What Is an Insurance Clue Report?

Buying a home involves lots of steps, starting with looking for and finding the place you want and going on through getting financing and insurance and finally moving in. This is a process where you don't want to have to deal with surprises, but there's always the question of a home's true history. Knowing what's happened to your proposed future home in the past can be a big help when deciding whether or not this is an investment you want to make. It's also useful to the insurer who'll be writing a policy for the home when it comes to their underwriting process.

Insurance CLUE Report

While it's definitely to your advantage to have a property inspection conducted before making the final decision to buy a particular property, you'll also want to take a look at the most recent CLUE (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) Report. You can bet your insurer will be looking at this report when underwriting your policy and determining the amount of premium you'll be charged. It just makes sense to know about the home you're considering before you give the final approval.

What is an Insurance CLUE Report?

An Insurance CLUE Report, also known as a loss history report, is a free tool you can use to find out if there have been any insurance losses filed on a particular property. Most home insurance companies are contributors to a claims history database known as CLUE, the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, monitored by LexisNexis, a research company. Insurers also often use these reports when underwriting a new homeowner's policy to help in setting premium rates. Accessing CLUE Report information will enable you to learn what insurance claims were filed for a particular home during the past five years. This can tell you if losses were suffered from a fire, a storm, vandalism, or any of the other perils for which homeowner's insurance provides coverage.

Who Can Get a CLUE Report

Homeowners are eligible to receive one CLUE Report per year. If you're buying a home and want to see the report, you'll have to request that the homeowner get one and show it to you. Reports contain:

• Name of insurer
• Date and type of any losses within five years
• Status of claim and, if approved, amount of payout
• Policy and claim numbers

A blank report means no losses were claimed or the insurer isn't a CLUE participant.

Can You Dispute a Home Insurance Claim Settlement?

Your homeowner's insurance coverage helps protect you from financial loss should your house become damaged or destroyed as the result of numerous perils. The perils in a standard policy typically number about seventeen. These extend from something that may be minor, such as vandalism, to something that is catastrophic, such as a house fire that totally destroys your home and all your belongings within the home.

There's much more contained in your homeowner's policy than just structure and personal possessions coverage, including liability should someone get injured while on your property or in your home and later bring a lawsuit against you for damages.

Filing a Homeowner's Insurance Policy Claim

When something happens, you file a claim with your insurance company and await getting reimbursed within the limits and provisions of your policy. But what if the claim you submitted isn't settled to your satisfaction or gets denied completely? Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon occurrence and can be incredibly frustrating. There are a number of reasons an insurance company may deny a claim you've filed and that you think should be covered. Some of those reasons include:

• The damage you've reported isn't covered in your policy
• The damage you're claiming wasn't correctly reported
• The replacement cost of the damage you're reporting is less than the amount of your deductible

Disputing a Home Insurance Claim Settlement

If you believe your claim was unjustly denied or the payout amount was less than you should have received, you can dispute these results. While you may choose to hire legal assistance, this may be expensive. Many will choose to dispute a Home Insurance Claim Settlement on their own. Here are the steps to take:

1. Read and understand your coverage. You may have filed a claim for something you thought was covered but wasn't.
2. If your claim is denied, review the insurer's documentation explaining their disapproval. Contact your agent if you have questions. Assemble any documents proving why you're entitled to your claim.
3. Send a letter to the insurer's claims adjuster explaining your position. Include any evidence you have to show the claim was improperly handled. Request the adjuster review the claim and respond within a stated time frame. Send a courtesy copy to the adjuster's superior.
4. Request the insurer send a second adjuster to conduct a second inspection.
5. If the insurer won't change their position, file a formal complaint with your State Insurance Department.

What Does Other Structures Insurance Cover?

