Shopping for home and personal insurance is no fun. Throughout the search, you will find yourself filtering through confusing terms, insurance company marketing gimmicks and a seemingly infinite number of options. To help you navigate this conundrum, the below points will tell you the things that you need to know when searching for both home and personal insurance.

Preexisting conditions

Preexisting conditions will be the biggest determinant of your insurance premium cost.

In the case of your home, preexisting conditions will come in forms such as structural, electrical and water damages. If you have damage such as these in your home you should get this fixed before applying for insurance, as insurance companies will inspect your home prior to offering you a calculated rate.

For personal insurance, your medical history is what the insurance companies will be looking at. Before contacting them, you should obtain a copy of your personal medical records and review it; if there are any discrepancies, get them cleared up before contacting the personal insurance companies. Also, if you have any medical conditions that can be reasonably mitigated without personal insurance, do so. Most insurers require a physical; you will want to be in the best possible shape to show them that you are healthy.

Fix your credit

When purchasing an insurance policy, you are effectively paying for the right to have your issues paid for in the event that they occur. Because of this, insurers act very much like creditors in that they check your creditworthiness to help them determine the price of your premium AND your deductible. Regardless of what your credit score is, you should work to raise it as much as possible before contacting either home or personal insurance companies.

Check claim limits

Insurers often have stipulations that limit the number of claims that you can make within a certain timeframe (usually a year); if you exceed this, you may be limited from making future claims, be facing higher premiums or be dropped completely from your plan.

Because your health is important and things come up, your personal insurance will be more flexible in this regard; this does not mean that it is a good idea to visit your doctor for arbitrary check-ups.

Check what is covered

If your insurance doesn’t cover what you need it to, then reevaluating your current plan is in order. For personal insurance, make sure that your insurance covers any medical conditions that you have or would like covered, as well as any other additional features you feel are necessary for you.

Home insurance policy holders will want to take into consideration their location when deciding what they need covered. For instance, if you live in a tropical or subtropical region, you should make sure that your home insurance covers flooding and hurricane damage; if you live in an area with a high tornado risk, make sure that tornado damage is covered; if a large tree looms over your home, make sure that they cover tree damage. If there are any potential risks surrounding your home, try to get them covered.

Negotiate your deductible

Your deductible is another huge determinant of whether your home and personal insurance will be worth the investment. To make sure it is, you need to get your deductible as low as possible.

Regardless of what the first insurance company representative you speak to says, your deductible is negotiable. All of the above factors contribute to your deductible, so use the positive aspects of those factors as negotiation tools.

Prepare to call the insurance companies

Now that you know what to do, get your affairs in order and start interviewing insurance providers to find the best match for you.

Eddie Wilkinson hopes that you enjoyed reading this Finance article. If you are interested in learning more, Best Buy Insurance is a credible source containing useful information about home insurance.