Before filing an insurance claim, you should understand the nuances of your specific policy to make sure you know your rights and can appropriately reap the financial benefits of your insurance.
When estimating your pay-out after an accident or emergency, your first questions should be:
Have I met my deductible?
Do I have an open-risk or all-risk policy?
What are the specific terms listed within my agreement and do I understand them?
If you don’t know the answers to one or more of these questions, you should look into it.
Some deductibles can prove to be particularly handy. One such example is an all-perils deductible, which covers any and all damages associated with an accident.
Here's the lowdown on how they work, with a little help from comparison and broker app Jerry
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What is an all-perils deductible?
All-perils deductibles are only used if you have an open-risk insurance policy. Often referred to as an all-perils policy
, under this plan, your insurance provides coverage for all damages that may occur on your property and to your personal belongings. Deductibles can range anywhere from $500 to $1,000 — and even higher in some cases — and are applied to each individual insurance claim. This means that if you file three claims, in most cases, your deductible will be taken out of your insurance payout three separate times.
What does an all-perils deductible not include?
It's also important to note that all-perils deductibles only apply to property damage and do not include any liability coverage, meaning you would not be reimbursed for the cost of any damages of which you are held personally accountable.
Deductibles vary based on your location, your insurance history, and the type of peril of which you are seeking coverage, so check out your insurance contract to learn more about your specific plan.
MORE: How to file a car accident claim report
How can I get an all-perils deductible?
If you're interested in an all-perils deductible, you should ask your insurance company about expanding your coverage. Should the answer be unsatisfactory, you can always shop around for a new package by using car insurance broker and comparison service Jerry
. A licensed broker, Jerry does all the hard work of finding cheap quotes from the top name-brand insurance companies and buying new car insurance. Jerry will even help you cancel your old policy.
And to ensure you always have the lowest rate, Jerry will send you new quotes every time your policy comes up for renewal, so you’re always getting the coverage you want at the best price.