A typical homeowner's insurance policy provides four important types of coverage:

1. Coverage to repair or replace the structure of your home, should it become damaged or destroyed as a result of suffering from any of the variety of perils detailed in your policy. This includes things such as fire or smoke, hail, lightning, hurricanes, falling objects, theft, vandalism and more. Most homeowner's policies also include other structures insurance, which protects separate structures on your property for the same perils applicable to the coverage for your home's main structure.
2. Coverage to repair or replace your personal property if it becomes lost, damaged or destroyed by any of the same perils covered in your policy. This includes personal items in your home such as furniture, clothing, appliances, sports equipment, etc. Coverage is usually capped at around 50%-70% of the amount placed on the structure of your home. Your personal property is covered whether it's in your home or somewhere else, basically anywhere in the world. This “outside your home” coverage is typically capped at about 10% of the coverage you have for your personal possessions. You also have coverage for shrubs, plants and trees on your property, usually capped at about $500 per item or $1,000 on an HE-7.*might even put in a link to our HE-& comparison page
3. Liability coverage that protects you against lawsuits relating to alleged damages to have been caused to others or their property. This coverage will pay for your court defense and any court awards up to the limit stated in your policy.
4. Additional living expenses coverage pays your living expenses (hotel bills, meals and other costs) if you're forced to live away from home due to damage caused by a covered peril.

Other Structures Insurance

Typical homeowner's policies include something called other structures insurance, sometimes referred to as Coverage B in your policy. This provides coverage for the same perils for which your home is covered and is applied to separate structures such as:

• Detached garages
• Sheds
• Gazebos
• In-ground swimming pools
• Fences
• 
  

You'll find other structures coverage often limited to a percentage of your home's structure coverage. According to the III (Insurance Information Institute) this is typically 10%.

Personal property found in any of these other structures, such as a detached garage or tool shed, are dealt with separately from your other structures insurance coverage, under the personal possessions portion of your policy. Get with your agent or broker if you're unclear of your policy's provisions.

Waiting Too Long to Buy Life Insurance: The Pitfalls

There are numerous reasons that may be prompting you to buy life insurance. These may include:

• Recently getting married
• Having a new baby
• Taking on significant debt, such as buying a house that your loved ones wouldn't be able to afford if something were to happen to you
• You've personally seen the negative financial impact a death has had on the surviving family

Waiting to Buy Life Insurance

While there are many reasons to buy life insurance, there are just as many reasons that may be holding you back from taking the action needed. Perhaps you think you're too young and healthy to need life insurance or, at the other end, you think you're too old to need it. Maybe you think it's too expensive to get coverage or you think you don't need it because you don't have children.

These are all common excuses people find for not buying life insurance. And there are more – I smoke, my health isn't good, I don't work outside the home, I don't know what kind of or how much coverage I need. There are convincing counter-arguments to each of the excuses mentioned, but that's information for another blog. The purpose of this piece is to discuss the pitfalls of waiting too long to buy life insurance, whatever your reasons may be.

Waiting Too Long

The best time to buy life insurance will vary from one person to another, dependent upon your family and financial situations. Generally speaking, you need life insurance if there are people who depend on your income to maintain their current standard of living or if you have debts that your survivors will have to pay off. Add to that the cost of burial, which your loved ones will also have to deal with.

When buying life insurance, younger is better. At a younger age, you'll be subject to lower premiums. As you get older, premiums will rise in cost and there's also a chance that you could develop health problems that will either make your insurance more expensive, more difficult to obtain or disqualify you from getting coverage altogether.

Unfortunately, younger people who are faced with mortgages, student loan debt, credit card debt and car payments will often put off buying life insurance. This can have a huge financial impact, similar to putting off saving for retirement. Sooner is better!

4 Insurance Planning Tips for Difficult Times

Auto insurance companies have recently come under pressure to refund policyholder premiums charged based on out-of-date estimated miles driven data. Since many drivers have significantly curtailed their normal driving habits during the coronavirus crisis by not traveling, miles driven have gone way down. The good news is two fold.  1. Vehicle accidents have also gone way down.  2. Many companies are now refunding some premium dollars to consumers. 

Stay Home, Stay Safe and Stay Productive

With approximately 90% of the U.S. population under some form of lockdown order due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, “flattening the curve” has been shown to be possible through diligent limitation of social interactions and staying at home except when needing to leave to procure essential materials such as food or medicine.

With plenty of hours available during your days at home, we recommend you take some time revisiting your insurance portfolio to ensure your coverage is still what you need. Here at Tom Needham Insurance Agency we're open for business, working from home and at the office by appointment. We're happy to offer some insurance planning tips to help square away your portfolio and maybe even save a little money at the same time.

