Winter Floods

Winter flooding happens, too. Six quick answers about whether you need flood insurance:

1. Homeowners Insurance does not cover flood. Damage to your home caused by rising water, ground water, etc. is EXCLUDED.
2. You live on a hill. Flooding can be caused by major storms, but it can also be caused by melting snow, inadequate or clogged drainage systems, or failed water control devices such as dams and levees. Water flowing down from the top of the hill and running into your home is considered "flood".
3. You live in a floodplain. That doesn't mean you can not purchase protection. As long as your community participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, you can purchase flood coverage, whether you live in a high risk area or a low risk one.
4. You've already had one flood. That phrase "100-Year Flood" doesn't mean it only happens once every hundred years. It refers to an elevation that has a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded each year.
5. You don't live in a flood zone. I hate to tell you this, but you DO live in a flood zone. We all do. It's just a question of how high of a risk you face. Over 1/5 of the flood NFIP claims filed every year are from people who live in low-risk areas, and 1/3 of the disaster relief goes to low-risk areas, too.
6. If there was a flood, FEMA would pay. That only works if the damage you sustain is caused by a DECLARED natural disaster. If your home is damaged because a culvert is blocked, or a water main ruptures just outside your home, FEMA will not be cutting you a check. Even if it is a declared natural disaster, FEMA will pay for only part of the damage, and may take years to settle.

Talk to your agent about flood insurance to get more information.


We are offering general information and opinions. Talk to your insurance professional for questions and concerns about your insurance policy.
 

Prevent Water Damage!

Water losses are one of the most commons causes of loss on homeowners policies with those companies that offer the coverage. Some companies exclude any kind of water loss. We're not talking about flood. We're talking about broken pipes, ruptured supply lines, overflowing appliances...the things that happen inside the home. Many insurance companies regard this type of loss as a preventable maintenance issue and they surcharge for such losses accordingly. Water losses can also be unexpectedly expensive, requiring the homeowner to lose the use of the home during drying out. Water leaks can cause damage to floor, sub-floor, drywall and any furniture in the area. They can also cause an environment in which harmful mold can grow.

Here are a few tips to help you prevent and/or mitigate water losses. Some of them are so easy, you'll probably slap your forehead and say, "Of course!"

• Never run a load of laundry or the dishes when you're leaving the house, even just for a little while. This is actually one of the most common types of claims I have seen. Start the dishwasher and dash, and you may come home to a much bigger mess than a few dirty dishes.

braided steel toilet supply line

• Check supply lines regularly. Don't skip any. Check the washing machine, dishwasher, faucets, toilets, water heater, R-O system, water softener and the icemaker on your refrigerator. Any hoses that are five years old or have a kink in them should be replaced. Save yourself a headache and spend a few dollars more for a better-quality stainless steel braided supply line.

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  water meter key

  

  angle stop

  Know where the water shut-off valve to your home is, and how to operate it. If it takes a water key, get one and keep it where you can find it in a hurry. Everyone in the home should know how to turn off the water to a device or appliance that is leaking. If the dishwasher or washing machine overflows, do you know where the valve is?

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  water heater pan

  Place your water heater and washing machine in pans that are plumbed to drain outside. You can get them at almost any home-improvement or plumbing supply store. (They also come in a square for your washing machine.)

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  frost-free, anti-siphon hose bib

  
  Do you have freeze-proof hose bibs on the outside of your house? Those only work if you disconnect the hose, so they can drain out. If they freeze, they often break inside the wall, causing damage to your home. Disconnect all the garden hoses, dog drinkers and bib-mounted sprinkler timers during the freezing months. This is also true of the yard hydrant type of outdoor faucet, although a leak in one of those won't generally cause damage to your home, just a visit from a plumber.

• Pay attention to any indications of a leak in your home's water pipes. Stains, buckling or even a spot that is unusually warm can be a sign.

