Up & Coming Weekly

16 UCW MARCH 3 - 9, 2010 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Protecting Your Home Made Easy by RON DARDEN and BRYAN MIRANDA Understanding Insurance Scoring Now, more than ever, you hear co-workers, family members or advertisements talking about credit scores. Your credit score is the information resulting from how much money you borrow and how your pay your bills. More and more industries are turning to this infor- mation when assessing applicants. Home and auto insurers use credit information to produce an "insurance score," which helps them to accurately assess an appli- cant. Research has shown a strong correlation between people's insur- ance score and their likelihood of having a loss. Insurance companies use this tool along with other factors when accepting applications and making underwriting decisions. Home Market Value vs. Replacement Cost A home is one of the largest investments you will make during your lifetime. It is important to protect this investment with up-to-date and ad- equate coverage. There are several changes that could affect your home's insurance coverage including refinishing or remodeling, shanges in the economy and inflation. To make sure your home is adequately covered at a time of a loss, it is important to know the difference between market value and replacement cost coverages. Market Value (or selling price) is determined by the age and size of the house, its physical condition, location and cost of the land. Market value may only represent one-half or one-third of the cost to rebuild Replacement Cost is determined by local construction costs for materi- als and labor, square footage of the home, the age of the home, exterior features (i.e. walls, roof, exterior trim), the style of the house (i.e. ranch, two-story), number of bathrooms, special features (i.e. fireplace, arched windows, any custom building), recent home improvements, central air conditioning and other additional costs. Replacement cost for a single home does not recognize the discounts on mass purchases that a multiple- home construction project does. Contact your agent for more information or questions regarding market value replacement cost. Home Inventory Made Simple A house fire is traumatic enough. Not having a good record of your be- longings can only add to the misery. Keeping a home inventory of the items you have and their values will help you when the rebuilding starts. There are free downloads available from the Insurance Information Institute to serve as a guide to homeowners in order to have record after a loss. A few simple steps can help when taking inventory: •Don't put it off. •Start with new items and their value, and then try to remember older items. •An incomplete inventory is better than nothing at all. •Use your camera. Take pictures or video of your home and write down descriptions to go with it. •Provide your agent with a copy. •Keep it safe. Be sure to keep the inventory in a secure place, such as a fire box or safe deposit box. RON DARDEN & BRYAN MIRANDA Contributing Writers COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com Keep a home inventory to protect your valuables. Spring Registration at FTCC by BRENT MICHAELS Fayetteville Technical Community College's (FTCC) Spring II 2010 Registration cycle (February 15 – March 9, 2010) has begun for current and future stu- dents with more than 250 Spring II semester degree- program classes available. These classes lead to 150 programs of study in busi- ness, engineering, public service and applied tech- nology, health occupations and college-transfer and general-education degrees, diplomas and certificates. Current students can register for classes from Feb. 15 – March 9. • Use Web Advisor (www.faytechcc.edu). • See Spring II Class Schedule www.faytechcc.edu/areas_of_study/documents/2010SP2nd8weekSc hedule.pdf • See Spring II registration/payment schedule www.faytechcc.edu/ registrar/documents/RegistrationSchedule.pdf • Contact faculty advisor (Feb. 15 – March 9) • Open registration (March 8 – 9) Newly approved students can register for classes from Feb. 22 – March 9. • Contact faculty advisor (Feb. 22 – March 9) • Open Registration (March 8 - 9) Open Registration will be available March 8 - 9, in the Tony Rand Student Center on Main Campus, the Spring Lake Campus and the Fort Bragg Soldier Development Center: March 8, 12 – 6 p.m. March 9, 9 a.m. -6 p.m. Spring II classes will begin on Thursday, March 11 and conclude on Wednesday, May 12. Future students who are not currently enrolled in the college can begin their enrollment process for the Summer 2010 and Fall 2010 classes im- mediately by going to the FTCC Web site www.faytechcc.edu/admissions/ default.asp and following the "getting started" listed instructions. If fu- ture students are unable to access a computer they can visit the FTCC Admissions Office in the Tony Rand Student Center or call 910.678.8473. On-site enrollment is also available at our Spring Lake Campus and the Fort Bragg Soldier Development Center. Additional information and directions to these locations can be found on the FTCC Web site www.fay- techcc.edu. FTCC is a military friendly school, a service members opportunity col- lege (SOC), and a participant in the MyCAA Military Spouse Program. Fayetteville Technical Community College was established in 1961 and serves 34,000 students annually by providing150 affordable occu- pational, technical, general education, college transfer and continuing education programs to meet students' needs and desires as well as the community. Brent Michaels, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com Students returning to class after a visit to the Tony Rand Student Center

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