PERSONAL

If you have made or are planning to make any significant updates, additions and/or alterations to your dwelling, the Dwelling limit in your Homeowner’s insurance policy may no longer be adequate.  There are several possible alternatives to determining the current Replacement Cost of your dwelling.  If you contact us, we can explore them with you.

Some Homeowner’s policies contain a Full Value Replacement Cost provision which, in effect, removes the Dwelling limit in the policy as a limiting factor in the settlement of a claim.  With this provision, the policy provides an unlimited Dwelling coverage.  If you are uncertain whether or not your policy contains such a provision and, if it does not, whether the provision is available, please contact us and we will be happy to review it for you.

Most Homeowner’s insurance policies provide coverage for appurtenant structures in an amount equal to 10% of the limit for the dwelling.  If you home consists of a garage and/or other appurtenant structures not attached to your dwelling the replacement value of which are in excess of the policy limit, please call us so we can make the necessary adjustment to the Appurtenant Structures limit.

If you are using an appurtenant structure to conduct a business, coverage for the structure itself may be excluded from your Homeowner’s policy.  Please call us and we will research this for you.

Most Homeowner’s insurance policies contain provisions excluding coverage for damage to the dwelling and/or your Personal Property resulting from the back-up of sewers and/or drains.  Even if you live on an upper floor of a building, you are exposed to loss from water which backs up from plumbing fixtures.  This can be dealt with by adding a specific Sewer and Water Back-Up endorsement to the Homeowner’s insurance policy.  If you are uncertain whether or not your Homeowner’s policy contains such an endorsement, please contact us and we will research it for you.

Most Homeowner’s insurance policies do not provide coverage for Flood damage or for damage caused by surface waters.  If you home is susceptible to such damage and if you are uncertain whether or not we have made Flood insurance a part of your insurance program, please call us and we will research it for you.

Most Homeowner’s insurance policies contain policy provisions which severely limit the nature and extent of coverage available for Personal Computers.  If you have computer equipment in your home and are uncertain whether or not we have made special provisions to insure it, please call us.

Most insurers are willing to provide Personal Property (Contents) insurance on a Replacement Cost basis (that is, coverage without deduction for physical depreciation).  If you think that your Homeowner’s policy may provide the less generous Actual Cash Value coverage (Replacement Cost minus physical depreciation), call us and we will research the matter for you.

Many of our clients have taken the time to video tape and/or photograph the various rooms of their homes and special items.  This can be a very helpful tool in the facilitation of the settlement of an insurance claim.

Many Homeowner’s insurance policies contain sublimitations for the loss or destruction or money in your home.  We strongly advise against your keeping more than a nominal amount of cash in your home; but, should you find it necessary to do so, please call us and we will explore the possibility of providing coverage for this exposure.

Most Homeowner’s insurance policies contain provisions which limit or eliminate your recovery if an insured occurrence invokes a local building ordinance necessitating the reconstruction of your home with materials or in a manner which are more costly than that which existed prior to the occurrence.  While we cannot advise you whether or not such building ordinances apply to your home, if you believe they do, please contact us and we can explore the possibility of having your Homeowner’s insurance broadened to cover this contingency.

Most Homeowner’s insurance policies contain provisions limiting or excluding coverage for Business Property.  If you have such property in your home, you should check with your business insurer to determine of this property is insured through your business.  If it is not, please contact us and we will explore the possibility of having your Homeowner insurance policy broadened to insure this property.

Most Homeowner’s insurance policies contain provisions excluding Liability coverage for Business Pursuits.  If you conduct a business from your home, please contact us and we will explore the possibility of having this provision modified or eliminated.

If you are a tenant or occupy your own condominium unit, your Homeowner’s insurance policy may contain little or no coverage for Alterations or Additions you have made to your residence or which were made by a previous unit-owner or tenant.  If you are uncertain whether or not we have modified your Homeowner’s policy to provide more complete coverage, please call us.

If you own a condominium unit, the By-Laws of your Condominium Association may allow the Association to levy special assessments against unit-owners for damage to the common areas which is not fully insured under the Association’s Master insurance program.  Loss Assessment coverage to protect against some of these assessments is available.  If you are uncertain whether or not we have added this coverage to your Unit-Owner’s insurance policy, please call us.

If you conduct a Home Day Care service from your residence, you are exposed to unusual liabilities arising therefrom.  If this is the case, please call us so that we can explore special coverage for this exposure.

