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The risk involved in home ownership can be passed on to your home insurance company.  Some risks are more of a gamble than others, both for the company and you, so if you can reduce them you will have a better chance of not having to make a claim.  Although it is normally sensible to make use of what you buy, insurance is one thing it is better to leave unused.

Since burglary is something that happens quite frequently, you can take some simple measures to reduce the chances that you will become a victim.  Employ a burglar alarm specialist to install alarms on your property.  They can often also double as fire alarms, which will help you get out of the property and perhaps even save your life.  Change and upgrade your locks, so you are certain that you and your family are the only ones with keys.

Installing a new security lighting system will make your house less attractive to burglars and will therefore reduce the risk of theft.  Be sure to have the alarm and lighting system installed by an approved NSI NACOSS Gold company and you could qualify to receive 7.5% off of your premiums.

Other ways to reduce risk and lower your premiums are to avoid making any claims on your home insurance and to cover more of your own costs by increasing the standard policy excess.  These ideas reduce the risk the company takes, which in turn reduces your premiums.

Many things figure into the amount of your home insurance, but several of them are ones over which you have control.  Knowing the factors and which ones you can change can allow you to reduce your premium and still keep your home fully covered.

First is the overall condition of your home.  Do you have pest problems you haven’t addressed?  How about the roof and windows?  Are they tight and in good condition?  Is your home and surrounding area, including the yard, tidy and picked up?  Rubbish and other items around the house create a fire hazard, and this could drastically increase your premiums.

Do you have or have you installed safety features such as smoke and/or fire detectors?  CO2 detectors or an alarm system are often items that will drop your premium, and of course they will keep you and your family much safer. 

The one thing that has the largest effect on your current policy, however, is prior claims.  Most agents recommend that you only file claims for large items or events.  For example, a break-in and theft of your electronics and jewellery would likely be cause for a claim; your puppy chewing a corner of your couch probably would not.  Multiple, small claims may result in cancellation of your policy, so save the homeowner’s insurance for what it was meant for—large losses—and keep your premiums low.

If you’re about to make a home insurance claim, make sure to do it wisely and honestly as British insurance companies are focusing on a few types of claims that more often than not, turn out to be fraudulent.

According to the Association of British Insurers – ABI – there are more than £2 million of fraudulent insurance claims made each day.  They have revealed that of all the auto and home insurance claims they receive each day, some 335 of those claims turn out to be fraudulent.

That may not sound like a much to the average person, but if you are one of the millions who have house insurance or building insurance, or who carry content insurance, you may be displeased to learn that these fraudulent claims cost honest UK folks an average of £44 additional each year.

The Association of British Insurers says that of the 335 daily fraudulent claims, approximately 170 of these are fake home insurance claims, which remains to date, the most common type of insurance fraud.  It has been revealed that the most common type of fraudulent house insurance claim are ones made by parents whose kids have caused house damage from parties, costing £14 million.

Coming in a close second are auto insurance fraud, making 108 fake claims each day.  With the help of sophisticated techniques, British Insurance Companies are able to catch these claims.

According to Nick Starling, Director of General Insurance and Health at ABI, he says, “Insurance cheats do not prosper – they can expect to get caught, face problems getting future insurance and risk getting a criminal record.  The majority of customers are honest and rightly object to subsidising the cheats.  Insurance fraud adds an extra £44 to the average UK household’s annual insurance bill.”

There are many essential consumer products and services that we use each and every day that one person will pay more for than another and many of the product and services are often similar, if not identical.  Some of these include haircuts, travel services, utilities, plane tickets, credit ratings and insurance, more accurately, home insurance.

It is not a secret that many of us are charged distinctive fees for products and services due to where we live.  Our street address does more than collect our mail; it often regulates what we are charged for specific items.  Electricity, for example, will generally be reduced in less wealthy neighbourhoods than in the more wealthy sections of the same city or municipality.  This is because it is regulated by income and property value.

The same method is often applied to home insurance.  It is assumed that if you live in a wealthy neighbourhood, you will have more expensive material assets, which not only equals more to protect or insure, it also means more to replace in the event of theft or fire.  Therefore, insurance companies justify their charges according to your neighbourhood, which is reflected by your income and property value.

There are many examples of two homes being of the same size and approximate value that will vary drastically in their home insurance premiums.  If you are in the market for house insurance or content insurance, it is definitely worth your time to shop around to compare companies for the best rate.

Over one fifth of all UK households are without contents insurance as homeowners try to save money in the face of unemployment, reduced wages and rising prices.

The statistics, which were collected towards the end of 2010 by Co-operative Insurance and charity, Shelter, have found that a staggering 5.41 million people do not have cover for the contents of their homes.  The survey also found that 68% of owners are worried about money, with 28% having more monthly expenses than they have income.  Interestingly, it is not only a lack of income that leads people to cut corners on their house insurance.  The survey found that 22% of respondents do not believe taking out home insurance is important.

Home contents insurance, as with any insurance, is there to cover you in the case of an adverse
event that, even though relatively unlikely, could lead to substantial costs.  You may think that you do not have sufficient belongings to warrant taking out insurance, but you may be surprised at the total value of goods, such as clothes, shoes, kitchenware, furniture and electronic devices.  In the event of a catastrophic loss caused by flooding or fire you will find it extremely expensive, if not impossible, to replace your belongings.  It is therefore advisable that you look for house insurance quotes online to find cheap house insurance that will fit your pocket and protect all your belongings.

