About

The experienced and courteous professionals at CHS Insurance Brokers want to connect you to the insurance policies that will best protect your future. We understand how vital it is to insure your home, auto, life, health, and everything else that you’ve invested your time and energy into. We’re proud to work alongside our clients to get them fitted with the proper policies that offer the coverage they need – nothing more and nothing less. Obtaining insurance can be complicated, especially since you have to navigate a dictionary of confusing legal and financial jargon. Let us put in the work for you!

Is Mortgage Life Insurance Essential?

So, you are considering buying a house or have bought a new home which is one of the biggest investments you will ever make, so it is essential to have the right policy in place to protect you and your home. It should be your top priority. It is the easiest and the most practical way of knowing if something did go wrong you would be assured that your family would have ample money to maintain and survive their lifestyle on a day to day basis. When taking out a mortgage it is important to take into consideration how you will pay off the mortgage if you didn’t have the income due to illness or any other reasons. Mortgage insurance is required and is essential if you own or you are thinking of buying your own home.

What is Mortgage Insurance?  

Mortgage insurance is a cheap life insurance policy that is designed to pay off your mortgage if you die. The policy runs the same time length as your mortgage, and the premium cost that you pay each month depends on the size of the mortgage and whether you are a smoker or a non-smoker, your age, and how healthier you are. Generally, the level of cover will come down during the term to reflect the fact that the mortgage has been paid off. If your mortgage is fully paid up to date your mortgage premium payments will reduce.

Benefits of mortgage insurance  

Here are some of the main benefits of obtaining a mortgage protection insurance policy.

You can choose your beneficiaries and you own the contract  

If you buy your mortgage insurance policy from an insurance company you can name the beneficiaries that you want and you also own the contract. Compared to buying off the bank they are the beneficiary and own the contract also. The beneficiary can choose to pay his or her debts, repay the loan, or use the benefit for someone else.

Your premium is guaranteed and it is fixed  

The mortgage insurance cover amount that you buy from an insurance company will stay the exact same for the duration of the loan. Compared to a bank the mortgage insurance cover amount will go down as the balance of your mortgage decreases while your premium will stay the same.

Your mortgage insurance can be converted  

Your mortgage insurance can be converted over to permanent life insurance by your insurance company if required throughout the loan term. If you do decide to convert your insurance over with your insurance company, your premium may go up and you will not have to undertake a medical exam. In the event of your death, the policy will remain in place.

All your insurance contracts in one place  

All your credit insurance contracts can be linked to the exact same policy. As a customer you can have all insurance policies under the same contract so home, mortgage loan, auto, and more can be made as one payment. This way it will make your life a lot easier.

You won’t have to shop around anymore  

Purchasing mortgage protection insurance from an insurance company rather than a bank this way you won’t have to shop around for the duration of the term. In addition, the cost of your premium will not increase over the years. If you get a mortgage with a bank you may be required to negotiate new mortgage insurance and your premium amount will be higher based on your age and any changes to your health in the meantime.

What is Covered Under Home Insurance?

Owning a home is definitely a major life milestone. Your home is your castle and a symbol of your life’s work. It is the one place that you feel safe and also raise and spend quality time with your loving family. Being one of your biggest and most important investments, you should protect your home at all costs. One of the most effective ways of safeguarding your home is by taking out home insurance.

Life is full of unpredictable circumstances and as a homeowner, you should always keep this in mind. A lot of unfortunate events and tragedies can happen to your home, for example, a fire outbreak, theft, vandalism, or a storm. In either of these circumstances, if you don’t have the right cover in place then you can suffer immense losses that you might never be able to recoup. It goes without saying that repairing your home after a severe storm or replacing stolen or damaged valuable items can be very expensive. This is where home insurance comes in.

If you’ve never taken out home insurance before. Then you might be confused as to what it is all about and what it covers. Fortunately, this article acts as a guide to home insurance.

What is Home Insurance? 

