Driving at night is infinitely more dangerous on your auto insurance policy than driving during the day. Your range of sight is limited, your reaction times might be slowed, and most people are fighting a long day of being awake. Here are a few ways to get you on the road at night while avoiding an auto insurance nightmare:

Use those headlights cautiously

Headlights are more than just lamps to light your way. They are a means of signaling in the event of problems. They are also a distraction to other drivers.

One common issue comes in flashing other drivers not turning off their high beams. Instead of flashing them, look to the right and focus on the white line until the rude driver passes by. Flashing them can lead to a head on collision hitting your auto insurance policy.

Make sure your headlights are properly lined up as well. The driver side headlight should be aimed a bit lower than the passenger side. This is so the lights closest to oncoming traffic are not pointed squarely in their face. This just causes unnecessary blindness of your fellow driver.

Make yourself visible

Keeping your car visible during the night is the number one factor in avoiding auto insurance claims. This tip starts at making sure all the exterior lighting is in proper working order.

You will also want ways to mark your car in the event that you breakdown. Make sure that you get your car as far off the road as is safely possible. Turn on your hazard lights to mark your car. Even better is to put out reflective orange triangles or road flares a few hundred feet behind your car. This one simple tip can mean the difference in having a safe car or having a two-car accident to talk with your auto insurance agent about.

Keep those windows clean

Keeping all of your vehicles windows clean keeps you from having an auto insurance agent visit the next day. This means even your side windows should be clean.

The reason for this cleanliness is it reduces distractions. Having a dead bug on your windshield gives you something to focus on instead of the road in front of you. Keeping your side windows clean means you can more easily use your side mirrors. Keeping your rear window clean will reduce any crud that might cause lights from behind you to be that much more of a distraction.

Look ahead

Time to avoid an auto insurance mishap. Driving at night will require you to look even further down that dark highway than you would in the middle of the day. Extend you focal point to four or five seconds in front of you.

Doing this simple task will help you in avoiding possible auto insurance pitfalls. This lead time will give you a bit of a cushion to react in the event of animals, stalled out vehicles, or any other obstacle that blocks your driving path.

Driving at night can be exhausting and dangerous. Follow just a few of these tips to keep yourself out of auto insurance problems. The best tip is to drive only when you are fully alert and able to pay attention to the road. There is never shame in pulling over at a rest stop for a few winks.

Copyright: AutoInsurance.org

With most of the country experiencing cold weather at least a portion of the year, homeowners need to realize that sustained exposure to snow and ice can inflict significant damage on their homes and properties.

Below, HomeInsurance.com has outlined some good tips that can help make home insurance losses less likely during an extended cold weather snap.

• Remove all snow and ice from your sidewalks and entrances.
• Keep an eye on any obstructions in your gutters and downspouts. By removing leaves and melting snow, the ice dams are less likely to form, reducing the chance of water build-up and seepage into the house.
• Make sure you house is a minimum of 65 degrees, which prevents the walls and pipes from freezing.
• Identify the location of the main water shutoff and find out how it works in the event of an emergency.
• In a persistent cold snap, open the hot and cold faucets just enough so they drip, which prevents freezing.
• Disconnect all outside hoses from the property.
• Keep your attached garage door closed. Often, the door leading to your garage is less insulated than an exterior door.
• Beware of dead or damaged limbs on and around your property. Wind, snow and ice have a habit of bringing them to the ground, and potentially onto your house, car or someone on your property.
• Watch all woodstoves, electric heaters and fireplaces closely to make sure they are in good, working condition.
• Additionally, close your fireplace’s flue when it is not in use.
• If you leave your home for an extended period of time, have the water system drained to prevent freezing or bursting.

While being proactive is certainly something we recommend at HomeInsurance.com, being reactive in a worst-case scenario will make the best of a bad situation. Below we’ve outlined some of these worst-case situations and what you should do.

