Quick quiz: Without looking at your policy, tell us what type of water damage is covered by your homeowners or renters insurance. If you answered, “Water that comes from the top down is generally covered, but not when it comes from the bottom up,” good for you! If not, read on…

Here’s something to think about: Homeowners and renters policies generally cover you for a burst pipe, or rain coming through a storm-damaged roof. But in the case of water damage caused by flooding and sewer backup, you’ll need a separate policy or endorsement. 

If you’re among the many homeowners and renters who don’t have flood insurance, remember this: Just because flood coverage is optional, doesn’t mean you don’t need it. Events such as 2012’s Hurricane Sandy demonstrated that you don’t have to live in a coastal region to be in danger of flooding—in fact, some of the worst flooding from Sandy occurred hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean. Another point to consider: Because flood insurance is a specialized product, available through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), it has its own set of rules--deductibles, coverage limits, and so forth. Some private insurers also offer flood coverage. 

So what’s the best way to figure out your flood insurance needs? A good first step is to see whether your home is in an area that’s prone to flooding—you can do this by looking at FEMA.gov’s Flood Map Service Center. (FEMA also has tons of other resources to help with disaster preparation.) Another smart idea? Talk to one of our Insurance Agents. They can help you assess your risks and come up with smart insurance strategies to protect your home, family and belongings.  
Watch and Learn: Even a Dummy Can Be Smart about Flood Insurance! 

For many people, their home is their greatest asset, so it is crucial to avoid being underinsured. To protect their investment from disasters, homeowners should update their insurance regularly to include improvements, major purchases and increased rebuilding costs.
Since the end of the Great Recession in June 2009, despite the major drop off in construction activity, construction prices have actually risen significantly. Furthermore, after a disaster, materials and labor may become scare, driving repair and rebuilding costs up even further.
To properly insure your home, it is important to ask one of our insurance agents key questions such as:
Your policy needs to cover the cost of rebuilding your home at current construction costs. Unfortunately, some homeowners simply purchase enough insurance protection to satisfy their mortgage lender. Others confuse the real estate value of their home with what it would cost to rebuild it. Quite simply, you should have enough insurance to rebuild your home in the event that it is completely destroyed. Be sure to consider the following:
Replacement Cost
Most policies cover replacement cost for damage to the structure. A replacement cost policy pays for the repair or replacement of damaged property with materials of similar kind and quality.
Extended Replacement Cost
This type of policy provides additional insurance coverage of 20 percent or more over the limits in your policy, which can be critical if there is a widespread disaster that pushes up the cost of building materials and labor.
Inflation Guard
This coverage automatically adjusts the rebuilding costs of your home to reflect changes in construction costs. Find out if your policy includes this coverage or if you have to purchase it separately.
Ordinance or Law coverage
If your home is badly damaged, you may be required to rebuild it to meet new (and often stricter) building codes. Ordinance or law coverage pays a specific amount toward these costs.
Water Back-Up  
This coverage insures your property for damage from sewer or drain back-up. Most insurers offer it as an add-on to a standard policy.
Flood Insurance
Standard home insurance policies provide coverage for disasters such as fire, lightning and hurricanes. They do not include coverage for flood (including flooding from a hurricane). Flood insurance is available through the federal government’s National Flood Insurance Program (www.floodsmart.gov), but can be purchased from the same agent who provides you with your home or renters insurance. Make sure to purchase flood insurance for the structure of your house, as well as for the contents. Excess Flood Protection, which provides higher limits of coverage than the NFIP in the event of catastrophic loss by flooding, is available from some insurers. Keep in mind that there is a 30-day waiting period before the insurance is valid.
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If you do suffer damage from a disaster, contact our insurance agency as soon as possible and begin the claims filing process.  Also, if you need the assistance of FEMA, here are their Frequently Asked Questions about FEMA Disaster Assistance.

