estimated Zillow.com. What's not going down, though, is the cost of rebuilding and repairing houses.

Construction costs rose by more than four percent between 2007 and 2008, according to a report in Best's Review magazine citing Reed Construction Data figures.

Rising reconstruction prices are contrary to the economic news of recent months. And it's contrary to consumers' expectations that lower home values should mean lower homeowners coverage is needed.

With these conflicting pressures, what should a homeowner do? The first thing: Recall what homeowners insurance is designed to do. Insurance should make whole the policyholder after loss or damage to the home from an unforeseen event such as a fire, lightning strike or windstorm.

In the case of rebuilding a home, making whole means rebuilding the same or similar structure.

The second thing a homeowner should do: Check with your Trusted Choice® insurance professional to see that your insurance program reflects current economic conditions. Trusted Choice® insurance professionals use the term insurance to value to denote that the dwelling limit in the homeowners policy is tied to replacement cost (and not to resale value).

Your insurance carrier may periodically analyze replacement-cost trends and suggest adjusting the insurance value of a home. Check with your Trusted Choice® independent insurance agent about keeping the coverage current. Your Trusted Choice® agent is an advocate at time of claim.

But the most important protection for homeowners is to have the proper amount of homeowners insurance — not too high, not too low.

company to make layoffs as she bought 400 pairs of shoes that she kept in a room-sized closet decorated with a crystal chandelier and a plasma television, authorities claim.

Annette Yeomans, 51, surrendered at the Vista jail on Friday and was booked for investigation of grand theft and embezzlement. She was being held Saturday at the San Diego County jail in lieu of $10 million bail.

Authorities allege that Yeomans embezzled the money from 2001 to 2007 while she was chief financial officer for Quality Woodworks, Inc., a cabinetry business in San Marcos.

She spent at least $240,000 on 400 pairs of shoes, $300,000 on designer clothing and 160 purses valued at $2,000 each, investigators allege. She also remodeled a bedroom into a closet with the chandelier and a 32-inch TV, they said.

"On a weekly basis Yeomans would spend $25,000 on her credit card and then pay off the balance the following Monday with company funds," said Sgt. Mark Varnau of the sheriff's Financial Crimes Unit.

The losses went unnoticed and the company never hired an outside auditor to check the books because she had a trusted position, Varnau said. Meanwhile, he said, the company was forced to lay off workers and restructure operations because of the losses.

An investigation began after American Express notified the company in February 2008 that one of its checks had been used to make a payment on Yeomans' account, Varnau said.

Her husband was a cabinet installer at Quality Woodworks but was not suspected of any crime, Varnau said.

could use some extra protection now that they have hit the jackpot.

The 10 technology workers are sharing in the winnings on a multi-state Mega Millions lottery ticket worth $216 million. The winners should get about $8.1 million a year, before taxes, to share for the next 26 years from their lucky purchase.

Nine of the 10 winners spoke with the press during a meeting yesterday at the Whitehouse Station, New Jersey building where they work.

According to Chubb spokesman Mark Schussel, the winners include the chief information officer, programmers and administrative staffers -- a group of employees who have gone in together to purchase Mega Millions tickets for years.

"We're happy for them," Schussel said on behalf of Chubb.

Apparently no actuaries were consulted in the number selection; the group said their picks were random. The winning numbers were: 26, 32, 35, 43, 52 and 10.