Insurance Planning Tips

1. It's recommended you re-shop for your car insurance every so often. Car insurance companies change their rates all the time and you should regularly check for lower prices.
2. Reexamine your life insurance needs – that 30-year term policy you bought 20 years ago may no longer be appropriate to your current needs. You may choose to lower your policy amount and save some money on your monthly premiums.
3. Ask about homeowner's discounts – just like good drivers can qualify for auto insurance discounts, good homeowners can sometimes qualify for good homeowner's discounts. These may be available for deadbolts, burglar alarms, sprinkler systems and more.
4. Bundle Your Policies – Tom Needham Insurance has access to numerous companies, some of the best in the business, and we'll work to find you the best deals available. Bringing your various policies such as homeowner's, auto and life under the umbrella of a high quality single insurance provider can save you as much as 15% or more on your premium costs.

Car Insurance Costs: How Much Does Age/Experience Matter?

Of the dozens of different factors used to determine your Greensboro car insurance costs, age/experience is primary. To an insurance company, the age of a driver represents general measures of both driving experience and accident risk.

Insurance company statistics show that, on average, the more years a driver has had behind the wheel, the less likely they are to have an accident and make a claim on their car insurance policy. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), teen drivers (ages 16-19) have crash rates of four times that of drivers 20 years and older. Since insurers believe that young drivers are more likely to have accidents and make claims, teens' insurance rates are going to be more expensive.

What Adds to Higher Teens' Risk

Teen drivers are considered higher risks by insurance companies for a number of reasons. Their immaturity can lead to risky behaviors, such as speeding, and being inexperienced at driving makes them less likely to respond well in hazardous situations. Alcohol also plays a role in many teen crashes. While they may be less likely than adults to drink and drive, their accident rate is higher when they do drink and drive because of their relative inexperience with both driving and drinking.

Age Matters, Both Young and Old

This risk assessment continues on for a certain number of years. Assuming one is licensed at 16 years old, by the age of 25, you'll see your Greensboro car insurance costs drop significantly, to where they're only about one-third of what they were when you were 16-17. They'll continue to drop until you're about age 55, at which point they'll typically be as low as they can go. Drivers in their mid-30's to late 50's represent the lowest driving risk to insurers due to their greater road maturity and driving skills.

Typically, once you enter into your 60's, your insurance rates will again begin to climb. Aging brings with it slower reflexes and reaction times, which pushes seniors into a higher risk category in the eyes of insurers.

Saving on Your Insurance as a Younger Driver

There's nothing you can do to add years of experience to save on insurance premiums but there are some things that can be done to lower your insurance costs. Being added to your parents' policy, if they're willing, may cost half as much as taking out a policy on your own. Also, apply for all discounts available.

Is There a Right and Wrong Time to Buy Insurance?

Insurance is a funny thing. It's something you buy but hope you'll never have to use. It's often been said that insurance is better to have and not need than to need and not have, but if you wait to buy insurance until you absolutely need it, you've likely waited too long!

The Best Time to Buy Insurance

Depending on what type of insurance you're considering, there are different times that are optimal for buying it. Following pure logic, the best time to buy life insurance is immediately after birth since, as you age, life insurance premiums continue to increase in cost. The sooner a policy is bought, the lower the price. While many companies sell life insurance for children and some even specialize in it, like those you may have seen advertised on TV, child insurance isn't typically recommended by the experts.

The primary purpose of life insurance is financial protection for any dependents relying on your income for their current standard of living. Since kids generally don't earn an income, they have no dependents relying on them for their financial security.

The best time for buying life insurance is actually when you get married and start a family. The family becomes dependent upon your income and a life insurance policy protects them from losing their financial support should you suddenly die. Life insurance proceeds can also go toward paying off debts and taking care of burial expenses. Many experts recommend you carry life insurance coverage equal to 15 to 20 times your annual income while your family is still young. Later in life, as the kids leave the nest and the house gets paid off, you can drop this down to 10 to 15 times your annual income.

Car Insurance 

                                                 

Car insurance is one type of coverage that you're required by law to carry. That is, if you operate a motorized vehicle on public roads. You need to have your insurance in place before you take your vehicle out on the road and maintain coverage continuously as long as you're driving.

Car insurance policies typically come up for renewal every 6 or 12 months and it's a good idea to do some comparison shopping each time your renewal comes due. Auto insurance companies change their rates frequently and sometimes add additional discounts. Look at your coverage every year and compare competitive policies. Seek the best coverage and the best prices.