1. Do regular checks on your plumbing and upgrade once it becomes necessary. Reports show that water damage is the most common claim on homeowner’s insurance policy. This simply means that if you can show your insurer that you’ve taken steps to reduce or remove the risk of water damage, you’ll lower your homeowners insurance rate. Be sure to inform your agent once you upgrade your plumbing system.

2. Maintain your home if you want lower homeowners insurance rates. Look at those dead limbs on trees on your property. They could raise a liability issue. Anything that could cause injury to someone on your compound should be taken care of as soon as you notice it. Such a good maintenance culture would lower your home insurance premium.

3. Make sure you do not leave ladders lying around. They could actually aid a burglar. Don’t leave your tools, machinery or such on the lawn or anywhere in the open as they could cause injury and increase your liability claims. Like ladders, tools and such could aid a burglar in breaking into your home. All such things will eventually increase your homeowners insurance premium if you don’t keep them in the right place.

4. Insurance quotes sites offer a great opportunity for you to save much in homeowners insurance despite your profile. Get and compare home insurance quotes from up to five or more insurance quotes sites. You can save hundreds of dollars by just doing this. It will take you only about 5 minutes per site.

To start an insurance agency you will need to decide on going independent or being a captive agency. Some of the best known captives include Farmers, Nationwide and Allstate. Captives sell exclusively, or mostly, one brand of insurance. There are advantages and disadvantages of each so it is advisable to investigate both. Many states require an insurance company to sponsor your license application, so selecting a company is a good place to start. A property and casualty license is generally the minimum to start and allows you to sell auto and homeowners type policies (Laws vary by state). It is advisable to get additional licenses such as accident and health, and possibly investment type licenses (For example Series 6 and 63).

For either choice many agents work part time first to get licensing, training, experience, and begin building a client base. If you have your own business your income will probably be straight commission. Normally you are paid for the sale of each policy and again every time of renewal. In my area 20 to 30 policies per month is considered good for new agents. This might pay you $2,000 to $3,000 depending on the type of sales. After you pay your expenses the income can be quite small when starting. As your book of business increases your renewal income will greatly increase your income.

An option to building an agency from scratch is to buy an existing agency. Typically you will pay 2 or more times annual earnings. For example, if an agency has 1,000 policies that earn $100,000 annually in renewals, you will probably pay $200,000 or more. It is possible to finance an agencies purchase. This will generally require 10% or more for a down payment. SBA is the most common lender for this kind of loan. My company, Texas Capital Mortgage 281-537-7800, can help with business financing for Texas residents. (I have found that the mortgage business is a good compliment to the insurance business.)

Obviously you need a lot more information to start an agency. I suggest spending a lot of time researching the business before jumping in. Read some books about the business. The larger companies have district offices where they can tell you about employment with them. The agent you buy your insurance from may be willing to share his experience with you. There is also a lot of information available online.

Insurance is a great business but don’t underestimate the difficulty! After starting with Farmers full time, the first 1/2 year I lost 50K (much of this was start up expence), the next year I lost 20K, and this year I should make some profit. Some agents will do better or worse but this could give you some idea.

Auto insurance ratings are crucial factors in judging an auto insurance company. The rating varies from company to company. In California, one can find a number of high and medium rating auto insurance companies, catering to all insurance needs and situations.

The insurance rating of an auto insurance company is based on its financial stability, as reported to the state government and the rating agencies periodically. There are a number of agencies in California to rate the financial data of insurance companies. These ratings are available free of cost to the public, reliable and easy to access. So, whenever you look for purchasing auto insurance in California, the important thing to do is choose a financially secure company. Most agencies post their ratings on websites or in rating books available in libraries and book malls.

Searching auto insurance rating systems in California may be confusing. The top performing companies are awarded “A” rate, while “C” stands for average. This rating strategy seems to be equal for almost all agencies. Sometimes the rating is indicated by “A++” or “A+” for superior and “A” or “A-” for excellent insurance providers. Even though an insurance company comes with “A” rating, it may show potential problems when paying claims. At the same time, “C” rated companies have not much financial strength to face too many accident claims in a short period. So, before purchasing insurance, it is advisable to have a comprehensive understanding about ratings of companies. This is essential to identify the company that can maintain the top tier for a longer period.

As in other states in America, California uses auto insurance ratings as the evaluating factor for measuring the operating performance of a company and its ability to meet the obligations of policyholders. According to a new insurance rating plan, insurers have to consider the safety records of drivers, years of driving experience and annual mileage.

