When you contact your insurance company to file a claim there are a few things that you shouldn’t say if you want to make sure that your policy will cover the incident. Now, do not fraud the insurance company, just make sure what you’re telling them is the truth.

1. Never start a sentence with “I think” or any other term that indicates that you’re not sure as to why something happened. If you don’t know say “I don’t know.” Giving information that can be proven wrong later can really hurt your claim and can damage your credibility.

Particularly beware of speculating on blame or causation. For example, if you suggest that a water leak is due to a construction defect, you could give the insurer an out if that’s a policy exclusion.

2. Don’t use the “whiplash” excuse unless your doctor actually says you have it. This is one of the most fraudulent claims every year that insurance companies have to deal with. In some cases, according to Amy Danise from Insure.com, mentioning whiplash in your claim is likely to get it flagged for further investigation.

3. Don’t admit to a doctor’s test as being experimental when it isn’t. There is a difference between an actual experimental drug/procedure and one that is proven (and accepted by the FDA for use) but your doctor wants to try it out in your case. You may want to make sure that your doctor can prove that it will be covered by insurance before getting it done and fighting with the insurance company later.

4. The word “flood” triggers some kind of nervous, shaking, fear in insurers; so don’t use it. When it comes to homeowner’s insurance, floods aren’t covered. A flood is weather related too, not if your pipe bursts and you find yourself with a basement full of water.

5. Don’t act like the only thing you care about is the money. When an insurance company sees that you care more about getting a check rather than fixing your damaged property, they will likely put your claim on hold while they go and check further into it.

When it comes to insurance, it’s all about what the insurance company thinks. If they feel that you’re trying to make a fraudulent claim, for any reason, they can simply put the brakes on your claim altogether. It is rather frustrating to pick and choose your words when you talk to the insurance company, but it is important. Too many people, every single year, decide that having insurance is a good way to try to make a bit of money, when in reality that is not what insurance is for.

I can’t tell anyone what to do with their money, but if an insurance company sends a check out, then fix whatever is broken.

Whenever I go to the store to pick up a few things to clean the house, I have noticed that there are more and more new kinds of cleaners and dusters; just basically a lot of things that I have never needed in the past to get my house clean.

I think that it’s important to show everyone that they don’t need Swiffers or Shamwows to clean their homes.
So here are a few tips to save you some money on the cleaning aisle and in your house when it comes time to clean up:

1) Paper towels can be a waste. While I think it is important to ALWAYS use a clean cloth to clean up in the kitchen, it isn’t necessary to have three rolls of paper towels to clean. Reusable towels are a good alternative to paper towels. You can clean up with them and throw them in the wash with your towels. This will also help reduce some waste that comes from your house.

2) Lysol or any other concentrated antibacterial cleaner is your best friend when it comes time to clean the kitchen. Before I discovered this tip, I can’t tell you how many bottles of pre-bottled Lysol or Formula 409 I went through cleaning up around the house (especially in the kitchen). One day while I was getting ready to mop the floor, I discovered that you can also use Lysol to clean counters. So, I put the recommended amount in a spray bottle and fill the rest of the bottle up with water. One bottle of concentrated cleaner can last our house 3 months (and that’s also using it to clean the floors).

3) Swiffer dusters are nice, but a wet cloth can do the same job. If you have a lot of knick knacks in your house and have to walk around and dust them every single week, then maybe a Swiffer duster will save you some time, but if you don’t, a wet cloth could be the cheap alternative that you are looking for.

4) Plastic bags from the grocery stores can be a good alternative to buying trash bags. Okay, unless you have completely started using reusable shopping bags, then I’m sure somewhere around your house you have some of those plastic shopping bags. I keep all of mine and use them as trash bags. This keeps us from having to buy trash bags. While you’re probably thinking that they are just too small to be used as trash bags in the kitchen trash, think about it this way: How often have you walked past your kitchen trash that you probably should have taken out yesterday? When you use smaller bags, you have to take the trash out more often and therefore, there’s less stink to deal with.

Now these tips might not be fore you or you can pick and choose which ones sound like something that you may give a try.