows, etc. If one quote has a much lower or higher RCE than another, ask your agent why.
- How are “other structures” covered? Most home owners policies automatically add a certain percentage to cover “other structures”. Other structures could be a shed or a fence. This does not pertain to your screened enclosure. Perhaps you have a gazebo or tiki bar? The quoting agent will make a decision for how to do the quote, and you need to be sure you understand what is being quoted.
There are a slew of ways to reduce your auto insurance costs besides being a good driver—all you have to do is ask.
“Some discounts are to encourage customers to buy with the company and some discounts are because the risk to the insurance company is reduced,” says David Thompson of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents. However, he says if you want the discount, you have to ask for it.
Kevin Ware’s grisly leg fracture during Louisville’s run to the title was excruciating to watch for anyone—but especially so for NCAA athletes, who were reminded of how quickly and violently hopes of an eventual professional career can be put in jeopardy.
Mishaps like Ware’s help explain why athletic-disability insurance policies, once reserved for elite professionals and their clubs to protect the fragile appendages of valuable superstars for exorbitant amounts of money, are now fairly common among student-athletes. In just the last couple months, Texas A&M’s Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Johnny Manziel and South Carolina defensive back Jadeveon Clowney both garnered headlines for their pursuit of insurance policies against career-ending injuries.
Kentucky basketball big man Nerlens Noel, who tore his ACL in mid-February, reportedly paid between $40,000 and $60,000 for a $10 million policy through a private underwriter. Before Noel, Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck had a maximum policy of $5 million through a program known as Exceptional Student-Athlete Disability Insurance (ESDI) that the NCAA provides student-athletes it predicts will likely be high draft picks.
You’ve no doubt noticed that premiums have gotten pretty pricey. Rates have climbed 69% over the past decade to an average of $1,000 a year.
What you may not realize is that you could be facing another vast expense. Insurers have also been quietly hiking deductibles, scaling back basic coverage, and adding new restrictions.
Coverage now varies widely among carriers, but that’s not always clear when you’re shopping around, says Daniel Schwarcz, a University of Minnesota professor who has studied hundreds of policies.
“Consumers shop almost entirely on price and reputation,” notes Schwarcz, and exclusion clauses are often written in legalese and buried in a policy that runs dozens of pages. Moreover, comparison shopping is difficult, since consumers rarely get a copy of the policy before they buy.