• Make sure your water pressure isn't too high. Water pressure over 100psi is hard on appliances like water heaters and can cause them to leak.

• Don't ignore cracks in tile or grout in your shower, or cracks in the fiberglass of a tub or shower. Even that little bit of water seeping through can destroy the wooden structure underneath and around your bath.

• Be aware of your normal household usage. If your water bill suddenly fluctuates for no apparant reason, investigate. One way to begin is to turn off every use of water in the house and yard, and monitor the meter for a couple of hours. If nothing should be using water, but the meter is still showing use, find out where the water is going.

• If you're going to be gone for several days, turn the water supply to your house off. Why take the chance?

• A little routine maintenance and advance planning can save you a lot of trouble later on. There are some terrific DIY websites and books out there to help you. It will be worth your time.

We are offering general information and opinions. Talk to your insurance professional for questions and concerns about your insurance policy.

 

Why You Need Equipment Breakdown Coverage

We are offering general information and opinions. Talk to your insurance professional for questions and concerns about your insurance policy.

Resolution Time

We're already into the second week of the new year. Amazing.

Do you make New Year Resolutions? There are the usual ones: eat healthier, exercise more, stick to my budget, get organized, call Mom more often...everybody thinks of that kind of resolution. How about a New Years Resolution for your financial well-being? Here are some ideas:

1. Meet with your insurance agent for a review of your policies. How long has it been? Things change. Are you getting your discounts? Are you still insuring a car you sold last year? It happens all the time. Sit down for a review. You may be paying for coverage you don't need, and skipping something you do need.
2. Make an appointment with a financial planner. Are you on track for your long-term and short-term financial goals? Could you realign your investments and improve your portfolio?
3. Take a careful look at your spending. What can go? How can you simplify? Are you saving enough?
4. Have you been attending to your home's maintenance? Many losses can be prevented by keeping your home well-maintained. That loose board on the front step could be the one that breaks an ankle.
5. Read. Yes, I know: it isn't a thrilling read. Read your insurance policy. Read your prospectus. Anything you don't understand, ask! Professionals are here to help. We can translate those abstruse paragraphs into English for you.

We are here to help you. It is important that you understand your insurance policy. You need to know what the conditions and exclusions are. A good example is a job delivering pizza. Your auto insurance might not cover you while you have that sign on the roof of your car. What about having a trampoline? Lots of families have trampolines, and many insurance companies exclude them. So if your child's friend gets hurt on the trampoline, YOU could be responsible for their medical bills. Find out for sure. There can be exclusions for pets and/or livestock, business activities and much more, depending on the policy.

We are offering general information and opinions. Talk to your insurance professional for questions and concerns about your insurance policy.

Winter weather is coming

Winter 2005. All was busy around the house that cold winter morning.  My husband and I were getting ready for work. The kids were ready for school, and out the door we go. A few hours later that afternoon, Mike went home to pick up some papers he had left behind sitting on the desk in the den.  As he approached the house, he noticed water streaming down from the roof and gutters, so he thought, until he got closer.  The water wasn't coming down from the roof, but sheeting like a waterfall on the interior side of  the master bedroom window.

To his surprise, Mike ran inside and in disbelief, watched the ceiling drywall crash to the floor with a waterfall of insulation hanging from the exposed trusses above.  It was a mess!

The cost to repair this small crack in our water pipe... $50;
The cost to repair/replace the damages of the home interior... $6,800. 

Okay, lesson learned the hard way.  But here is my (and your insurance company's) wisdom to cold weather prevention tips to reduce winter claims for homeowners:

1. Prevent ice dams by cleaning gutters and installing gutter guards. Ice can cause damage to walls and ceilings which can lead to mold and other problems.
2. Keep your inside temperature at 65 degrees or warmer and wrap water pipes with heat tape or insulation to prevent freezing.
3. Repair any cracked or leaking pipes. These areas freeze first.
4. On extremely cold days/nights, open doors and cabinets in the kitchen and bathrooms to allow warm air to circulate around pipes.
5. Trim trees and remove dead branches at least five feet from your home.  Once heavy with snow, trees can fall into driveways, entryways, covered patios, garages, etc.  Remove trees that are leaning and seek professionals to clear your lot if you need help.

