HomeOwnerInsurances.org

The Best Online Source for Homeowners Insurance Information!!

How to Pick an Home Insurance Company

There are many insurance companies, so choosing between them can be a challenge.

Here are the main points to keep in mind when selecting an insurance company:

Licensing

Not every company is licensed to operate in each state. As a general rule, you should buy from a company licensed in your state, because then can you rely on your state insurance department to help if there's a problem. To find out which companies are licensed in your state, contact the state insurance department.
Price

Many companies sell insurance policies and prices vary greatly from one to another, so it really pays to shop around. Get at least three price quotes from companies, agents and from the Internet. Your state insurance department may publish a guide that shows what insurers charge for different policies in various parts of your state.
Financial Solidity

You buy insurance to protect you financially and provide peace of mind. Select a company that is likely to be financially sound for many years, by using ratings from independent rating agencies.
Service

Your insurance company and its representatives should answer your questions and handle your claims fairly, efficiently and quickly. You can get a feel for whether this is the case by talking to other customers who have used a particular company or agent. You may also want to check a national claims database to see what complaint information it has on a company. Also, your state insurance department will be able to tell you if the insurance company you are considering doing business with had many consumer complaints about its service relative to the number of policies it sold.
Comfort

You should feel comfortable with your insurance purchase, whether you buy it from a local agent, directly from the company over the phone, or over the Internet. Make sure that the agent or company will be easy to reach if you have a question or need to file a claim.

Source: http://www.iii.org/individuals/homei/hbs/pickco/

Home Insurance Articles

Compare Home Insurance Agents And Save On Homeowners Insurance

OfficialWire - Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:41:03 GMT
Spring is approaching and finding local homeowners insurance agents can be a difficult task. With the help of InsureMyHouse.com, things have become much easier. The site is specifically designed for the homeowner providing them with an online directory to find a local agent.

Tax breaks await city homeowners

Observer-Reporter - Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:24:14 GMT
This article has been read 2338 times. For years, business developers have been taking advantage of Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance that offers tax incentives to build in a certain municipality.

Realty Q&A: Flood insurance for your home is money well spent

Market Watch - Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:26:09 GMT
The cost of flood insurance is based on many factors. First and foremost, of course, is the location of the building. But the folks at the Federal Emergency Management Administration tell me that there are other considerations besides the potential for and estimated severity of flooding in a specific area.

Debt Drugged

The Daily Reckoning - Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:34:40 GMT
Governments and central banks have managed to engineer some more spin, but only at the expense of piling more debt on top of the already wobbling structure.

Names and Faces

Portsmouth Herald - Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:08:39 GMT
PORTSMOUTH — Federal Savings Bank announced the addition of Tim Dargan to the position of vice president, commercial lending officer.

Raise your insurance deductible to save money: a smart move?

The Christian Science Monitor - Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:51:02 GMT
You can save money by raising your insurance deductible. But make sure your emergency fund can handle the unexpected.

The Web Guide for the New Economy

LLRX.com - Sun, 07 Mar 2010 12:58:43 GMT
The Web Guide for the New Economy represents the latest world wide web resources for discovering new knowledge and understanding the latest developments with regard to the New Economy.

Fargo’s Red River May Reach Last Year’s Record Flood

Update2) (BusinessWeek - Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:35:51 GMT
The Red River of the North may overflow its banks in coming months with nearly the same power as last year, when it spent 61 days at flood stage in Fargo, North Dakota, and broke a 112-year-old crest record, federal forecasters said.

A Guarantee Against Losing Cash on Homes?

Time.com via Yahoo! News - Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:10:00 GMT
To get anxious home hunters to step up and buy, one company is offering to guarantee that buyers won't lose money. But this safety net doesn't come cheap

AIG ‘Still Exposed’ Amid Losses by Guarantor, Lender

Update1) (BusinessWeek - Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:33:56 GMT
American International Group Inc., the insurer bailed out after derivatives losses tied to housing, is being weighed down by unprofitable units that originate and guarantee U.S. mortgages.