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Introduction Choosing the right home insurance policy is an essential decision for homeowners. With thousands of options on the market, it can be overwhelming to figure out which policy fits the bill the best in terms of coverage and cost. However, by comparing home insurance options and considering coverage options, cost, customer reviews, financial stability of the insurer and the ease the claims process homeowners can make a smarter choice. Coverage Options Coverage is one of the first things to look at when you’re trying to compare home insurance policies. Consider a policy’s coverage types and coverage levels, and think about what you need. The typical policy offers coverage for your buildings and personal property, liability protection (just in case you cause injury or damage) and additional living expenses. Cost Of course, cost is a major factor for everyone. When you’re comparing home insurance policies, make sure you’re comparing things accurately – our quoting process is good because it prides itself on being as specific as you need it to be. Make sure you’re comparing the premiums and deductibles as they correspond – it might be tempting to choose the cheapest plan, but be careful about simply using that as a tie-breaker. Keep that balance in mind – you don’t want to sacrifice coverage for price. Customer Reviews You’ve probably already done this with trips and clothing and restaurant visits, so why would something as big as a home be any different? Sure, reviews can be gamed and sure, very happy people and very angry people are usually the ones to leave reviews for anything, but if you read enough of them, patterns do emerge. Read the reviews for specific insurance companies – look for reviews that are about responsiveness and reviews about the claims process. (Basically, “Did they pay me back when I tried to make a claim,” is the most important question.) Financial Stability of the Insurer It’s great if insurance is cheap, but if the company goes under after a storm, that does you no good at all. Check the financial ratings of insurers through independent rating agencies like A.M. Best, S&P or Moody’s as well. If you see feedback like struggling to pay claims,” that’s a good indicator to stay away. Ease of Claims Process Technically, you’ll only encounter the claims process, hopefully, after you’re a customer, but you don’t want to just, well, trust these companies. We get it. The filing is a bear with huge paws and sharper claws – make sure you’re reading reviews from different places about how good a (potential) insurance company settles claims. Do cows settle claims, or pandas. You get it. Do this one for your last few choices so you don’t totally run yourself into the ground. Conclusion So many factors go into choosing an insurance company and an insurance policy but by comparing coverage, cost, reviews, financial stability and the claims process, you’ll be able to make the best choice for yourself. It’s important to strike a balance between a reasonable price and having enough coverage so your home and your stuff are totally protected. Your home is your biggest investment, take the time to safeguard it.