Basically, home insurance is an umbrella term that encompasses two types of insurance covers; building insurance and contents insurance. Building insurance covers the physical structure of your home which includes the roof, walls, windows, floors, and permanent fixtures while contents insurance covers your belongings or items within your home.

In most cases, these two types of covers are purchased as a combined policy, however, you can also buy them separately, even though this option is more expensive.

What is Covered Under Home Insurance? 

Building Insurance 

Building insurance covers damage to the structure of your home and any permanent fittings. It is one of the main things covered under your home insurance policy. Your outhouses and garages are also covered under buildings insurance. Even though policies vary for different insurers, they all cover your home against damages caused by:

    •  Fire
    •  Storms
    •  Floods
    •  Vandalism
    •  Falling trees
    •  Water damage

You may also opt for extra cover, however, you will have to pay an additional premium. Accidental damage is one of the extra covers provided by most insurance companies. This covers your home in case you, a household member or a pet accidentally damage the structure or contents of your home.

What isn’t Covered In Building Insurance? 

Even though building insurance covers the structure of your home from various perils, it doesn’t cover damages caused by wear and tear. It also doesn’t cover damages caused by acts of war or terrorism. In addition, depending on your policy, there are some factors that could invalidate your policy, for example, if your home has been uninhabited for a period exceeding 30 years during the years. Hence, it is crucial that you take the time and effort to read the fine print.

Contents Insurance 

The structure of your home isn’t the only valuable thing to you. You should also cover the items and personal belongings within your home. This insurance covers losses or damages caused by theft, fire, storms or water damage. You may also opt for a policy that includes accidental damage.

Is Home Insurance Compulsory? 

Unlike car insurance, home insurance isn’t a legal requirement, however, it is highly advisable that you take out home insurance for home(s) as rebuilding a home or purchasing new items can be a major financial challenge. However, if you are taking out a mortgage on your home, your lender will require you to have adequate building insurance considering the fact that your home acts as the security for the loan. Also, if you are in the house buying process, you should ensure that you have building cover before completion of contracts as you’ll assume responsibility for the property.

How Much Insurance Do You Need? 

Building Insurance 

When taking out building insurance ensure that your insurance is adequate to cover the cost of rebuilding your house from scratch. However, it is worth noting that the amount that will go towards rebuilding your house isn’t the same as the current market value or sale price of your home. In most cases, it is usually lower.

You should accurately calculate the rebuild cost of your house as insuring a sum that is too high will leave you paying for cover that you don’t need, which will definitely have financial consequences for you. Also, insuring a sum that is too low, you could have a shortfall of financial support during your times of crisis. To help you work out the costs, you should make use of the website of the Association of British Insurers as it has lots of important information and a calculator.

Unlimited Cover – There are some insurers that provide unlimited cover. This essentially means that they pay for the costs regardless of the costs. This is especially beneficial if you have a large home and have lots of expensive and valuable items. However, it should come as no surprise that this type of cover is more expensive.

In case you add house extensions or renovate your home, you will want to make sure that you review and update your rebuild costs. Other factors such as prices may also cause the rebuild costs to change over time, hence, you should consistently review and update your rebuild costs.

Contents Insurance 

In order to find out how much it would cost to replace all the valuable items in your house, you need to take an inventory of everything in your house from room to room. For electronics and appliances, note down the models and brands. To calculate the costs of replacing such items compare with buying a new one at the current prices and add them up.

List everything that you wouldn’t consider leaving behind in case you decided to move. Note them all down on a list and add up the prices. You should give all the relevant information to your insurer regarding all your valuable items to avoid the insurer denying your claim it arises.

How To Get The Best Deals On Car Insurance

When looking for the best deals on car insurance, most people focus on the cost alone. While saving money does make your insurance a good deal, it does not help if you are not properly covered. There is more to finding the best deals on car insurance than finding the cheapest car insurance and you need to consider this.

Shop Around

The best way to get a good deal on your car insurance is to shop around. Many people make the mistake of staying with their current insurer because it is easier, but you might not have the best coverage. You may find a comparable insurance policy for less with a different insurance provider and you should take advantage of this.

