Homeowners Insurance: Taking an Inventory of Your Personal Belongings

If you're of a mind to get the most value out of your Greensboro homeowners insurance policy, you need to take care of an often overlooked detail. That's the creation of a comprehensive home inventory list of your family's personal belongings. You may have thought about doing this at some time in the past, but have neglected getting out your pen and paper and writing down the details. As an alternative, you could pull out your smart phone or video camera and make a complete documentary of what possessions you have in your home.

If you fall victim to a disaster such as a house fire that destroys your home and your personal possessions, a detailed inventory listing of everything that's been lost will be invaluable when making a claim on your Greensboro homeowners insurance policy. Having a detailed, up-to-date inventory list of your personal possessions can help in several ways:

1. Your insurance claim can be settled more quickly and more easily.
2. An inventory list can help you to verify losses you'll need to report on your income tax return.
3. Itemizing your personal possessions can help you in making sure you purchase and maintain the correct amount of homeowners insurance.

Where Do You Start?

Everyone knows that taking an inventory and documenting a list of your personal possessions is a good idea, but we also know it's easy to let a good idea slip by without taking the needed action to make it happen. Creating a complete possessions inventory can seem a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be. The trick is to START NOW!

You can start small, with just one room, and don't worry if you don't complete the inventory all in one sitting. A good plan can be to just do one room in your house per day, every day, until you've finished. Don't get overwhelmed. Even a partial inventory list is better than none.

Here are a few tips to consider:

• Record basic info on items such as where and when it was purchased, make/model, purchase price and serial number (if applicable).
• Record clothing by category, such as five suits, four pairs of jeans, 10 pairs of shoes, etc.
• Make special note of very expensive items (jewelry, artwork, furs, etc.) and make sure your policy covers them fully. If not, 
• add a floater.
• Store your completed inventory list in a safe, off-premises location.

4 Types of Insurance You Probably Don't Need

Some types of insurance you should have, such as life insurance, if you have a family depending on your income for their day to day living expenses. Some types of insurance you must have, by law, such as car liability coverage if you drive a vehicle on public roads in almost all of our United States. But some types of insurance are unnecessary and, although they may appear appealing when being described by an insurance salesman, you not only don't need them but they are likely to just be a waste of your money. Here's a list of a few insurance policies you're probably just better off without.

1. Child Life Insurance – child life insurance may look appealing at first because of its low cost and promised accumulating cash value, but that same money put into your child's education fund, savings account or even into your own additional life insurance coverage may be considerably more valuable. Life insurance is designed to provide financial protection to those depending on your income, and children typically have no income upon which dependents rely.
2. Flight Insurance – if you already have a life insurance policy in place, taking out extra coverage before flying in an airplane is redundant. Deaths in airplane crashes are relatively rare, but if you are unfortunate enough to suffer such an event, your standard life insurance policy already has you covered.
3. Rental Car Insurance - `buying extra insurance from a rental car company when renting a car may also be redundant, since your personal car insurance policy likely already covers you in a rental car. Double check your car coverage to make sure, and if you're not covered by your personal policy then the small fee charged by the rental car company may be worth the cost.
4. Auto Collision Coverage – if you're driving an old model car that's not worth a whole lot of money, you're likely better off forgoing the inclusion of collision coverage on your policy. This may also be said of the comprehensive portion of your policy. Instead, put the money you save on premiums in a car repair/car replacement fund to be used in the event your vehicle gets damaged or is stolen. For newer, more expensive cars, however, full coverage is probably your best bet.

These are just a few of the many types of insurance you can do without. Check here for more.

Car Insurance: What If Someone Else Is Driving My Car?

In the State of North Carolina, all vehicles being operated on public roads are required to be covered by at least a minimum of liability insurance. If you're involved in a car accident, either your car insurance company or the other driver's insurance should pay for damages. But what if someone else is driving your vehicle? Whose insurance pays then? As with many insurance questions, the answer to this one is, “It depends.”

Who's At Fault?

If someone else is driving your car and is involved in an accident, the liability for any damages falls to the driver deemed responsible for causing the accident. If the other driver is liable, their car insurance company will usually be responsible for paying damage costs.

If the person driving your vehicle is held liable, your car insurance company will usually be responsible for paying damage costs, with some possible exceptions. In most instances, your vehicle insurance applies to your car more than it applies to you as a driver. If your car insurance limits are not sufficient to pay for all the damages and the person who was driving your car has their own car insurance, their policy may contribute secondary payments after your policy limits are reached.

The Exceptions

There are three situations in which your car insurance may decline paying for damages caused by someone else who was driving your car:

1. The person driving your car and held liable for causing the accident is found to have been doing something illegal at the time. This could include driving without a valid operator's license or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
2. The person who was driving your car was specifically excluded on your policy. You may have excluded someone from your policy because of their poor driving record that you knew would cause an increase in your policy premiums.
3. If someone is driving your car without permission and has an accident, your insurance company may refuse to pay a claim.

Other Considerations

When you lend your car to another driver, you are taking responsibility for their driving and if they cause an accident your insurance rates may go up because your insurer now sees you as a higher risk policyholder.

Your policy's deductible will need to be paid when making a claim. As the policy owner, you'll have to decide between you and the at-fault driver who will pay this.