When the warmer weather hits, there’s nothing better than the smell of food on the grill.
Seven out of every 10 adults in the U.S. have a grill or smoker*, which translates to a lot of tasty meals. But it also means there’s an increased risk of home fires.
In 2013-2017, fire departments went to an annual average of 10,200 home fires involving grills, hibachis or barbecues per year, including 4,500 structure fires and 5,700 outside or unclassified fires. These fires caused an annual average of 10 civilian deaths, 160 civilian injuries and $123 million in direct property damage.
Grilling Safety Tips
https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/Public-Education/Resources/Safety-tip-sheets/Grilling_safety_Tips.pdf

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) released an online quiz, “What the Flood!,” as part of its #YourRiskIsReal campaign, an ongoing effort to educate consumers about flood risks and the need to consider purchasing flood insurance.
The short, interactive quiz presents several insurance concepts in easy-to-understand terms. Sample questions include: “Is damage from a busted bathroom pipe and a burst levee covered by the same policy?” and “If a hurricane floods your car, do you file a claim with auto or home?”
Some erroneous beliefs about flood insurance commonly held by consumers include:

• Myth: Homeowners insurance covers damage from floods.
• Reality: Most homeowners and business insurance policies do not cover damage caused by flooding.
• Myth: FEMA assistance is just as good as an insurance policy.
• Reality: Not everyone will qualify for FEMA assistance after a disaster, and grants (averaging less than $8,000) are not enough to cover all costs after a flood.
• Myth: Flooded homes are fine once they dry out.
• Reality: Flooding can damage the foundation of a house, as well as the walls and subfloors, causing mold and other problems. Fixing the damage is expensive.

Take the quiz: https://naic.org/what_the_flood/index.html
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​Anyone who has bought a house or has shopped for one knows that homeowner’s insurance is a fact of life – some might call it a necessary evil; others peace of mind in times of crisis. And while most people are persuaded by banks to purchase home insurance, few people understand exactly who to trust, what their policy does, when to make policy changes, where to shop for it, why it is priced the way it is or – most importantly – how they can take control of the process.
Types of Home Insurance
The best homeowner’s insurance will cover all perils except for those that are specifically excluded in the policy language. Here are the types of policies offered:

• Basic Homeowners Policy, HO-1: This is a basic policy that protects the homeowner against 10 basic perils such as fire or smoke, explosions, lightning, volcanic eruptions and damage from aircraft.
• Broad Form Policy, HO-2: The Broad Form policy covers all the 10 perils in the basic policy, plus a few more, like accidents from electric currents. Your structure, your personal belongings and your personal liability are covered.
• Special Form Policy, HO-3: This policy covers everything in the Broad Form policy, plus more. This policy covers you if you damage someone’s property or injure them.
• Tenant’s Form, HO-4: Tenant’s form is for renters and is commonly known as renter’s insurance. It covers your personal belongings and personal liability.
• Comprehensive Form, HO-5: This policy is comprehensive because it covers more perils than other policies. This policy is similar to the Special Form policy in that it can financially protect you from all perils except for ones specifically stated as not covered in your policy.
• Condominium Unit Owners Form, HO-6: This is for owners and/or occupants of condominium units. It insures your personal property and your walls, floors and ceiling against all of the perils and also extends coverage for damage to additions and/or alterations that the unit owner may have made, up to specified limits. Usually, this coverage for alterations kicks in only after any insurance limits are reached by policies (if any) that are purchased by the condominium association.
• Mobile Home Form, HO-7: This is similar to the Special Form policy, but it is specifically for mobile homes. Mobile homes don’t have the same coverage as regular homeowners’ insurance.
• Older Home Form, HO-8: This is for older homes where the cost to rebuild is greater than the market value. It covers the same set of perils as the Basic Homeowners policy.
• Dwelling Fire Form: This policy only covers your dwelling and only for a few specific perils. It does not cover your personal property, personal liability or medical payments. This coverage is a popular option for vacation homes. It’s also the kind of limited policy your mortgage lender will purchase for you if you let your homeowner’s policy lapse.

If you own a town house, you may insure it through an individual homeowners’ policy or an association policy – sometimes referred to as a group policy.

​What is Covered
Your coverage will not kick in unless you experience a loss that is caused by a specific peril, or reason for loss, that your policy covers. For most policies, the list of covered perils includes:

• Fire, smoke, wind, hail, lightning, explosions.
• Theft or vandalism.
• Trees and other falling objects.
• Weight of ice, snow and sleet.
• Damage from an aircraft, car or vehicle.
• Water damage caused by a ruptured pipe.