Of course, when you are shopping around, you do need to be careful. Any comparison you do will need to be like-for-like. There is no point in comparing third-party insurance with comprehensive because they offer different levels of coverage. Fortunately, there are a number of websites that you can use to help you compare deals as they will only compare similar policies.

There are some insurance companies that do not appear on comparison websites and you need to look at their offerings on their websites directly. These insurers often have good deals that you do not want to pass. Some insurers are also known for offering the best deals on certain types of car insurance such as multi-car insurance.

Know Who To Add

You can add more than one driver to your policy, but you need to be careful with this. When you add a second driver you could lower the costs of your insurance, but you could also increase the premium. This depends on who the other driver is and how they affect car insurance policies in general.

If you are a newly qualified driver, you should look at adding a second more experienced driver to your policy. This will reduce the risk for the insurance company even when the second driver is not the primary driver. If you do this, you should never pretend that the second driver is the main driver as this will invalidate your insurance.

If you are an experienced driver, adding a newly qualified driver to your policy will do the opposite. This will increase the costs of your insurance because the second driver is considered high-risk. This is why you need to carefully consider adding drivers to your policy.

You should also consider the number of named drivers you have on the policy. This should be limited to only the drivers who regularly use the vehicle. More drivers increase the risks and this will increase your premium.

Increase Your Excess

Your voluntary excess will impact the cost of your insurance, but you need to be careful when adjusting this. Increasing your excess will lower the monthly premium you face, but you could have a problem if you need to make a claim. The excess is the amount you have to pay for damages or repairs before you can claim from your insurance.

Car insurance that has no excess will be more expensive that insurance that has an excess. Raising the excess lowers the monthly costs, but increases your out of pocket costs which can be a problem. You never want to raise the excess too high because this can cause financial problems when you need to pay them. If you cannot realistically pay the excess at the moment, you should lower it and pay more per month.

Reduce Your Mileage 

If you want to get a good deal financially, you should consider reducing the miles you drive. Fewer miles will result in a greater saving because the wear and tear on your car will be lower. There is also less chance of being in an accident if you are not on the road that much.

It is important to note that you will not save hundreds on your premium per annum with this. However, the reduction can make it easier to meet your premium obligations. If you cut your mileage by 5,000 per annum, you could save up to £50 on your annual policy. Cutting your mileage by 10,000 miles will increase the savings to around £100.

If you are considering this, you need to be careful. Inaccuracy can cause problems when you need to make a claim. If you have gone over your mileage limit and make a claim, it could be rejected because of the excess mileage. While looking at the mileage, you should also check the use cover. If you do not drive your car for business or to work, you could be able to get a cheaper rate.

Consider Blackbox Policies

If you feel that you are a good driver and you very rarely make claims, you should consider a black box insurance policy. When you have one of these policies, your insurance company will install a system in your car that monitors how you drive. If you drive carefully and keep within the guidelines set out by the insurance company, you will be rewarded.

The telematics systems installed in your car will check your speed, how aggressive your acceleration is and how you brake. It also checks if you are driving at times which are considered dangerous. These times will include the early hours of the morning when accidents are more likely to occur.

Having all of these aspects of your driving monitored can significantly lower your insurance premiums. This is a good deal for high-risk drivers such as newly qualified or young drivers. There are some insurance companies that offer upfront discounts when you take a telematics policy.

Getting a good deal on your car insurance is about more than the premium. You need to ensure you are getting the coverage that you need. Of course, price is a major consideration and there are a few ways that you can ensure you get the best deal. Shopping around is important, but you should also consider telematics policies and adding a second driver if you are considered high-risk.

Understanding the Difference Between Insurance Brokers and Insurance Agents

If you’re searching for any type of insurance policy, you’re likely to come across at least a few industry professionals who are committed to helping you out. Among these experts are insurance brokers and insurance agents. Though they provide similar services (in helping you get the insurance you need), there are some fundamental differences between the job titles. Below, we’ll explain what insurance brokers and agents do, who they work for, what they offer, and how they get paid.

