What Not to Do With Home Insurance
Home insurance companies have the same rule as antique stores: you break it, you buy it. Failing to make good on your home insurance policy is not limited to paying insurance premiums. If you don’t maintain the home or prevent flood and fire, your premiums will go through the roof, if your claims even get processed. Here’s what not to do when it comes to home insurance.
1. Get a Scary Dog.
Most home insurance policies come with liability insurance. This covers injury for anyone visiting your home, which includes cover for bad pets. If your dog is particularly vicious or prone to attacking others, your home insurance will be expensive. Some insurance companies will exclude certain breeds of dogs, such as pit bulls and Rottweilers, because they are too much of an insurance risk. Even if your premiums are not expensive to begin with, they will increase after claims for dog bites.
2. Neglect Your Home
Home insurance covers damage to the structure of the home, unless, of course, the damage could have been prevented with proper maintenance. Failing to clean your gutters, for example, may lead to water collecting on your roof, which may result in leaks or cave-in. Claims for such damage will be rejected by the home insurance company, seeing you cover all the damage out of your own pocket.
3. Forget Firebreaks and Retaining Walls
It is the obligation of the insured to make sure his or her home is protected from fire or flood, especially if they are at risk of such. (Homes in open areas surrounded by dry grass are at risk of fire. Homes near large bodies of water are at risk of flood.) Firebreaks and retaining walls are some measures homeowners must take otherwise the premiums may be high, if cover is not rejected at all.
4. Make Many Claims
If you claim on your home insurance policy for everything, your insurer will push up the premiums. If you do not cover smaller damage yourself, you may end up paying more in insurance than you would by paying out minor damage from your own pocket.
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