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Category: Home Insurance

New Year’s Home Safety Checklist

Posted on by titan-insurance

The start of a new year is an ideal time to tackle goals and projects that you may have been putting off for a while. In addition to setting new career goals and working on your health and fitness, you should consider reevaluating your home safety. From fire hazards to energy savers, your home may need more updates than you realize. We’ve put together a list to help you get started on assessing your home’s safety.

Health

  • Test smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms and replace as needed.
  • Verify that all fire extinguishers are operational.
  • If you don’t already, form a fire escape route and educate the entire family.
  • Install light switches at both ends of staircases to reduce the chance of a fall.
  • Dust all surfaces as well as ceiling fans and vents.
  • Change HVAC filters.
  • Replace water purifier filters.
  • Check wires and plugs for frays.
  • Deep clean areas of your home that experience the most traffic.
  • Clean out expired or unused items from your refrigerator and pantry.
  • Clean oven, range, and range hood filters.

Maintenance

  • Replace furnace filters and schedule a furnace inspection.
  • Inspect gutters and roof or schedule a professional inspection.
  • Evaluate efficiency of weather stripping and replace as needed.
  • Clean our clothes dryer vent and pipes.
  • Clean refrigerator coils.
  • Check window screens and replace as needed.
  • Test locks, handles and doorknobs for proper operation.
  • Inspect and flush water heater.
  • Update or install home security system if necessary.
  • Schedule any needed maintenance calls or inspections.
  • Mark a calendar with recommended maintenance dates for appliances and systems.
  • Take an inventory of your valuable possessions, to be used in the event of an insurance claim.

Following this list to evaluate your home’s safety is a wonderful way to begin the new year. You should also visit your insurance agent to discuss and determine if any coverages need to be added, dropped, or changed. Working with an independent insurance agency is the ideal way to determine your insurance needs, since independent agents are on your side – not the side of the big companies. Reach out to us today if you would like to speak with an experienced agent.

Thanksgiving Safety Tips for Homeowners

Posted on by titan-insurance

Most of us see Thanksgiving day as a time for joy. Making memories is the only thing on our to-do list while we kick off the holiday season with good food and family. However, believe it or not, Thanksgiving is one of the most dangerous days of the year for homeowners. With all that cooking, socializing, and drinking (sometimes too much!) happening in the same place, tragic accidents occur every year on this otherwise great holiday. Keep reading to learn more about how to protect your home when the festivities start.

Prevent Cooking Fires

Nothing stops the festivities cold turkey like a house fire. Unsurprisingly, cooking is the leading cause of home fires on Thanksgiving. Make sure you don’t leave cooking food unattended. If you’re frying a turkey, make sure to keep the fryer outdoors and away from all structures that can catch on fire. Check your smoke alarms beforehand to ensure that they’re in good working condition in case a fire does break out, and keep fire extinguishers and baking soda close by to nip flames in the bud.

Diminish the Risk of Injury

Of course burns are a likelihood on Thanksgiving, but the chances of a scald or burn can be reduced by refraining from wearing loose clothing or dangling sleeves while cooking, and keeping children at least 3 feet away from the stove at all times.

Also be cautious of which family member gets to wield the large carving knife, even if they swear they’re the man or woman for the job! Remain aware of who has been drinking, and be prepared to discreetly reduce the flow of alcohol if it appears that some folks have had more than their share. These may sound like obvious warnings, but knife and alcohol-related accidents are two of the biggest reasons for emergency room visits on Thanksgiving!

Secure Your House

Hosts aren’t the only ones who need to watch out for their homes on Thanksgiving. Break-ins always increase around the holidays because burglars know that people are less likely to be home. If you have to travel for Thanksgiving, especially if you’re gone for several days, be sure to set your burglar alarm, put lights on timers, and let trustworthy neighbors know when you’ll return so they can report any suspicious activity to the police.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

These are just a few things to keep in mind before you celebrate the feast of the year. It’s important to always practice safety, but a day like Thanksgiving isn’t a time for worry; that’s what insurance agents are here for. As long as your home is covered with a good insurance policy, you should relax and enjoy the food and fun with relatives and friends!

