I am not saying that insurance companies are good or bad, that is not the goal. I just want to open a window so you are aware and better informed. While you are searching for a good protection in case of the unexpected, on their side, insurers are searching for one more client. It is just business.

So there are things you must keep in mind to take good decisions:

• You are just a number: Forget that you are a nice looking person, it does not matter here. What the insurer is looking at, is you as a set of risks and will base his premiums from these factors. That may include your occupation, what you own, where you live or what are your hobbies. Yes, if you appreciate bungee… your premium might jump too.

• What is the value of what you want to insure: The goal is to replace a car or a home so you have to be sure about the value of your goods so you can actually replace them. The goal is to not to under evaluate or over evaluate. If too low, you will not receive enough money to get another one. If too high, you will pay expensive premiums for nothing because you will not get more than the value to replace.

• Price is not the only important thing: If you pay low price but wait forever to get a refund, you will surely regret it. Make sure to research the records of claims from this insurer as well as the financial stability of the company.

• Compare insurers: Products may have different names from one company to another but compare and you will find that there are similar products. This can make you save a lot of money by shopping around.

• Consider yourself a nice person: Yes, a potential customer with good behavior is entitle to get discount because his risk is lower than other ”not so nice” peoples. Must be why my mother always told me to be nice to people… she knew something about insurance premiums.

• You might lose a friend: It might be sad but you will soon discover that your insurer is not your friend. His job is to restore you financially, to take care of the replacement. Your job at this point will be to prove your losses so you get back what you lost. The fair compensation that is on your mind might not be the same in the mind of your insurer. So be prepare, take pictures or videos of your goods. And keep your policy updated in case of a potential claim.