How to Insure Your Possessions: A Step-By-Step Guide for Buying the Coverage You Need at Prices You Can Afford (How to Insure... Series , No 5)

244 Pages·1999·0.62 MB·English

by  Silver Lake Publishing

How to Insure Your Possessions : A Step By
Step Guide to Buying the Coverage You
Need At the Prices You Can Afford,
title:
Including Protection for Works of Art,
Computer Hardware, Sports Equipment,
Jewelry and Other Valuables
author:
publisher: Silver Lake Publishing
isbn10 | asin: 1563431564
print isbn13: 9781563431562
ebook isbn13: 9780585044217
language: English
Insurance--United States, Consumers--
subject United States.
publication date: 1997
lcc: HG8051
ddc: 368.1
Insurance--United States, Consumers--
subject:
United States.
Page i
How to Insure Your Possessions
A Step by Step Guide to Buying the Coverage You
Need at the Prices You Can Afford for
·Works of Art
·Computer Hardware
·Sports Equipment
·Jewelry and Other Valuables
The Silver Lake Editors
SILVER LAKE PUBLISHING
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
Page ii
How to Insure Your Possessions
First edition, 1999
Copyright © 1999 by Silver Lake Publishing
Silver Lake Publishing
2025 Hyperion Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90027
For a list of other publications or for more information, please call
1.888.663.3091. Outside the United States and in Alaska and Hawaii,
please call 1.323.663.3082.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system or transcribed in any form or by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise) without
the prior written permission of Silver Lake Publishing.
Library of Congress Catalogue Number:
Pending
The Silver Lake Editors
How to Insure Your Possessions
Includes index.
Pages: 226
ISBN: 1-56343-156-4
Printed in the United States of America.
Page iii
Acknowledgements
Assembling a book that includes this much information on a subject
that's changing every few months is tough. Explaining complex issues
in simple terms takes a lot of work.
The Silver Lake Editors who contributed to this book include Megan
Thorpe and Christina Schlank. Thanks also to Sander Alvarez, who
helped with the early drafts and research.
This is the sixth title in Silver Lake Publishing's series of books on
risk and its impact on insurance and other personal finance issues.
Other titles in the series include: Hassle Free Health Coverage, How
to Insure Your Life and How to Insure Your Income. Because these
books are designed to make the concepts and theories of insurance
understandable to ordinary consumers, the Silver Lake Editors
welcome any feedback. Please fax us at 1.323.663.3084 or call at
1.888.663.3091 during ordinary business hours, Pacific time. More
information from Silver Lake Publishing is available on the Internet at
www.silverlakepub.com.
JAMES WALSH, PUBLISHER
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
Page v
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Why You Need to Insure Your Possessions 1
Chapter 2 Homeowners Insurance Doesn't Cover 21
Everything
Chapter 3 Renters Insurance Works in a Few Cases 37
Chapter 4 Auto Insurance Covers Just a Little 57
Chapter 5 How Property Floaters Work 69
Chapter 6 How Umbrella Coverage Works 93
Chapter 7 How Inland Marine Insurance Works 111
Chapter 8 Specialty and Customized Insurance 131
Page vi
Chapter 9 Valuing Your Things and Buying Enough 155
Coverage
Chapter 10 Key Definitions 173
Chapter 11 Making Claims 195
Index 221
Page 1
Chapter 1
Why You Need to Insure Your Possessions
If they think about the question at all, most people figure the things
they own are covered by their homeowners insurance. But people
should think about the question more than they do.
Even if you don't own a home, chances are you own other things. You
may own a car, a boat, a set of nice golf clubs or a new computer. You
probably have a bicycle, a stereo or other nice stuff. All of these
items, no matter what they cost, are of some importance to you. They
have insurable value.
Although the insurance industry of today is dominated by life, home
and auto insurance, it's useful to remember that modern insurance got
its start protecting people against the loss of things. Three hundred
years ago, the informal exchange that became Lloyd's of London
began pooling money among English merchants to insure against
merchandise being lost at sea.
At various times for various reasons, the things you own might be
destroyedby fire, automobile accident, earthquake, theft...and the list
goes on, end-
Page 2
lessly. And this doesn't even begin to address the ever-troubling issue
of liability.
We live in a litigious world. No matter who you are, the wrong mix of
circumstances can find you liableand your nice stuff at riskif you are
found negligent for losses suffered by another person.
For instance: Your neighbor, Mr. Lockhart, strolls over to the house
you're renting to return the weed whacker he borrowed last week.
Muffy, your normally well-behaved Rottweiler, mistakes Mr. Lockhart
for a criminal and bites him on the leg and...er...lower back.
Chances are, Mr. Lockhart won't be so chummy with you anymore.
And, having seen all the high-end gardening gear in your garage, he
may also decide to sue for the pain and suffering he's had to live
through since Muffy's vicious assault.
Liability risk doesn't have to have four legs and German breeding.
You're late for work, so you rush out and forget to turn off your iron.
A few hours later, your landlord calls to say that fire department
investigators have concluded your iron was responsible not only for
the fire in your apartment but also the damage to three other units.
The landlord will be upsetbut probably not as much as the couple
upstairs whose $20,000 collection of vintage jazz recordings was
destroyed because your shirt looked wrinkled. If they didn't have
insurance on those Charlie Parker LPs, they'll be looking to you for
compensation.
Page 3
Disastrous losses can strike just about anyone at any time. Naturally,
these types of risks can be insured against...if you know how to get the
right coverage.
Not only can you purchase insurance to cover your possessions for
damage from fire, smoke, vandalism, theft, and freezing, you can also
purchase liability coverage which will protect you, your family and
even your pet, against claims and suits in the event that you or your
property are responsible for damage to others.
Insurance isn't a simple matter. The insurance industry is set up so
insurers will profit even when they have to pay claims...but claims eat
into these profits. So, even the best insurance companies work hard to
avoid paying claims.
Of course, not all insurers are looking to bilk you out of the premiums
you pay, but it doesn't hurt to know all the facts before you make an
important financial decision such as purchasing insurance.
Protecting Your Property
If you own property, there is always the possibility that a property loss
could occur. A property loss occurs when your property is destroyed,
damaged, stolen, lost, or is decreased in value due to the action of a
peril.
Property is defined as an item that has a value. For insurance
purposes, property falls into two categories: real property and personal
property. Real property includes land and structures built on the land.