Falling asleep behind the wheel of a car is a very serious risk. In some situations, it can lead to wrecks, significant damage or even the death of another person. Most often, your auto insurance covers the damage you cause to other people. Yet, there are some limits. Why you fell asleep could be a key factor in determining if the policy pays out.
Why Did You Fall Asleep?
Was it just a long day at work and you dozed off? Were you drinking and driving? Or, perhaps you have a medical condition such as narcolepsy that causes you to fall asleep often. In all situations, your insurer wants to know why you fell asleep at the wheel.
In most situations, the policy’s liability insurance covers losses to another person’s belongings. For example, it may cover damage to another driver’s car if you hit that driver after falling asleep. It may also pay for your damage if the incident was accidental and you could not avoid it.
Talk to our Agency About Your Health
When you obtain auto insurance, your agent asks you about any reasons that you may be a high-risk driver. If you have a medical condition that may cause you to fall asleep behind the wheel, be sure to tell the agent. In some cases, your car insurance policy is void if you fail to disclose this type of information. Insurance companies need to know if you have any condition that makes you a high-risk driver. This may include narcolepsy but also conditions like sleep apnea.
It Was Just an Accident
In some situations, an incident like this occurs as a result of an accident. You just did not sleep well. You worked long hours. You just doze off. When this occurs, your policy is still likely to provide coverage to you. However, if you were driving under the influence, your insurance likely won't cover the damage. If you received a ticket for reckless driving, your insurance company may not pay out. In other words, you could have prevented this accident had you acted responsibly.
The key is to be sure you have the right amount of auto insurance in place. And, let our agency know about any risk factors that apply to you. This can help ensure your car insurance remains in place even if you do have an incident like this.

​A storm comes through the area causing damage to your car. Your laptop is sitting on the seat of the car and also suffers damage. Will your auto insurance policy cover any of your losses? That depends on the type of insurance you have. And there are a few important limits you should know about here. Here is more insight to keep in mind.
What Type of Car Insurance Do You Have?
One of the biggest factors to determining coverage is to know what type of car insurance you have.
If you have comprehensive auto insurance, your policy is likely to cover storm damage to the car. This may include damage from hail striking the car. It may also include flooding of the car if it is due to the storm itself. Your policy may also cover lightning strikes or severe wind damage. In these cases, you cannot control the damage.
Comprehensive auto insurance is not a policy type that everyone has. If you have just liability insurance, for example, you may not have this type of insurance available to you. It is important to choose the right protection.
If you have this form of coverage, your car itself has protection. However, that doesn’t mean your laptop will.
Coverage of Possessions
Most of the time, auto insurance policies do not cover possessions. This includes items in your car that suffer damage due to an accident of some type. This applies to this situation.
In most cases, you will not be able to file a claim for your possessions even if the policy covers the incident. While you may be able to file a claim with your auto insurance, it is not possible in most standard coverage scenarios.
In some cases, you may have a rider on your policy for possessions in the vehicle. For example, this may cover the business equipment within the vehicle. However, that is generally applicable to just commercial auto insurance. Personal policies often don’t offer this option.
Try Your Homeowners Insurance
While your auto insurance may deny your claim for the laptop, your home insurance may offer some protection.
Your home insurance policy has coverage for your possessions and can cover claims when those possessions are not within your home as well. If the laptop is a normal possession, one you own and use in your home, it may fall under this protection. You can file your claim based on the incident to recoup the losses. Remember, however, that homeowners insurance policies also place limits on when and how much coverage they offer for possessions.

Las exclusiones del seguro de automóvil son disposiciones escritas en el contrato de seguro. Excluyen la cobertura para un conductor o evento en particular. Debe revisar cuidadosamente la sección Exclusiones de su póliza.
Las exclusiones de seguros de automóvil más comunes incluyen:

• Excluyendo a cierto conductor. La aseguradora puede excluir a un conductor de alto riesgo en el hogar del cliente. Esto le ahorrará algo de dinero al asegurado. Una vez excluida, esa persona no debe conducir el automóvil cubierto. De lo contrario, si el conductor excluido causa un accidente mientras no está asegurado, el titular de la póliza puede enfrentar varias sanciones, incluidas multas, la posibilidad de que la aseguradora lo retire y la negación de todas las reclamaciones.
• Dañar el coche a propósito. Dañar intencionalmente el automóvil es otra exclusión típica. Las empresas investigarán la causa del daño antes de resolver cualquier reclamo. Si el daño fue causado a propósito, la reclamación será rechazada y el asegurado puede ser acusado incluso de intento de fraude.
• Usar un automóvil personal con fines comerciales. Muchas compañías de seguros no cubrirán un accidente si el vehículo se utilizó para entregar bienes o materiales en el momento del accidente. Para cualquier uso comercial, el asegurado debe adquirir un seguro de automóvil comercial.
• Equipo personalizado. Para cubrir piezas y equipos personalizados, el cliente debe comprar un endoso. Además, algunas compañías pueden no estar de acuerdo con personalizar un automóvil más allá de ciertos límites y dejarán de cubrir la cobertura. Asegúrese de hablar con uno de nuestros representantes de seguros sobre la cobertura de su equipo personalizado.