What is Not Covered
Some common perils occur with such frequency and predictability in certain areas that they are subject to exclusion from basic coverage. The most notable excluded perils include:

• Floods or sewers that back up into the home.
• Land movement, including earthquakes, landslides and mudflows.
• Damage from pets, birds, rodents or insects.
• Pollution damage.
• Deliberate damage to the home.
• Normal wear and tear.

Most of these are fairly clear-cut perils, but many people get confused by the types of water damage perils, as defined by insurance companies. They make a clear distinction between sudden water damage caused by a ruptured pipe (covered) and gradual water damage caused by rising floodwaters that seep into a home (not covered).
Pulling It All Together
For far too many homeowners, insurance is just another piece of paper that is signed and filed away, rarely to be thought of again. That is, until the worst happens. People who wait until they experience a loss before analyzing their own policies are not getting the full value – maybe little value – out of their countless premium payments.
Homeowners insurance is a financial covenant, but it should also be treated as a living, breathing entity to be nurtured over time. Only by reading the policy carefully, knowing your coverage limits and updating the property inventory can you ensure that your hard-earned dollars will keep that roof over your head – and another, stronger one after that. Our agency welcomes the opportunity to help you achieve that goal.

To decide how much coverage and policy limits you need, you’ll need to understand the importance of replacement costs vs. actual costs:

• Actual cash value (ACV) – This method would reimburse you for your lost or damaged possessions only after accounting for the age of each item and discounting for the wear and tear – or the depreciation – that has occurred over the years to lessen its value. Usually, the ACV is lower than the market value, but premiums tend to be cheaper.
• Replacement cost value (RCV) – This would replace your possessions with similar items at their current market value, so it does not factor into depreciation. The downside is that the annual premiums for RCV policies tend to be about 10 percent higher than ACV ones. To make sure you get enough for reimbursement, your coverage should equal the full RCV of your home.

The market value, which includes the price of your land, depends on the real estate market. If your dwelling coverage drops below 80 percent of the RCV of your home, your insurance company may reduce the amount it will pay on a claim.
As you shop for a quote, our agent will ask for some basic information about your house, such as:

• Where it’s located.
• The square footage.
• When it was built.
• The type of construction.
• Roof type and age.
• Number of bedrooms, bathrooms and stories.
• Garage type (if any).
• Foundation type.
• Whether it has security systems, such as burglar alarms and smoke detectors.
• Type of heating and air-conditioning systems.

How much is home insurance, and what is the average cost of homeowner’s insurance? There is no one specific answer as insurance policies come in many different shapes and sizes. The same is true for insurance companies and agents, which can charge wildly different rates for essentially the same coverage. It’s always in your best interest to let our agency shop around for the best deals and for you to ask the right questions in an effort to know what you’re actually getting.
The NAIC came up with a list of good questions to ask an agent while you’re shopping around for quotes. Use this handy checklist the next time you chat with an agent about shopping for a homeowner’s policy:

• What is the claims history of the home I am considering?
• If I submit a claim, how will it affect my premium when I renew the policy? Could it end up costing me overall?
• How will my credit history affect my premium?
• What does the policy cover? What doesn’t it cover? What are the limits to the coverages?
• How much coverage do I need for my personal property?
• How much liability coverage should I buy?
• Should I buy flood insurance or earthquake coverage? Can an agent help me determine how much risk my home is at?
• What types of water damage are not covered? Is mold damage covered?

Many factors affect the underwriting process, which determines the premiums you pay. Different insurance companies charge different premiums for similar coverage. Decisions you make about how much insurance coverage to buy also affect your premium. Some of the other things that are likely to affect your premium include:

• The cost to rebuild your home: this is not the same as the purchase price, which includes the cost of the land. Your insurance agent might help you estimate replacement cost using information about your home and its contents
• Whether your home is made of brick or wood: the premium is usually lower for homes that are primarily brick or masonry than for wood frame homes
• The proximity of your home to resources and services, such as a water source or fire department and the quality of your community’s fire protection services
• The age and condition of your home; the premium is often higher for older homes and homes in poor condition than for newer homes and homes in good condition
• The claims history of your neighborhood and community, particularly the homes immediately next to your address
• A wood furnace or wood stove in the home
• Owning high-risk outdoor amenities, such as a swimming pool, a trampoline or playground equipment that could cause injuries
• The types of pets you have. Some insurers won’t insure you if you own certain breeds of dogs that are known to be aggressive, such as, but not exclusive to:
  • Akitas
  • Alaskan malamutes
  • Presa Canarios
  • Chow chows
  • Doberman pinschers
  • German shepherds
  • Pit bull terriers
  • Rottweilers
  • Siberian huskies

Other companies do not exclude specific breeds, choosing instead to consider individual animals on a case-by-case basis. In some cases, the presence of exotic pets in the home, such as snakes, lizards, birds and horses, may also drive up rates.
We don't need a crystal ball. Our agency uses state of the art software to seek the best coverage at the lowest cost for your insurance needs. We welcome the chance to discuss them with you.