The Most Important Thing to Do When Closing on a Home

Posted on by titan-insurance

When you’re a first time home buyer, you might be expecting the process to be more glamorous and exciting than it is in reality. Now, buying your first home is certainly an exciting event, but glamorous? Last time we checked, there wasn’t much glamor about paperwork… If you’re like most people, you will work with a mortgage lender to purchase your new home. Therefore process of closing on your home will involve an almost overwhelming amount of paperwork and finances, but this is a good thing. It ensures that your investment is made with all the right t’s crossed and i’s dotted. However there is one important thing you must do before you can close on your home, and that’s purchasing homeowners insurance.

Why Homeowners Insurance?

Would it surprise you to learn that purchasing homeowners insurance coverage is a requirement for closing on a home, if you finance through a lender? That’s right. Lenders require you to have home insurance for at least a year in order to allow you to close on your home. The thinking behind this is that by lending you the funds to buy a house, your lender needs an assurance from you that they are not going to suffer a huge loss if something happens to your new home. You see, that new home is an investment for both you and your lender, and when left uninsured, your home is a huge liability for your lender. This is why they usually will not agree to giving you a loan until you have proved that you have homeowners insurance in place.

What Will You Need to Bring?

It is common practice for lenders to ask you to bring your homeowners insurance binder with you to the closing meeting. The binder acts as definitive proof from your insurer that your home and its contents are covered under a policy. Some lenders may accept a photocopy of your insurance documents or a letter from your insurer.

How Do You Know Which Insurer to Choose?

This is where the assistance of an independent insurance agent is invaluable. Just like shopping around for a mortgage lender is a smart idea, shopping around for the best homeowners insurance is also a smart practice. But with your busy life, you probably don’t have time to shop the insurance market. Work with a dedicated independent insurance agent, and they will shop the market for you to find the best policy and most competitive rates.

This Is How Your Insurance Can Cover You During a Vacation

Posted on by titan-insurance

School’s out, the sun’s out, and pretty soon you might be out of town! As you’re packing for your summer vacation, insurance is probably the last thing on your mind. You’re probably thinking about what clothes to bring, whether you need both your phone and tablet, or trying to dig out the snowboard you haven’t used in months. However as with every big moment in life, there are always insurance considerations to keep in mind.

Property Damage

This can come in two forms – damage or loss of your own property or damage to others property. In the first instance, the same homeowners or renters insurance that covers your personal property against theft, vandalism, or some acts of nature when you’re at home also covers your possessions you take with you on vacation. This is especially important for more expensive items such as electronics, jewelry, or even sporting equipment you take on vacation. On the flip side, this coverage also ensures you are safeguarded against any loss that happens to the property you left behind when you’re away from home. The important thing to note for this kind of coverage is that your policy must have certain limits of coverage in order to protect everything you want protected.

The other way in which your insurance can protect you in the case of property damage while you’re on vacation applies to the property of others. This is especially important if you’re renting a house or condo and end up breaking or damaging the property itself or something inside it. This type of coverage is called your personal liability policy, and if you cause damage in the place you’re vacationing, you may be covered by it.

Medical Emergencies

This one depends on where you are vacationing. In the case of medical emergencies inside the U.S., you should not encounter many obstacles regarding your insurance coverage extending to other in-network hospitals. You should expect to pay rates similar to what you’d pay at home. However, depending on your policy you may not be covered if you visit an out-of-network hospital in another city or state. It is best to know up front before you embark on your journey – for this you will speak to your insurance agent. You should also put “insurance card” on your packing list, if you don’t already carry it with you at all times (which you should!). Your home doctor may also offer “tele” services – meaning he or she can diagnose you over phone or video chat, and you get to stay in network no matter where you are in the country.

If you’re traveling out of the country, you may be surprised to learn that your coverage is more than you expected. Again, this is an instance in which it is most appropriate to speak to your agent before your trip to find out exactly what the out-of-pocket expenses would be for medical care abroad. Keep in mind this only applies to medical emergencies, not elective procedures.

The most important thing is to notify your insurance agent that you’ll be traveling, and to ask them if there are any updates needed to your policies. With an independent insurance agent on your side, you’ll have a friend to help you properly prepare for this exciting upcoming trip.

Why Wear and Tear Isn’t Covered by Your Homeowners Insurance

Posted on by titan-insurance

You purchase homeowners insurance to protect your greatest investment against damages that are out of your control. Most often, this means emergencies or acts of nature – forces you cannot control. What can you control? How you maintain your own home. This is why homeowners insurance is unlikely to cover claims you make that turn out to be due to wear and tear.