Insurance is a necessity in any business. Businesses cover themselves against losses such as fire, theft and unexpected natural disasters. It is with the bookkeeping or accounting that owners get it wrong.

On successful insurance claims, a payment is normally made to the insured. My experience has led me to believe that small businesses have no clue, as to how, to account for insurance settlements. Most businesses reflect the payment as income.

Not only would this be deceptive but also violates International Accounting Standards. Since the transaction has everything to do with assets and nothing to do with income, it should be adjusted against assets. Erroneous accounting for assets might prejudice the business further in future, if similar insurance claims are made.

Insurance companies settle claims on assets, on its book value and not its costs. (And yet the asset was insured on its cost at date of purchase). Whereas this principle might vary from country to country, book value is widely accepted as the norm. Since most small businesses fail to maintain proper fixed assets registers, insurance companies perform “desk top valuations”, or make an “estimate”, on the book value, mostly much lower than its “real” book value. Without proper records, the claimant cannot debunk the assessor’s final conclusions.

Before I loose you in a sea of confusion, let me elaborate. If an asset is on your books at least, without the asset register, but you have no purchase date, and this asset is lost due to theft, no accurate wear and tear can be furnished. Furthermore, if a claim is settled, and reflects as “income”, what happens to the asset that was stolen, but still reflects on your books?

Many reading this article could not care a hoot about the number crunching involved, but please stay with me for a minute. You might not care, but an investor, a bank and yes, the insurance company might pick this up on your financial statements when they demand your reports.

The method used to account for insurance claims is the “disposal method”. Any asset subject to an insurance claim should be transferred to a “Disposal Account”. Depreciation on the asset for the relevant period is calculated, and credited to the disposal account with the insurance settlement. The cost, less depreciation equals book value. Any settlement amounts over or under book value, will result in a loss or profit on disposal.

An insurance claim, wrongly entered as “income”, can be adjusted by transferring the amount to the disposal account. After effecting these entries, the disposal account should balance to zero. Your new records would reveal, the loss or profit on claim (income statement), settlement in bank account, fixed assets less the stolen/lost asset, and a lower depreciation estimate for the year.

I acknowledge that this is your accountant’s job, you however have a duty to provide accurate records. But how many businesses continue to pay, the same insurance premiums on the assets, since purchase date, when they, entitled to a lower premium, due to a lower asset value.(prior to any asset losses).

Also, a precarious asset situation in your books, might lead to problems in your tax affairs.
No business can afford a visit from the IRS. Did you know that tax authorities always commence auditing, your assets, before they move on to your income?

Home insurance, also commonly called hazard insurance or homeowners insurance (often abbreviated in the real estate industry as HOI), is the type of property insurance that covers private homes. The home insurance policy is usually a term contract-a contract that is in effect for a fixed period of time. Perpetual insurance, which is a type of home insurance without a fixed term, can also be obtained in certain areas. After the sizable investment you have made in buying your home, furnishing and decorating it, you can insure yourself against risks with a home insurance policy. Your home insurance safeguards your most prized belongings: your home, your personal things and even your financial future.

Types of Cover
The buildings insurance covers your home’s bricks and mortar, that is the home itself. Contents insurance covers your possessions inside your home, for example furnishings. Often specialist insurers are able to offer better cover or cheaper premiums than that provided by the banks and building societies as ‘default’ options attached to mortgages. The contents of your home are also covered against loss due to burglary or an attempted burglary. Your contents cover will be based on their value and although there will be a minimum recommended figure, based on your details, you may wish to increase it.

Getting a Quote
The first port of call should be your existing insurer; after all if it can beat or even match the best quote it saves the hassle of switching policy. Also check consumer guides, insurance agents, companies and online insurance quote services. When you’ve narrowed the field to three insurers, get price quotes. You should get as a minimum, three price quotes.

Getting a Discount
Most companies offer attractive discounts. Improve your home security and you can usually get discounts of at least 5 percent for a smoke detector, burglar alarm or dead-bolt locks. Insurers provide discounts to reward behaviour that reduces risk. Online internet comparison sites can provide a quick reference point for getting your discounted quote. But beware!! Many comparison sites do not use all available insurers so make sure you try several sites. Although you want to lower your homeowners insurance cost, you also want to make certain you have all the coverage you need.

In Conclusion
Whether you make your home in a house, a condo, or a rental unit, the best way to protect it, your things and your liability is to purchase home insurance.