Here are the facts, water damage claims average $5,500 per occurrence and is the 5th leading cause of homeowner claims.  Don't add to this statistic.  Follow these few Cold Weather Tips and keep your home safe and sound for you and your family. 

If you have any good suggestions that you would like to share please respond so that we can post your good ideas too!

We are offering general information and opinions. Talk to your insurance professional for questions and concerns about your insurance policy.

Art, Jewelry, Guns, Baseball cards.... what do you collect?

You've heard people call it a "Jewelry Rider", a "Floater" or something like that. It's extra coverage, just for your precious possessions.

In Insurance-ese (that special language unique to insurance) you are talking about Scheduled Personal Property. Why do you want it? Is it worth the extra money? The answer is yes. Yes. And YES some more.

• Your homeowners policy probably has internal limits for theft of jewelry, watches, furs, guns, fine art, coins, stamps, baseball cards and more. You may have as little as $500 in coverage if your special possessions are stolen, or you may have as much as $10,000. Read your policy to find out.
• If your home and its contents are destroyed in a fire, there is usually not an internal limit on those special items. But you ARE now using that same contents coverage amount for all of your furniture, clothes, kitchenware, appliances, tools...is there enough for all of that and your art work, too?
• Scheduling your personal property, in many cases, broadens the covered causes of loss. What does that mean in English? It means you may now have coverage for mysterious disappearance. Was the ring stolen? Lost? Eaten by the puppy? What??? Most homeowners policies would not cover it unless you can show it was stolen. Unless you scheduled it.
• How much is your favorite bronze sculpture or your baseball card collection worth? How would that be determined in the event of a loss? Scheduling your personal property, in some cases, is an agreement with the company that your item is worth what it is covered for. You may have to provide an appraisal to verify the value, but what a wonderful peace of mind to know that your grandmother's opal ring is covered for what it is worth. Of course, you can't put a price on the sentimental value of items, but you can at least make sure that they are covered for their monetary value.
• There are some things that are unique in their value. If you own something that would be difficult to determine a value for, doesn't fit into a typical category or is completely one-of-a-kind, maybe you should think about scheduling it. A great example is taxidermy. If you have a world-record, life size Dall sheep mount, how do you establish what that was worth in the event a claim? You can't exactly order up another one on Ebay. A claims adjustor is unlikely to have a reference book that will help. Look at it this way, if you schedule the sheep and something happens to it, maybe you can get enough money to go hunt another one.

The rates for scheduling your special possessions are directly affected by how attractive the item is to a thief, among other things. Guns cost more money per dollar value to schedule than oil paintings. That's logical. Jewelry kept in safe deposit box at the bank will cost less to insure than the diamond tennis bracelet you wear every day.

Some of the comments I hear most often is, "My jewelry is more valuable to me because it is sentimental.", "Oh, that painting is one of a kind, so I couldn't replace it anyway." and my personal favorite, "If they try to take my guns, they're going to get them and not they way they meant to."

If your cherished jewelry was stolen, that gift from your husband or the family heirloom piece, would you be happy to receive a fraction of what it would cost to buy something similar? (just an example, of course). If the painting burned in a fire and you had never determined a value on it, how do you know you're getting what it was worth? The claims adjustor can only go by what is left of the painting and what you remember about it. And for that last one, do you really think a gang of thugs is going to wait until you are home to break in and haul away your entire gun safe?

So, take a good long look around your home. Give some serious thought to the value of the items you possess. If any of those things has a special value please call your insurance agent today. At least get a quote on adding Scheduled Personal Property, so that you know if you want to take the risk.