What Constitutes Wear and Tear?

Wear and tear is generally considered to be gradual damage that happens to a home over time, as the years and the elements take their toll. In some situations, wear and tear is unavoidable as a home ages. However to most insurers, there are certain failures and property damage that can be avoided if a homeowner performs the proper routine maintenance to their home. Common instances of wear and tear include roof leaks, slow leaking pipes, and mechanical breakdowns of appliances, among others.

Why Isn’t Wear and Tear Covered?

When homeowners adopt an insurance policy on their home, it is understood that there is an agreement between the homeowner and the insurer. This agreement asks that the homeowner keep up with regular, expected maintenance and repairs on their home, and the insurance will be there if an unexpected loss occurs. The insurer expects the homeowner to prevent any negligence that could cause property damage. The wear and tear exclusions arise from an understanding of the basic responsibilities of all homeowners. The exclusions keep insurers from being liable in situations where the damage is actually due to the insured’s failure to repair, replace, or maintain the aspects of their property that need work.

How to Avoid Claims That Get Denied

As far as wear and tear goes, it is pretty simple: maintain your home and do not delay if you notice an issue. If you notice a leak, do not wait a few months to report it to your insurance agent. This is the first thing you should do, and in the event that it’s not covered, get right to fixing the issue. Do not wait to tackle anything that needs repairing or replacing. Small fixes can seem like a large financial burden in the moment, but in the event of a large scale failure, you could be left responsible for a large bill of repairs if your insurance claim is denied due to evidence of wear and tear. In the case of mechanical breakdowns of appliances, you would be better off seeking coverage through a home warranty rather than home insurance, which will often exclude these appliances from coverage.

Utilize Your Resources

Your agent is available to answer any of your questions or concerns regarding coverage on your home and property. Give us a call as soon as possible if you notice a concern in your home!

How Technology Can Protect Your Home

Posted on by titan-insurance

According to a study by the Insurance Information Institute, around one in 250 insured homes files a theft claim each year. Although this is not the most common claim, it is significant enough that insured homeowners should be looking into their options for getting the best home security. Technology is constantly changing and improving, and there are now some rather impressive and very effective systems available to protect your home and help you avoid property damage theft claims.

Smart Doorbells

This is not your average doorbell. A smart system features a camera that can show you who is outside your door – even if you are not home. Many smart doorbells also allow the homeowner to speak to doorbell-users via intercom. Since thieves will often ring doorbells to check if a home is occupied, being able to see and speak to any visitor, threatening or not, is an attractive security advantage. If you are able to respond to the potential thief, making them think you are home, they may well leave your house alone.

Smart Locks

In our modern age, no one should be leaving a spare key under a doormat or plant. These common hiding spots are the first place a burglar will look, and unless you check the spot every day your key could be stolen, copied, and returned without you ever knowing. A smart lock system gives you the ability to lock and unlock your exterior doors from anywhere at any time. Many systems allow you to check the status of your locks remotely, and some will alert you to any attempt to tamper with the lock. You can also create codes for people you need to let into your home. It is important to note that your smart lock system will need strong encryption and two-factor authentication (such as a passcode and a fingerprint) in order to be safe from hackers.

Video Monitor Systems

Similar to smart doorbells, a video monitoring system allows you to check up on your home even when you’re far away. However, these systems take the surveillance a step farther since they can monitor any areas of your home that you wish – your only limitation is where you can set up a camera! If you want to install cameras that will cover the entire perimeter of your home, you can do so, and you’ll be safer for it. Some video monitoring systems even allow users to set up virtual boundaries and the system will alert you if the boundary is breached.

Full-Service Security Companies

There are many companies, large and small, that offer full-service security systems. These companies will often install the system for you and take care of most of the monitoring themselves. If you don’t feel comfortable with the DIY approach to home security or are not able to access something like a smart doorbell camera from your cell phone, a full-service company may be a good option for you.

A Final Note

Oftentimes, insurance carriers will offer discounts on your monthly premium for a home that has security systems. You will need to make sure that the system you have or intend to purchase is eligible for a discount from your carrier. Speak to your agent about this, and get on your way to saving money and staying safer.

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