Some tips to help you make it through the winter without welcoming in a burglar include:

* Keeping valuables away from windows and doors where a crook can easily spot them.

* Mark property with an inscription or ultra violet pen.

* Photograph your personal items and keep track of receipts and serial numbers.

* Invest in a small safe to keep unused credit cards, personal documents and small valuables like jewelry.

* Make sure all doors and windows are locked.

* Even though it’s convenient, don’t hide a spare key outside of your property.

* Consider installing an alarm.

* Trim bushes near windows to give burglars fewer hiding places.

Not only is it a good idea to revisit your home insurance policy for theft reasons, WVNS says it’s also a time to reevaluate your coverage overall. Insurance agents advise assessing the true value of your home. That way if bad weather, flooding or snow hits you’ll be covered. “When a loss happens we have insurance to pay for the damage, but there’s a lot of hidden costs that you’re not compensated for; in that you don’t have insurance coverage to pay for you to shop around for a new refrigerator and a new roof, or a contractor to repair the damage,” Jim Songer, President of Songer Insurance told WVNS.

Winter Home Insurance Tasks is a post from: Peppercoin Insurance

1. Multi-Policy and Multi-Vehicle Discounts. Do you purchase many of your insurance products from the same place? You should be rewarded for that. Same goes with car insurance when you have multiple vehicles insured at one company.

2. Low-Mileage Discounts. Not all providers offer this according to US News and World Report, but you should definitely ask. You can save up to 40 percent they say.

3. Good Driver Discounts. It doesn’t seem right that accident prone drivers pay the same as cautious ones. Some insurance companies will reward you for your good record.

4. Vehicle Safety Features. Things like a car alarm, anti-lock brakes and airbags can all add up to savings. Be sure to let your insurance company know if you have these features.

5. Affinity Groups. Your HR department or an organization you belong to may be the source of more insurance savings. Ask around to see if your group affiliations can lead to discounts.

6. Hybrid Cars. These fuel-efficient cars are also good for saving money on insurance, according to US News and World Report.

Looking For Lower Car Insurance Rates? Just Ask is a post from: Peppercoin Insurance

The company that came out on top according to those surveyed was Amica Mutual. The company has filled the number one spot for nine consecutive years. Coming in behind Amica are Auto-Owners Insurance, Erie Insurance, and Cincinnati Insurance. “Homeowners insurance policyholders are already price sensitive due to the economy,” Jeremy Bowler, senior director of the insurance practice at J.D. Power and Associates, said in a statement. “Approximately 50% of customers don’t have a clear understanding of how much coverage or what type of coverage they have on their home, and many have erroneously expected their premiums to decrease just as home values have declined since 2008. As a result, many customers believe their policies are not aligned with their property values and express dissatisfaction.”

If you’re looking for ways to be more satisfied with your insurance policy, study officials say to bundle home and auto insurance policies because those surveyed were more satisfied with that scenario.

Homeowners Less Satisfied With Their Insurance Companies is a post from: Peppercoin Insurance

In order to prevent fraud, WedLock requires couples to pay into the policy for four years before receiving any kind of payout. According to the New York Daily News there’s also an additional $250 premium for each additional year of marriage beyond the fourth year. According to an example provided by the paper, someone who buys ten units from WedLock who gets divorced after being married for ten years would have invest $19,188 for the coverage, but would receive $27,500. “The best insurance against a painful, financially devastating divorce is to find a way to be happy in your marriage,” relationship coach Mimi Daniel told Time Magazine. “Divorce insurance implies from the beginning that divorce is already an option.”

However Logan expects his company to be popular. It may even become a good gift option for those who want to buy the couple something other than china or pillow cases. “Mom or Dad could buy this for their son or daughter without them knowing about it,” he told the newspaper. The company launched in early August and although Logan won’t say how business has been he says some policyholders are purchasing lots of divorce insurance with monthly premiums over $1,000 a month.

Divorce Insurance Now Available is a post from: Peppercoin Insurance

The homeowner Brian Duncan said the flowerpot was holding dead, decomposing flowers and potting soil that his wife planted over a year ago. “She had intended on repotting (the flowers),” Duncan told the Associated Press. But instead they sat on the porch, drying out and dying. Duncan said it was obvious that the fire started in the flower pot because there was a charred hole on the porch and the remnants had fallen to the ground several feet below. But the homeowner told the Associated Press he was still surprised when the results showed the fire started due to spontaneous combustion.

No one was hurt in the late-August blaze, but considerable damage was done to the home. Duncan’s father-in-law used a garden hose to squelch the flames before firefighters showed up to the scene. Duncan said some of the damages included ruined decking, burned vinyl siding, a broken window and damage to the air conditioning system. “The house was full of smoke,” he told the Associated Press.

A local fire marshal maintains that spontaneous combustion is very rare. “Spontaneous combustion is something where you have to have a lot of variables come together and it has to be just right,” Jason Wills told Jonesboro television station KAIT. “It’s something that does happen, but this is the first one in our area that I’m aware of.”

Insurance Company Says Dead Flowers Started House Fire is a post from: Peppercoin Insurance

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said some states are already regulating premiums well, others can do a better job. “Some states have full and rigorous rate review and [the right of] prior approval, so before a company raises a rate it goes through intense actuarial analysis. . . . In others the company doesn’t even have to file [with state authorities],” she told the Washington Post.