Nuestra agencia es única porque no se limita a un solo tipo de proveedor de seguros, sino que ofrece a los clientes las mejores ofertas de muchas compañías de seguros diferentes. De esta manera, los clientes tienen acceso a ofertas de múltiples operadores, todo en un solo lugar.

​Car insurance exclusions are provisions written in the insurance contract. They exclude coverage for a particular driver or event. You should carefully check the Exclusions section in your policy.
The most common car insurance exclusions include:

• Excluding a certain driver. The insurer may exclude a high-risk driver in the client's household. This will save the policyholder some money. Once excluded, that person should not drive the covered car. Otherwise, if the excluded driver causes an accident while uninsured, the policyholder may face several penalties, including fines, the chance of being dropped by the insurer and denial of all claims.
• Damaging the car on purpose. Intentionally damaging the car is another typical exclusion. Companies will investigate the cause of the damage before resolving any claim. If the damage was caused on purpose, the claim will be rejected, and the policyholder can be even accused of fraud attempt.
• Using a personal car for commercial purposes. Many insurance companies will not cover an accident if the vehicle was used to deliver goods or materials at the moment of the accident. For any commercial use, the policyholder must purchase commercial car insurance.
• Custom equipment. In order to cover custom parts and equipment, the client must purchase an endorsement. Furthermore, some companies may not agree with customizing a car beyond certain limits and will drop coverage. Make sure to talk to one of our insurance representatives about covering your custom equipment.

Our agency is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider but brings the clients the best deals from many different insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place.

​Are you responsible for another person’s injuries if they happen on your property? Initially, you may believe the answer is yes. But there are some limitations. If a trespasser enters your property, you still have some responsibility for providing a safe space. However, when your home insurance pays out depends on a variety of factors. Here is what you need to know.
Generally, Trespassers Do Not Get a Free Pass
Trespassers or individuals warned not to enter your property who do so anyway, do not instantly have coverage for their injuries under your home insurance plan. Most often, you are not responsible for their injuries. In most situations, such instances will receive no support from a court of law.
However, an individual may try to prove they have the right to loss coverage. In short, there are some exemptions that could apply.
How Often Do They Do So
One key concern has to do with how often the trespasser enters the problem. If an individual regularly uses the property, for example, as a cut-through, and they are not told not to do so, they may have some expectation that they can continue to do so. For example, someone might routinely walk through your back field to get to work. If you don't tell them not to, they might have no idea that there is a problem. In this case, the property owner knows the trespassing is occurring, and he or she has not warned the party. They also have not minimized the risk to the party on the property.
Willful and Wanton Conduct
​This rule is one that applies in most states. If you engage in activities that are inherently dangerous, such as shooting a rifle on the property, you may have an obligation to ensure what you are doing is safe if a trespasser enters the problem. For example, if you set up traps along your property to target trespassers, this is not going to work. Generally, if you set up a situation in which a person could suffer injuries at your hand, then you may be liable for those injuries.
It is important to protect your property. There is no situation in which you can guarantee your property is safe. If someone enters your property, knowing you do not want them there, trips over a stone, and falls, you are not likely responsible for their injuries. Yet, other situations can be difficult. It is important to work to keep your property safe for those you wish to enter and those you do not. Let one of our home insurance agents help you decide this.

Thinking through all the costs associated with buying a home will make the process run more smoothly, and it may also save you money. It is important to:
Check Your Credit Rating
A good credit history helps you in many ways.

• Good credit makes it easier to get a mortgage at a competitive rate, and it may also qualify you for a good credit discount on your insurance.
• Make sure you know your credit rating before you apply for a mortgage.
• Get a copy of one or all of your credit reports.
• Make sure they are accurate and report any mistakes immediately.
• Take steps now to improve it if your credit is not as good as it could be.

Protect Yourself with a Renters Insurance Policy
If you are currently renting a house or apartment, protect yourself financially with a renters insurance policy.

• This provides insurance protection in the event a fire, hurricane or other insured disaster damages or destroys your personal possessions.
• It also covers the cost of additional living expenses if something happens to make your rental home or apartment unlivable.
• Additionally, renters insurance gives you liability protection if someone is injured in your home and decides to sue you.
• Disasters happen, and it would be unfortunate to have to use the down payment you saved to buy your new home to pay for losses that could have been covered by renters insurance.
• Furthermore, having a renters insurance policy provides a useful insurance history to your prospective homeowners’ insurer when you go to buy your first home.

Our office looks forward to a no-obligation review of all your insurance needs.