There are a number of problems that you may encounter when claiming on your buildings insurance policy.  Standard insurance policies usually provide cover for theft or damage to your home, but you may experience difficulty when making a claim for certain items.  Carefully checking through your policy, before purchasing it, will enable you to see what will and will not be covered.

Some insurance companies may not provide cover for people living in properties susceptible to flooding, for example.  Similarly, if your property has a thatched roof it is obviously at greater risk of suffering fire damage than one with a tiled roof and you may experience difficulty when applying for buildings insurance.  In this case, you may need to apply for specialist insurance.

If you leave your home unoccupied for long periods of time, for example if it is a holiday home, you may have difficulty obtaining buildings insurance.  The length of time that the property can remain unoccupied will vary, depending on the insurance company, so be sure to check this when applying for buildings insurance.  It may be that you require specialist insurance to ensure that unoccupied property is adequately covered.

You may also be refused buildings insurance if you are living with someone who is not a partner or family member, such as a lodger or au pair.  However, there are insurance providers that do offer such cover, so be sure to look around and find a company that meets your individual requirements.

Most people in the UK have house insurance of one kind or another.  A house is usually your single biggest investment and it makes sense to protect it and its contents against a range of possible eventualities.  Subsidence, flooding, falling trees and explosions are just a few of the events that, although relatively rare, do happen.  Without buildings insurance in place the cost of rebuilding the property can prove prohibitive.  This is why building insurance is always a condition of taking out a mortgage, as it protects the lender as well as yourself, against these devastating events.  The landlord will normally deal with buildings insurance if you rent, but with your own property it will be up to you to choose a provider.

The mortgage lender will probably have suggestions about which provider you should use, but you can shop around for your own cheap house insurance.  There are plenty of companies offering home insurance out there and using the numerous insurance comparison websites is a good starting point.

You do not have to have contents insurance, but it is always a good idea to take it out.  Burglaries can wreak havoc on your possessions, to say nothing of the damage caused by the actual act of entry itself.  Most people have new for old contents insurance cover, which means that lost or damaged possessions will be replaced by new ones of the same type.  Indemnity contents insurance is a cheaper option, but not as popular, because damaged or lost items will be replaced only with those of the same age. 

Home insurance, also known as hazard insurance, house insurance and homeowners insurance, is a form of insurance designed to cover private residences.  Home insurance is intended to provide financial reimbursement to the policy owner in the event of their home suffering damages or any other kind of loss.

The most comprehensive and best form of home insurance policy is one that joins together several different kinds of personal insurance protection.  This should cover against damages from fire and natural disasters (caused by the weather, storms etc…) as well as the loss of the homeowner’s personal items from within the house, either from some kind of aforementioned disaster or theft/burglary.

The most thorough of these home insurance policies also includes liability insurance.  This covers the homeowner against litigation as a consequence of a visitor suffering some kind of injury or accident while on the homeowner’s property.

The home insurance policy needs to be read extensively to determine just what kind of coverage it includes.  Some policies exclude damage to the home from natural disasters such as flooding, for instance, and specialised cover may need to be purchased independently of the general home insurance policy.

Home insurance policies usually come for a fixed term, with the policy owner paying a premium for insurance protection for a set period of time.  There are certain areas and insurers, however, where it may be possible to obtain what is known as perpetual insurance, a form of home insurance that has no fixed term.  Be sure to shop around for home insurance quotes to have the best chance of finding a policy that is right for you.

Having at least some form of home insurance is a vital requirement for everyone in order to protect both property and contents.  However, for landlords it is an essential part of their business, offering a financial lifeline at a time of crisis.  While homeowners only have the risk of one property to worry about, landlords with extensive portfolios need to ensure that they are protected if one or more of their properties were to suffer some form of damage.

Differing from common buildings and contents insurance, landlords insurance protects against the additional risks that can be experienced when dealing with tenants.  While it is essential to have a buildings policy to protect against damage to fixtures, fittings and the actual structure of the building, there is a whole range of problems that can be encountered when letting properties.  A typical example is when a tenant absconds without paying their rent, leaving the landlord open to financial expenses that they had not foreseen.  Though accidental damage in the home can often be claimed for on a normal policy, damage and breakages caused by tenants have to be covered by a specific insurance policy.

It is therefore essential that any landlord obtain a house insurance quote specific to their needs.  Some policies may cover a number of properties, enabling landlords to cover their entire portfolio with one product, but even here it is essential to read the small print and ensure that enough cover will be provided if all properties were experiencing problems at the same time.  However unlikely this may be, it is prudent to factor such an eventuality in.  With all their properties fully insured, the landlord can worry about growing their property empire, rather than dealing with troublesome tenants.

Your current home insurance company should automatically send renewal details to you close to the time the policy is due to run out.  Because it is easy and convenient, many of us just sign the forms and send them back; particularly if we have been happy with the service we have received over the year.  Somewhat surprisingly, many people even choose to stay with their current insurance company for many years, even if their premiums rise year on year.

It is always sensible to shop around for home insurance quotes, even if you intend staying with your current provider.  Some insurance companies will match cheaper ‘like for like’ quotes, so that they can keep your business.  This is especially true if you have been a loyal customer for several years.  A simple call to your current house insurance company, informing them that you have found a more competitive quote will often result in you being able to stay with them and get cheaper insurance too.

Some companies offer discounts for taking out building and contents insurance as part of a package with car insurance and several of the larger firms also offer added discounts for life insurance policies.  Sometimes it works out cheaper to keep all your eggs in one basket and having all your insurance policies with the same company can be much easier to manage.  It is worth discussing what options are available with your current insurance provider.  They will tell you if there are any additional discounts on offer, while still keeping the same level of cover you have been used to.