• If pipes are already frozen, call the plumber immediately and start thawing. Bursting is not an inevitability, and can be avoided.
• In the event the pipes have already burst, turn off the water ASAP and start mopping. Mold and mildew can exacerbate the situation.
• Call your home insurance agent as soon as you have the situation under control. While he or she may not have to see the situation immediately, they will want to inspect the damages at some point.
• If you can, make any temporary repairs to reduce further damage to carpet, furniture or appliances.
• While reducing damages, make a detailed list of what did get damaged in your home.
• If you need to purchase items related to the damage and are additional to your living expenses, save all receipts as it may be reimbursed.

Most of the damage as the result of freezing is often covered by homeowners policies, however, a lot of policies do not cover a sewage backup or any flood damage as a result. Flooding is covered by the Flood Insurance Program, but sewer/drain coverage can be an addendum to your current home insurance policy. As always, check with your home insurance agent for more information.

Copyright: HomeInsurance.com

A home inventory may not seem like a high priority on your list of things to keep up with as a homeowner. However, in the event that your home was destroyed in a fire or other peril, this list will be one of your greatest assets.

A home inventory is a detailed list of all of your home contents. In the event that disaster strikes your home, this list will help you remember all of your personal belongings so that you can report your entire loss to your insurance company. Contents coverage (or coverage C) is the portion of a homeowners insurance policy that provides coverage for the items inside of your home.

In the event of a disaster striking your home the loss can be overwhelming and many homeowners can not remember everything that they had in their home before the loss. A home inventory will keep you from forgetting important items and help speed up the claims process.

Also, when taking a home inventory take note of any particularly high-value items such as pieces of jewelry, furs or collectible items. Some of these items have coverage limits associated with them which may leave some of your possessions under insured. Ask your insurance agent if you need an endorsement, or rider, on your policy in order to adequately cover these items.

When taking an inventory of your home, be sure to include everything you own except vehicles, animals and items that are insured under other policies. It is important to keep this document in a safe place outside of your home- such as in a safe deposit box or at a relative’s house.

A few helpful reminders for creating your home inventory:

• List every item of value in your home
• Include serial numbers of items anywhere you can
• Continuously update your home inventory as you acquire new items
• If you have the receipt- include it!
• Take Photos- take close-up and wide-angle shots, use a color camera or video camera if possible and have a family member in all pictures to help prove ownership.

Copyright: HomeInsurance.com

When asking for a home insurance quote, be prepared to answer some questions about your home and claims history. Having all of this information available beforehand can help you get a quote faster.

Here is some of the information you may need to get a home insurance quote:

• Home Details such as square footage, construction type, roof age, etc.
• The amount of liability coverage you need
• If your home is your primary or secondary residence
• What type of pets you own (if any)
• Details about any home insurance claims you have filed in the past 5 years
• The age of your home and when your electrical, plumbing and heating were last updated

Having this information handy can help speed along the quote process. Plus, the more accurate the information you provide, the more accurate your quote.

Copyright: HomeInsurance.com

The auto insurance industry is rocking some scary numbers on how many people fall asleep at the wheel. Long road trips have a tendency to knock even the best driver into dreamland. Here are five tips to help you avoid the auto insurance nightmare of highway hypnosis:

1. Get a good night’s rest

Any trip should begin the night before. Being fully rested before you embark on your road trip will bring you a few benefits. Fully rested drivers are more alert and responsive to possible obstacles.

Rest also means your not fighting sleep while on the road to a fun time. This only keeps you from having to explain to the auto insurance agent how you ended up in a field instead of at the pool. Start the trip right with adequate sleep.

2. Start your trip early

Don’t push your driving off until the late hours of your day. Starting a trip shortly after your morning routine is done will keep you awake and alert much longer. Think of your road trip as a day at the office.

Starting a road trip after long hours at the office is a sure fire way to have a fresh new car crash show up on that auto insurance record. There are times you just cannot avoid leaving until after work though. This is the prime time to consider breaking that road trip up into two sections. Better yet, let someone else drive who is fully rested.

3. Frigid is just the right temperature

Being comfortable can sometimes cause one to easily succumb to the power of highway hypnosis. Turning the heat on only compounds the effects of this phenomenon.

Try turning on your air conditioner, or opening a window in the cooler months. This colder temperature helps keep those eyes on the road and you out of the auto insurance agents office. It may not be cozy, but it is better than being in the ditch.

