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Do I Need to Insure My Jewelry?

Do I Need to Insure My Jewelry?

Posted on December 12, 2017 by Jason Levine in Appraisals, Deductible, Homeowners Insurance, Inland Marine, Personal Article Floater, Wedding Insurance with 5 comments

Wedding insurance is a great way to make sure the Big Day goes off without a hitch. But what about protecting your investments after your wedding? Have you thought about engagement ring insurance for that gorgeous rock?

Or perhaps you’re not married, but you have other valuable items of jewelry to protect. Maybe an antique brooch from your grandmother or a pocket watch from your great-great-grandfather. Jewelry is expensive and—in the case of heirlooms—often irreplaceable. But having jewelry coverage on your gems, gold, and other precious metals can help if your engagement ring is lost.

In this article, we’ll go over some of the more common questions that you may have about getting jewelry insured. 
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home insurance premiums going up

Why Your Home Insurance Premiums Are Going Up

Posted on May 16, 2017 by Jason Levine in Homeowners Insurance with 1 comment

You haven’t even made it all the way inside from your mailbox, and you’re already frustrated!

It seems like every year when that homeowner insurance renewal comes, it’s asking for more money. You haven’t had a claim since you bought the home 15 years ago; it just doesn’t seem fair.

Well, when it comes to one of the biggest causes for home insurance premium increases, you’re right. It’s not fair.

When Homeowners Become Victims

The State of Florida is currently faced with a major insurance crisis.

It comes in the form of widespread fraud…specifically fraud perpetrated by crooked contractors and public adjusters responding to claims caused by alleged water damage and hail storms. Homeowners become victims when they fall for a too-good-to-be-true offer from the scammer.

Let’s take a look at some examples of how this fraud is committed.
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insuring a home based business

Insuring a Home Based Business

Posted on May 3, 2017 by Jason Levine in Commercial Insurance, Homeowners Insurance with 1 comment

“Do I need liability insurance for an e-commerce store? What should I consider when insuring a home based business?”

There are approximately 14,000,000 home-based businesses in the U.S. Many people choose this type of business because they love the flexible hours, the lack of commute, the comfort of working in their pajamas, and the added benefit of saving money.

“Since I don’t have a warehouse or storefront,” they determine, “I can spend less on rent, taxes, and insurance. Right?”

Unfortunately for these uninformed business owners, that is simply not true.

Home-based businesses—whether the customers come to you, you go to them, or the business is completely done online—are not exempt from needing insurance.

And if you think you’re off the hook because you have insurance on your home, think again.
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Do I Need Flood Insurance? (In short: yes!)

Does My Homeowner’s Policy Cover a Flood?

Posted on March 8, 2017 by Jason Levine in Flood Insurance, Homeowners Insurance with No comments

Whether it’s mortgages or storm damage, it’s never a good thing when your home is underwater. But how can you make sure that your property will be protected when the next Big Storm strikes?

If Harvey and Katrina have taught Americans anything, it’s that flood insurance can make or break your cleanup efforts after a catastrophic incident. You may have even seen the ads on TV warning you against relying solely on your homeowners policy for flood coverage.

“Yeah,” you might be asking. “It’s nice to have. But do I need flood insurance?”

 

Yes. You Do Need Flood Insurance.

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Drone Insurance Covered by Your Homeowners Policy? Think Again!

Posted on July 8, 2016 by Jason Levine in Homeowners Insurance, Personal Lines, Technology with No comments

Every time something useful, cool, and new is invented, there are new dangers that come along with it. Newton’s Third Law of Physics even states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Well, guess what? Drones may be the hottest new present for children and tech enthusiasts, and a cutting-edge business tool, but an estimated 80% of them are operating without proper FAA approval or appropriate insurance protection.

