Protecting Your Home from Loss Due to Theft

Your home is filled with memories, personal mementos, and most importantly, your family; the risk of losing your valued possessions to theft is a situation you never want to encounter. Ensuring that damages and loss due to theft are covered by your home insurance is important. Here are the questions you should ask yourself and your insurance agent about protecting your home in case of a break-in, and things you can do to protect your home and reduce your insurance rates.

 

Look Over Your Existing Policy

 

The first step in protecting your home is to see if your existing policy covers both your property and the contents of your property in case of a break-in. Most basic homeowner’s policies do not cover these, and so you’ll want to get a clear picture of what you need before proceeding.

 

Asking Your Agent

 

There may be a number of things you can do to reduce the amount you will pay for theft protection, including combining existing policies and making changes to your home’s security. If you already have homeowner’s insurance, adding theft protection may be cheaper than buying a separate policy, especially if you were to go with a different company or broker. Installing an alarm system, adding locks to windows, and other types of home security protection may qualify you for a discounted rate on your insurance.

 

Creating Peace Of Mind

 

Regardless of the insurance issues, protecting your home and family in case of a break-in is important to your peace of mind. Things such as simply hanging a security sign in your window, leaving lights on when you are not home at night, and changing your routine can deter theft. They may not qualify you for a reduced insurance rate, but may protect your home nonetheless.

 

Free to Our Customers

We highly recommend that you take a look at the Digital Locker and use it to its fullest advantage. It is a way that you can keep a personal inventory of everything you own.

The Digital Locker is free and you can use it online or you can download the app and use it on your phone (both iPhone and Android). This first link will take you to an Allstate web page where you can learn a bit more about it and the second link will take you right to the Digital Locker website.

 

http://www.allstate.com/digital-locker.aspx?cid=OTC-SOC-T-131201:Innovation

 

https://www.digitallocker.com/Home/Dashboard/View

Do You Need Insurance As A Renter?

Do you think home insurance is just for homeowners?  Protecting your personal property and ensuring costs are covered should fire or flood destroy your rental property is not only smart, but in some cases you could be legal responsibility.  So what kind of insurance do you need as a tenant and what should you be sure you have covered to protect your belongings?

 

What Does Renter’s Insurance Cover?

 

Depending on where you purchase your renter’s insurance, the types of claims that will be covered can vary.  In general, renter’s Insurance coverage is similar to that of homeowner’s insurance in that it covers vandalism, theft, and fire.  In most cases this also includes personal liability, meaning that you are covered even if you are the cause of the damage, and it usually includes not only the property itself, but the contents as well.  The extent of the coverage can vary from minimum legal coverage to comprehensive coverage, depending on your personal situation and needs.  Since the minimum coverage required in apartment building or apartment complex (and state) can vary, you will need be sure how much liability coverage you need.  We can help you find a policy that is right for your situation and budget.

 

Renter’s insurance will also cover your personal property in the event of a theft (some limits under the policy may apply).  If you come home from work or a weekend away and find that your apartment has been broken into and your personal property has been vandalized and/or stolen your renter’s policy is there for you.  Renter’s insurance will also be there for you if your car is broken into and your personal property (computer, gym bag, wallet…) is stolen from your car.

 

What Does Renter’s Insurance Cost?

 

Like most insurance policies, the more comprehensive the policy, the most costly it will be, but overall, renter’s insurance is usually a very affordable type of insurance.  In most cases we can help you purchase a renter’s policy for less than $145 a year.  One option that will always make renter’s insurance more affordable is to combine it with another type of insurance, usually car insurance.  We have these types of combined policies available, and since these are two types of insurance that you are required to have anyway, combining them to save money is a great idea for making insurance more affordable.

 

Give us a call to get more information, 401-433-1111!