4. Ear bleeding decibels will help those heavy eyes

Don’t make yourself def with this tip. Turning up the radio can do a lot to battling some highway hypnosis. Turn on your favorite songs and rock out while you drive. Your travel companions may not appreciate the loud music, but they will enjoy not dealing with the police and auto insurance hassles of a wreck.

5. Sit straight, slacker

How you sit in your vehicle can mean the difference between snoozing in the car seat or snoozing on a comfortable bed. The biggest issue comes with those drivers that lick to slouch. This position only makes battling sleep that much harder.

Adjust your seat so you’re sitting up straight. Make sure you keep proper sitting posture as well. Adjust the headrest and any potential lumbar support to help keep you sitting straight. Seat warmers should most certainly be left in the off position. These may help you in a short cold drive to work. They won’t help your auto insurance in a wreck on a long trip.

Falling asleep at the wheel is a good way to cause an auto insurance nightmare. There is no shame in pulling off the road to get some rest. You want to arrive at your destination alive in your own vehicle, not in the back of an ambulance.

Copyright: AutoInsurance.org

Many parents dread that day when their kids reach that great milestone and their auto insurance rates skyrocket: the sixteenth birthday (15^th in Louisiana). Once upon a time, that was when our baby girls were allowed to date. Nowadays, most of them start dating a lot earlier than that, but they still have to wait for sweet sixteen to obtain the pinnacle of a teenager’s life: their driver’s license. If you’re anything like most parents, one of the first things you notice is that your car insurance quotes have gone through the roof.

We all want to provide the best things for our kids, of course. And as they become old enough, as long as they are responsible, one of those things is a set of wheels. Having a car (or at least access to one) affords a teenager a taste of freedom which is important for them as they get ready to embark on adulthood in a few short years.

Still, unless you happen to be independently wealthy, allowing your teen to touch the keys can be an expensive proposition. While we can’t change that, we can offer a few suggestions to help minimize the impact of your teenager’s new ticket to freedom:

• Buy a four door car if you haven’t already. We know, nothing says uncool like a sedan. Trust us, your kids will whine and plead for a cooler car. Resist them at all costs. Teenagers should not be allowed to sit behind the wheel of anything with two doors until they turn 25 and/or are on their own getting their own car insurance quotes.
• Make sure your car has a good safety rating. This is important for obvious reasons, beyond the fact that it will save you a few bucks on your car insurance.
• Make firm rules about using the car. Make it abundantly clear to your kids that one ticket will indeed be the end of the world, at least as far as their driving privileges are concerned. Make firm rules regarding cell phone use, radio volume, and how many/which friends are allowed in the car.
• Add your kids to your insurance. Trust us on this one. This is not an area to try to skimp and pull the wool over your agent’s eyes. The last thing you want on top of having your car totaled is an insurance adjuster who doesn’t want to pay out on a claim because you lied on the forms to save a few bucks.

Copyright: AutoInsurance.org

In Northern climates where the roads tend to become slick and ice-covered during the winter, auto insurance rates can be higher than in other parts of the country. The fact of the matter is that winter driving is inherently dangerous, and auto insurance companies recognize this greater risk. That isn’t to say you’ll only face the threat of an accident during the winter or that you’re guaranteed to have a winter accident at some point in your life, but it does mean you need to be keenly aware of how the season affects the road conditions in the part of the country where you live.

Just like you prepare your wardrobe for winter by buying some sweaters, gloves and a winter coat, so you need to do some things to prepare your car for the winter months. Making a few simple maintenance plans can mean the difference between having to file an auto insurance claim and having a stress-free and accident-free winter.