What Do Insurance Brokers and Insurance Agents Do?

Both insurance brokers and insurance agents connect clients to the insurance coverage that they need. The main difference here is who the professional is working for. An insurance agent (who may be referred to as a “captive agent”) typically works for one insurance company. Therefore, their responsibility is to sell you, the client, on the insurance policies offered by the company that’s hired them.

Insurance brokers, however, do not work within a single agency. They may be a part of a team of brokers or work independently, but they do not have loyalties to any particular insurance institution. Their role is to navigate the options available across numerous insurance companies to connect their client to the right insurance for their unique needs.

Basically, an agent works for an insurance company. An insurance broker works for you.

Agents Can Be Independent, but They’re Still Not Brokers

An independent insurance agent can work on their own volition and essentially work for the client rather than a dedicated insurance company. But they do not typically have the extent of information relating to various companies’ policies that brokers have available to them. For this reason, insurance agents working outside of a company cannot reasonably be referred to as insurance brokers.

Insurance brokers partner with many, many insurance companies. This gives them the most comprehensive array of policies that they can connect their clients to.

How Do Insurance Brokers and Insurance Agents Get Paid?

In both professions, the client is the one who pays for the service. Depending on the insurance company, your agent may charge a commission. But they might not. An insurance broker, on the other hand, will always charge a commission for their services. They are obligated to be upfront about their commission costs and will typically apply the cost to your insurance premiums.

Do You Want to Hire a Broker or an Agent?

If you know which insurance company you want to work with, an agent is certainly the easier way to go. If you have got existing policies with that company, that’s even better because you may be presented the option to bundle your policies. An insurance broker, on the other hand, is an exceptional resource when you’re not leaning toward any particular insurance company.

What Can You Expect When Working with an Insurance Broker?

The role of an insurance broker is often misunderstood, as these industry professionals are often mistakenly referred to as insurance agents. Without going into too much depth as to the differences between the two professionals, let’s say this: insurance brokers work for their clients, not for any single insurance company. Working with a broker is vastly different from working with an agent because insurance brokers have access to a wide array of policies offered by a multitude of companies.

Below, we’ll tell you what you can expect when you recruit the services of an insurance broker.

What Does an Insurance Broker Do?

Insurance brokers provide a multitude of services, all of which have to do with getting their clients into the right insurance policies for their needs. After they ask some questions relating to the insurance buyer’s needs, they will look through a wide assortment of offerings that are provided by many different insurance companies.

The biggest benefit of hiring an insurance broker is their access to policies from a range of insurance companies. They might be able to connect you to an insurance company you’ve never heard of but can provide great coverage at competitive rates. They may even be able to show you policy bundling options with your current or a new insurance company that can drive down your premiums.

Essentially, an insurance broker works to save you money and get you the coverage that you need. They do this without being loyal to a particular insurance company, so there’s no bias in helping you to get the coverage required.

Why are Insurance Brokers Better for You Than Insurance Agents?

If you’ve already got a great relationship with your current insurance company, you may feel that there’s no need to hire the help of an insurance broker – and that’s fine. But if you’re looking to change your policy under a new insurance provider, insurance brokers become an invaluable resource.

Here are the benefits to choosing an insurance broker when shopping around for a new insurance policy:

  • Insurance brokers work with many different insurance companies, thus providing you more options.
  • Insurance brokers are obligated to be 100% honest and upfront about their commission costs.
  • An insurance broker may expose you to options that you didn’t know you had, like bundling different types of insurances to reduce your premiums.
  • Because insurance brokers don’t work for any one company, their focus is solely on helping you get insurance at a great rate.

 

Contact Us

Are you shopping around for a new insurance policy? We know that it can be tough to find the right insurance provider, much less the right policy for your coverage needs. Reach out to the brokers at CHS Insurance Brokers today. We’ll connect you with the right insurance so that you never need to worry about being covered.