Home-Buying Process:
Purchasing Homeowners Insurance
Customer Service
Look for a company whose representatives will answer your questions and handle your claims fairly, efficiently and quickly. You can get an idea of customer service satisfaction by talking to other customers who have worked with a particular company or agent. Make sure the agent will be easy to reach if you have a question or need to file a claim. J.D. Power and Associates publishes materials on homeowners insurance companies. Also, Consumer Reports magazine occasionally publishes information about homeowners insurance.
Shop for your homeowners insurance just as you would for your home loan and your house. This will help you to get the best insurance for your money.
There are several groups that provide valuable information for insurance customers. Nationally, the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) works to improve public understanding of insurance ? what it does and how it works. Information is available via the Web at http://www.iii.org. At the state level, the New Mexico Insurance Division (NMID) regulates insurance businesses in accordance with the New Mexico Insurance Code. NMID includes several bureaus. Each bureau has a responsibility to the consumer, legislature or insurance industry. To contact the NMID visit http://www.nmprc.state.nm.us/insurance/inshm.htm.
References:
Insurance Information Institute. (n.d.). Insurance checklist: A guide for homebuyers [Electronic version]. Retrieved December 1, 2004, 2004 at http://www.insurance.info/static/img/brochures/homeowners_checklist.htm
New Mexico State University. (2000). New Mexico Climate. When it rains, it pours. [Electronic version]. Retrieved September 15, 2004 at http://weather.nmsu.edu/News/nmcli1spr00.pdf.
Back to top