Here are some things you need to do in order to prepare your car for winter driving:

• Get to a mechanic. You’ll want to have a trusted mechanic do some inspections on your vehicle. He should check out your battery, your antifreeze level, the car’s thermostat, functioning of the heater, brakes and the window defrosters.
• Next, take a look at those tires. You need to have a sufficient amount of tread to get you through the winter. If they’re due to be changed, do so before the snow starts to fall. You might even consider putting a set of snow tires on your vehicle if you live in an area that tends to get heavy snowfall. Snow tires will offer you better traction, and they are better able to handle the extreme weather conditions of winter driving.
• Visually inspect your vehicle’s lights. You’ll want to check all of your lights, including headlights, running lights, turn signals, brake lights, reverse lights and, perhaps most importantly in the winter, your emergency flashers.
• Watch out for freezing windshield wiper fluid. Make sure to purchase windshield wiper fluid that’s rated for cold temperatures. If you took your car to Florida in the fall and had to add wiper fluid, you should consider replacing it with wiper fluid that is rated better for freezing temperatures.
• Check your car’s windshield washer spray nozzles. Sometimes, these can become blocked by debris or by wax. You can use a pin or a needle to clear any blockages.
• Regularly remove salt from your vehicle during the winter. A good wash and waxing will help to prevent corrosion of your car’s body, and it will keep it looking like new all year round.

Copyright: AutoInsurance.org

When shopping for home insurance, you should know about the six types of home insurance coverage offered in standard policy:

Coverage A- Dwelling
Coverage B- Other Structures on Your Property
Coverage C- Personal Property/Contents
Coverage D- Loss of Use
Coverage E- Personal Liability Protection
Coverage F- Medical Payments

Dwelling coverage protects against the damage and possible loss of your home’s structure in the event of a covered claim such as a hurricane, hail, lightening or fire. (Separate policies are needed for flood and earthquake insurance.) This portion of your policy pays to replace the structural components of your home. Learn more about dwelling coverage.

Other Structures that are protected by a standard home insurance policy are detached garages and other detached buildings on your property. The typical coverage for other structures is 10% of your dwelling coverage-although higher amounts may be purchased if necessary. Learn more about other structures coverage.

Personal Property coverage is included in a standard home insurance policy and protects your personal items and household contents in the event they are stolen or destroyed by fire, hurricane or other peril covered in your policy. These items may include, but are not limited to, furniture, clothing, and sports equipment. Learn more about personal property coverage.

Loss of Use coverage provides for your living expenses in the event that you cannot live in your home due to a covered claim. This type of coverage typically covers hotel and restaurant bills and other living expenses you may incur while your home is being repaired. Learn more about Loss of Use coverage.

Personal Liability Protection covers you in the event that a lawsuit is presented against you or covered family members for bodily injury or property damage. Your pets are also included in this portion of your policy protecting you against bodily harm or property damage that they may cause to others. Learn more about personal liability protection.

Copyright: HomeInsurance.com

Home insurance is never required by law, however, the financial institution that holds your mortgage will most likely require your home to be insured for at least the amount of your loan. Lenders require home insurance to protect their investment in case of a disaster that destroys or damages your home. While home insurance may not be required by a lender, it is recommended that every home owner insure their home and belongings to protect against a loss.

The same holds true for flood and earthquake insurance. If you live in a flood zone or an area that is subject to a high number of earthquakes, your lender may require you to carry either an earthquake or flood insurance policy on the property.

If you own a condo, apartment or town home, the homeowners’ board may require you to purchase a special policy to cover the common areas of the building.

Besides what is required, it is always a good idea to maintain adequate home insurance coverage in order to protect your own investment in your home. Even if you own your home and do not have a mortgage, your home is still susceptible to common perils. Having comprehensive home insurance coverage ensures that you will never have to worry about losing your investment if a covered disaster were to strike in your area.

Homeowners insurance is an insurance policy that protects you financially in the event that your home and property is damaged in a covered peril, or in the event of a covered lawsuit.

Perils that are typically covered by a standard home insurance policy include fire, wind, lightning, hail and theft. While no one plans on losing their home or possessions to any of these perils, it unfortunately happens every day. Ask yourself this: If your home was ever destroyed in a fire, for example, how would you pay to rebuild your home? That’s where your homeowners insurance comes in.

Homeowners insurance protects the investment you have made in your home by providing you with coverage for specific hazards.

But your home insurance doesn’t stop there. In the event that someone was filing a lawsuit against you for accidental damage you caused to their property, how would you pay for the costly legal fees? Standard homeowners insurance also contains liability coverage that protects you and your family against lawsuits where another party finds you liable for damage to their property or person.

Copyright: HomeInsurance.com