Did You Know Most Homeowners Policies Don't Cover Flood Damage From Storms?

Any home can be vulnerable to a flood from a storm.  According to FEMA, 25% of all flood claims and 1/3 of all assistance come from outside high-risk areas.  Most homeowners policies DO NOT include coverage from floods caused by storms.  Fortunately, the National Flood Insurance Program helps homeowners by providing flood coverage.  Unless you are starting the policy for a home closing, however, there is usually a 30 day wait period before the policy takes effect.  So, you need to plan ahead if you want to be covered before the next major storm.

• Floods are the #1 natural disaster in the US
• Federal disaster assistance is usually in the form of a loan
• The avg annual premium for a flood policy is around $600, while a Preferred Risk Policy can cost as little as $129 per year!

 Additional information can be found on FEMA's website with the National Flood Insurance Fact Sheet:
 http://www.fema.gov/pdf/media/factsheets/2011/mit_natl_flood_ins.pdf

How Does Every Insurance Company Save You Money When You Switch?

The Hartford advertises that customers who switch to them save an average of $443 annually. 

State Farm advertises "switch & save up to $480!"

Travelers advertises $468 savings

Consumers are constantly barraged with insurance ads claiming savings for those who switched.  It's so commonplace that it's almost background noise to most of us.  You kind of know what the basic insurance commercial script is before you've ever even seen it.  The only question is will the Mayhem guy get hit by a car, or the Farmers professor crash a blimp into the classroom, or will the State Farm frat boys use their agent to get a hot tub in their living room.  (We'll deal with the subject of ridiculous insurance commercial premises later)

Logic tells us, that most people are only going to switch insurance for savings.  Most people do not switch policies to spend more.  So you would expect every company to be able to trumpet savings for customers who switch to their insurance.

CBS News ran a story a while back where they actually quizzed the insurance companies on their methodogies in determining the savings amounts.  So, while it is common sense that every company should be able to report average savings for those who switch, the savings amounts are very subjective.  As CBS News reported, savings can be found for those who shop, but no company offers the best deals to EVERY customer.  They point out the legal verbiage that insurance carriers lawyers provide stating that the savings are an average of those customers who said they saved when they switched.  So, it's not an average of ALL customers who switched - just those who saved, which further exagerates the potential savings.

Obviously, there is no simple way of finding the best rates and value for your needs.  Insurance can provide an important service when you're in need.  It's also a very complicated purchase most of the time, so you need to partner yourself with capable professionals if you don't feel confident shopping for insurance.  The best way to make sure you get the best value and rate is to shop the marketplace and find the carrier that rates your risk the best.

If you're interested in getting free competitive quotes for your insurance, feel free to go to our website:
http://www.wekeepuinsured.com/

We might need to spend a few minutes on the phone confirming your information, but once we've identified all the discounts that you're eligible for - we should be able to help you find the best rates for your insurance purchase.