The states that already regulate premiums closely will be using the grant money differently than states who don’t. For example, Maryland already has a system in place for regulating insurance premiums. Officials there say they’ll use the $1 million to hire consultants to investigate what additional data needs to be requested from insurers. Some states say they plan to start requiring insurance companies to get pre-approval before any rate increases are implemented. Delaware Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart thanked the Obama administration for the money. “This important grant will help my department and I not only protect Delawareans from redundant rate increases, but will also allow me to pave a critical path toward modernizing our approaches in reaching the goal of affordable, accessible and first rate care for all,” Stewart told the Dover Post .

Starting in 2014 states will have the ability to punish insurance providers that raise rates unreasonably. They’ll be able to exclude those companies from subsidized state-run insurance programs. Five states opted out of the first round of grant money. They are Alaska, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota and Wyoming.

While insurance companies argue that rate increases are a direct response to rising medical costs, Sebelius believes there needs to be better oversight of the industry. “Just having transparency . . . in itself is going to change the dynamics of what is happening in terms of the massive rate increases in this country,” Sebelius told the Washington Post.

States Get $1 Million To Keep Tabs On Insurers is a post from: Peppercoin Insurance

Recent flooding has struck the city of Ames severely. Two rivers meet there, but other cities and towns experiencing flooding aren’t near bodies of water. Governor Culver told Radio Iowa the “new normal” in the state appears to be “unprecedented” flooding. “In Ames, this is worse than ’93 and so anything that we can do in terms of flood mitigation, flood prevention — we need to make that a priority here at the capitol,” Culver told Radio Iowa.

Local insurance agents say most of their clients don’t carry flood insurance. State Farm Insurance Agent Pat Brown told the Ames Tribune that her customers only carry it if federal law requires them to. “If water seeps through basement walls or breaks the basement windows, that’s flood damage, and it’s hard for people to get their arms around that,” Brown said. Officials with the Iowa Insurance Division told the Ames Tribune that most homeowners’ policies don’t cover flood damage. “We remind people annually that one out of every four ‘flood events,’ as we call them, happens outside flood plains,” Tom Alger of the Iowa Insurance Division told the Ames Tribune.

Flood Insurance May Be The New Norm For Iowans is a post from: Peppercoin Insurance

The increase comes on the heels of a seven percent increase in 2008, which at the time was the largest jump in five years, according to reports. Insurance companies say they paid out more than $1.4 billion in 2008 as a result of the September wind storm that left millions without power for days. The storm was what was left of Hurricane Ike, wiping out power to 1.9 million electricity customers in the Dayton area.

In addition to increased homeowners’ insurance rates, Ohio residents will also see a 2.8 percent increase in auto insurance rates. But despite the increases, reports show that Ohio is still the sixth lowest in the country for homeowner’s insurance rates and the 11th lowest for auto insurance rates.

Ohio Home Insurance Rates Jump is a post from: Peppercoin Insurance

Accident Forgiveness: In the past, every time you got in an accident your insurance premiums soared and you ended up paying way more. But now many insurance companies are offering accident forgiveness. If you’re in an accident that is your fault, accident forgiveness will protect your driving record and prevent your rates from skyrocketing.

Deductible Rewards: Many insurance companies have realized how annoying it is to be a great driver, but not get any incentive for it. Now with deductible rewards the insurance company will take a certain amount of money off of your Collision deductible every year you go without having an accident.

Safe Driving Bonus: When you don’t get into accidents, the insurance company doesn’t have to spend any money on you. Now some companies are giving you a piece of your money back as a reward for being a safe driver. Every six months to a year they’ll cut you a check if you haven’t had any issues. The amount of the check is usually equal to a small percentage of your premium.

New Car Replacement: This term is just like it sounds. Since cars lose their value so quickly, drivers who totaled their new cars ended up with a bad deal. They’d get the money equal to what their car was worth, which worked out to be a bad deal. Now some auto insurance providers are promising to give you a new car if yours is totaled within the first three years– not just the depreciated value.

Auto Insurance Terms Defined is a post from: Peppercoin Insurance

Once passed by the House, the Senate will need to pass the bill as well. Insurers are hoping lawmakers take out a portion of the bill that removes anti-concurrent clauses from flood policies. “The recent series of expirations and temporary extensions is negatively impacting the market,” Robert Rusbuldt, Big “I” president and CEO, told the Insurance Journal. “The Big ‘I’ commends the House for passing this bill which is a step in the right direction to a long-term extension of the NFIP [National Flood Insurance Program] and includes much-needed reforms to the critical program.”

The NFIP is currently set to expire at the end of September once again. In the past, lawmakers have extended the program five years at a time which provides stability to the insurance marketplace. Although in the past year, Congress has begun extending the program for smaller periods like a month or six months, which has made it difficult for homeowners and those in the insurance industry. “This bill contains many provisions that PIA has consistently advocated,” PIA National Director of Federal Affairs Mike Becker told House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader John Boehner according to the Insurance Journal. “Perhaps most significantly, H.R. 5114 extends the flood insurance program through the end of 2015. This would finally end the uncertainty that has resulted from a series of short-term NFIP reauthorizations.”

Flood Insurance Program May Finally Be Extended is a post from: Peppercoin Insurance