house insurance 101

[condo-owner]

i am the student and you are the teacher. school me. i have never had to buy house insurance. so i want to have some knowledge before i go shopping. thanx

[Whitenack]

Wow, that is a really loaded question. Too much to go over here. What you need to do is call up several different local agents and talk things over with them. Compare and contrast what they tell you. Talk with friends, family, neighbors as to who they use or who they can recommend.

In the meantime, here is a link to Illinois' Department Of Insurance website with a shopping guide..

[condo-owner]

yeah, i know. but i had to start somewhere
thanx for the link.

[Concretemasonry]

If you are in a condo, the game changes significantly since the building itself and exterior may be covered by an association policy and you may be faced with personal liability and "within the paint" when it comes to interior damages from storms, etc.

Dick

[condo-owner]

my condo is sold. i am looking to buy a house. totally different insurance animal.

one thing i am wondering. are there any companies i should stay away from ? or policies that i don't need, like earthquake insurance.

that kind of stuff.

[Whitenack]

one thing i am wondering. are there any companies i should stay away from ? or policies that i don't need, like earthquake insurance.

You want to stick with companies that have strong and steady financial ratings. Companies that have plenty of money in reserve to pay catastrophic claims and aren't stingy when it comes to paying claims. As you must understand, I can't name names here. Ask around to your friends and family and co workers on who they have and what they think. To help, you can ask for or look up each company's financial rating from AM Best or S&P. Great companies will have A+ or better, acceptable companies will have an A, and I would steer clear of companies with B or less.

As to what coverages you need, you really need to sit down with a local agent and discuss that with them.