Homeowners insurance, sometimes referred to as “hazard insurance” or simply “home insurance,” is property insurance designed to cover private homes and their contents.
Homeowners insurance is a multi-line policy, meaning that the premiums, or regularly scheduled payments made to the insurer, cover both property and liability insurance. The premium is usually determined by the replacement cost of the home and its contents.
There are three major reasons to buy homeowners insurance:

• To provide property coverage: Homeowners insurance covers the physical structure of your home and your personal property if it gets damaged or destroyed.
• To provide liability coverage: If someone who isn’t covered under your policy is injured or killed, or their property is damaged or destroyed while they’re on your property, your homeowner’s policy will cover your personal legal responsibility. This coverage extends to cases where damage or injury happens adjacent to your property, such as when the limb of a tree on your property falls on a parked car on the street.
• To satisfy your mortgage lender: To get a mortgage from a bank, most lenders insist you have insurance as long as you have a mortgage; you also have to list the lender as the mortgagee on the policy.

Additionally, your policy generally covers such expenses as staying in a hotel or renting an apartment during the period when your home is being repaired following a disaster. In most cases, it requires that at least one of the individuals named on the policy actually live on the premises.

To help you get ready for boat insurance season, here are a few key questions to be able to answer when insuring your watercraft:What extra equipment do you have on your boat? There are three different types of equipment to consider when insuring watercraft.

• First is aftermarket equipment that is permanently mounted; things like fish finders, wakeboard racks, LED lights or sound systems. For many carriers, you’ll include permanently attached equipment in the hull value.
• You will also have things like boat fenders, oars, and tarps that aren’t affixed to the boat, but are used exclusively with the boat. With most carriers, this will be classified as unattached equipment. Every boat will have unattached equipment, so you’ll want to ensure the policy you buy has adequate coverage for those items.
• Lastly, you will bring personal items onto the boat. This will be things like your clothing and beach towels, your cooler and portable grill, or fishing poles. For most policyholders, it won’t amount to much on any given trip, but ensure you have adequate protection for personal items to avoid filing a claim on your homeowners’ policy.

1. How much money do you want the carrier to pay you if your boat is stolen or destroyed? Liberty consumer research shows that watercraft consumers are more concerned about the value of your coverage vs. the price of the policy. Watercraft hold your value well over time, but like automobiles, watercraft depreciate rapidly. Agreed value or replacement cost coverage will protect your favorite hobby and ensure you could buy another watercraft if your boat was deemed a total loss.An agreed value policy will guarantee the value of your boat. For example, if you purchased a new boat today for $40,000, and insured it at agreed value, the agreed value payment would be $40,000, minus the deductible, even if it sinks 15 years from now. That’s valuable protection!
2. Did you know you may be required to raise your boat if it sinks? Do you know what happens if it leaks gasoline or oil into the water? Many boaters think that liability is limited to injuring someone on another boat. In reality, one of the largest liability exposures is wreckage removal and fuel spill liability. If your boat sinks, you are often required by the Coast Guard or Park Services to raise the boat. The cost can cost upwards of $25,000! If the boat leaks oil or gas into the water, the cost to remediate can be over $75,000. Fines and fees can add on another $30,000. If another boat was involved, you can nearly double the cost, plus add on the cost of replacing the claimant’s boat and any associated injuries.
3. All this to say that the common limit of $50,000 of fuel spill and wreckage removal coverage is likely not enough and could leave you with a large bill to pay out of pocket.
4. What happens if you have a break down while towing your boat? Auto roadside assistance policies are for the covered autos only. For example, auto roadside assistance won’t change a tire on the boat trailer if it blows out. If the towing vehicle breaks down, you’ll tow it away but leave the boat and trailer on the side of the road. The best practice is to ensure that if you tow your boat you have a watercraft policy that includes roadside assistance/on-road towing coverage to avoid a bad experience.
5. Do you have any unusual exposures? Boat owners sometimes have unusual exposures, like having multiple owners, renting it as an AirBNB, or you occasionally use it commercially as a fishing guide. These exposures can impact whether a boat is eligible for coverage with your carrier, so it’s important to flesh out any unusual exposures that may exist.

There are many different factors to consider to properly insure watercraft. Answering these five questions can help you get the coverage that gives you peace of mind while you’re out on the water.