Insurance questionnaires are a pain, right? Yes, I agree! They become much less painful when you realise a basic fact about what those questionnaires are designed to do, though. Every question on that form is designed to calculate whether you are a higher or lower insurance risk. If you're at a lower risk, your premium should be less. Unfortunately, when it comes to some types of 'risk', ordinary home insurance companies just don't ask the right questions... and you end up paying for risks other people have in your postcode. Tall trees are a major one of those risks - and if you don't live near any, you should be paying less for your home and contents insurance. Here's why.
Standard home insurance policy questions: According to major insurers, the value of your premium is calculated according to several factors.
* The sum you want to insure your home and contents for * Your postcode * The amount of excess you choose as an option * The oldest person living in the home * Security items like locks, alarms, etc
While most of these points are completely unique to your situation, one point sticks out. Your postcode! When an insurance company uses your postcode to calculate your premium, you are paying a blanket rate for the risks that have occured within that large area. Tall trees present quite a few risks to insurance companies (which we'll look at below), which require higher premiums. If you live in a cleared area of a heavily wooded suburb (in a new estate in a well-established suburb, for example), you're paying for risks which don't exist at your property.
Trees cause trouble Trees are great for the environment and can contribute to our psychological wellbeing. But they are also an insurance risk. Here are some of the common types of claims that home insurance companies may have to pay because of tall trees:
* The obvious - damage to either the structure of your house or your contents due to falling limbs * As above, but for your neighbour's home and contents, and possibly car * Personal medical liability if a falling limb injures somebody * Removal costs for large fallen tree limbs * Paying to have the tree 'doctored' or shaped after an adverse event like a storm
An important misconception People often assume that if a tree is not in their yard, it will be the tree owner's responsibility to pay for any damage arising to the home/contents owner's property. This is not always the case - if the damage is caused by a sudden and unexpected event (eg, a storm) rather than a progressive and expected condition (eg, a pest or disease) where the homeowner was previously aware, then each homeowner will make a claim from their own insurance policy. This is one reason why many home insurance companies elect to average costs over an entire postcode, instead of asking some basic questions that could easily reduce many people's home insurance premiums.
So, next time you're facing an insurance form that asks you more questions than usual... rejoice! You've finally found someone that sees you as an individual, and quotes your home and contents insurance premium accordingly.
Florida Auto Insurance