If you rent a residence (either your primary residence or a secondary residence) in whole or in part to others or if your home is vacant, your Homeowner insurance policy may contain limitations or exclusions for damage to your property or for liability claims arising therefrom.  If this is the case, please call us so that we can explore special coverage for these exposures.

If your residence contains one or more smoke detectors, dead-bolt locks, fire alarm system and/or burglar alarm system, an Alarm Credit may apply to your Homeowner’s insurance.  If you are uncertain as to whether or not the appropriate credit has been applied, please call us.

Burglars love vacations—other people’s.  An unattended home is an inviting target.  Even if you have installed a burglar alarm system in your home, make your absence less obvious to potential intruders.  Following is a list of precautions:

• Ask a neighbor to check your home regularly. Also check to see if the police will drive by.
• Arrange to have your lawn mowed or walks shoveled.
• Stop newspaper deliveries and have mail and packages picked up or held by the post office.
• Install automatic timers to turn a few lights on and off at intervals.
• Attach a timer to a radio and set the dial to a talk station.
• Don’t leave spare keys hidden near the door.
• Check that all doors and windows are locked and secured.
• Let your neighbors or police know you are headed out of town and not expecting any deliveries or repair work while you’re away.  Many burglars masquerade as moving men.

A Personal Articles Floater may be warranted for any of the following reasons:

If you have a Personal Articles Floater which covers fragile objects, a Breakage exclusion may apply to those items.  This exclusion can probably be deleted by the payment of an additional premium.

If you have a Personal Articles Floater insuring jewelry, fine arts, furs or other similarly valuable items, we recommend that you review it for completeness and adequacy of insurance limits.  We recommend re-appraisals of such items be obtained no less often than once every 2-3 years.

We strongly recommend that the Uninsured Motorists limit in your Automobile insurance policy be the same as the Liability limit in the policy.  If this is not the case, please call us and we will make the necessary adjustment.

Rental Reimbursement coverage is available to cover most (if not all) of the cost of renting a vehicle in the event that yours is unavailable as a result of an insured occurrence.  If you are uncertain whether or not this coverage is part of your Automobile insurance policy, please call us and we will research it for you.

If you rent a car as a temporary, substitute vehicle for a car of your own for which there is Physical Damage coverage, you are automatically insured for the Liability exposures resulting from your use of that temporary, substitute vehicle and for Physical Damage you may cause to the temporary, substitute vehicle (subject to the same deductibles that applied to your own vehicle for which it was substituted).  However, if you rent a car while on vacation or for some other, non-substitution purpose, although you are automatically insured for the Liability exposures resulting from your use of that rented car, you are not insured for Physical Damage you may cause to it.  Therefore we strongly recommend that you always purchase a Physical Damage Waiver from the car rental firm.

If a child living with you and who owns a vehicle insured under your Automobile policy establishes residency elsewhere, your Automobile policy may cease to provide coverage for that vehicle, even though the vehicle might remain listed under your policy.  Under these circumstances, it would be advisable for the child to obtain his/her own Automobile policy for the vehicle and to have the vehicle removed from your policy.  Children living at school are usually not considered to have established residency at school.

Some Automobile insurers provide a rate credit for the existence of anti-theft devices, passive restrains systems (airbags, etc.) and anti-lock braking systems.  If you are uncertain whether or not you have received a rate credit for these, please call us and we will research it for you.

Air Bag Safety: Buckle Everyone! Children in Back!

Air bags save lives. They work best when everyone is buckled and children are properly restrained in the back seat.  Children riding in the front seat can be seriously injured or killed when an air bag comes out in a crash.

An air bag is not a soft billowy pillow.  To do its important job, an air bag comes out of the dashboard at up to 200 miles per hour—faster than the blink of an eye.  The force of an air bag can hurt those who are too close to it.  Drivers can prevent air bag related injuries to adults and children by following a few simple safety points:

• Children 12 and under should ride buckled up in a rear seat.
• Infants in rear facing child safety seats should NEVER ride in the front seat of a vehicle with a
  passenger side air bag.
• Small children should ride in a rear seat in child safety seats approved for their age and size.
• Check your vehicle owner’s manual and the instructions provided with your child safety seat for
  correct use information.
• Everyone should buckle up with both lap AND shoulder belts on every trip.
• Driver and front passenger seats should be moved as far back as practical, particularly for shorter
  statured people.

Most Automobile insurance policies contain limitations or exclusions for mobile telephones, Citizen’s Band radios, non-permanently installed sound reproducing equipment and radar detectors.  If you have such equipment and are uncertain whether or not we have made arrangements to specifically insure it, please call us and we will research if for you.