drone insurance policy

Photo Credit: khunaspix on freedigitalphotos.net

Drones at home are less of a problem than drones used for business. Remember, once Bob the neighbor pays little Johnny $10 to take an aerial picture of his house, there has been a business transaction. You may not agree, but there was a transaction in the eyes of the court! Insurers are struggling to deal with the new risk posed by drones, whether it is drones running into each other, drones being flown into people or property, or drones having mechanical failure and crashing into people or property. There’s also that whole spying on people thing, despite plenty of existing laws and legal precedents to deal with that (just think cell phone cameras). You may think of drones as harmless, but rest assured, there are some very important things for homeowners and business owners to know about this potential insurance issue.
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Fraud is Causing Your Rate to Go Up

Posted on January 1, 2016 by Jason Levine in Homeowners Insurance, Inspections, Personal Lines with No comments

It seems like every year homeowner insurance costs more. We have talked about this before, but it is still happening and your rates are still going up. Our goal is to make sure everyone is educated about what is happening so you can make informed decisions about your home.

Normally, when people spend money they like to receive something of value in exchange for it. It’s difficult for insurance to provide obvious or immediate value because no one ever wants to have to use it. Everyone’s financial sensibility is vulnerable to ads like the one below that seem to bring that value. A new roof on your home can cost anywhere from $5,000.00 to $50,000.00 depending upon size, materials and contractor. The free roofs that are being promised all across Florida in ads like these, however, are not free at all. In fact, they are incredibly costly to the homeowner and the general public.
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A New Free Roof?…It Must be Too Good to be True

Posted on December 23, 2015 by Jason Levine in Homeowners Insurance, Inspections, Personal Lines, Storms with No comments
Free-lunch_Guy-Downes-20101

Credit – http://www.guydownes.com

If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.

A stranger knocks on your door.  You apprehensively answer.  They tell you that they can get you a entirely kitchen worth $25,000 or more if you’ll let them inside.  You laugh, say it’s too good to be true and send them on their way.  So why do people allow those making such outrageous claims to climb on their roofs, have access to their insurance policy  information, and ultimately to involve them in a rapidly growing fraud scam?  I suppose it’s because they aren’t be asked to actually invite the perpetrators in, but they are being promised a new roof typically valued anywhere between $10,000 and $40,000.

Insurance is there to protect homeowners from sudden and accidental damage.  Unlike a home warranty or maintenance contract, insurance does not cover wear and tear or an item reaching the end of its useful life.  Insurance is designed and priced to repair or replace a roof if a tree falls on your house, a hail storm causes damage or another sudden, accidental and unforeseeable event damages your home.  Unfortunately, opportunistic and criminally liable contractors are looking for homes with shingle roof at or around 15 years old all over Florida.  These roofs are naturally reaching the end of their lives, and most homeowners dread having to purchase one from within their household budget.  Knock, knock…
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What to do if your house has polybutylene pipes?

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Jason Levine in Homeowners Insurance, Inspections with 42 comments

Polybutylene pipe

“What do you mean I can’t get homeowner insurance?”

Unfortunately, this line is becoming more common by the day in Florida. Homes are being bought and sold at a quick pace again, and any house built between 1978 and 1995 probably started out with Polybutylene plumbing pipes. If your house has not been re-piped it has been blacklisted by nearly all insurance companies. This isn’t because insurers want to be mean. It is because there is evidence that Polybutylene fails more often than other types of plumbing.
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My Insurance Company Told Me My Roof is Too Old, is it?

Posted on June 17, 2015 by Jason Levine in Homeowners Insurance, Hurricane, Inspections, Personal Lines, Storms, Summer with 62 comments
You might have some roofing issues!

You might have some roofing issues!

 

  Q.  Why is my insurance company telling me my  roof is too old and that I need to replace it? It  looks fine to me!

A.  Keeping a comfy roof over your head is one of peoples’ highest priorities no matter where they are.  When it comes to homeowner insurance roofs can quickly become a lot more complication than just shingle or tile.  Insurance carriers have detailed data on how long roofs are expected to last, what are the most common causes of roof related claims, and which types of roofs tend to work best. 
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Have You Saved With A Wind Mitigation Inspection?

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Jason Levine in Homeowners Insurance, Inspections, Personal Lines, Uncategorized with 2 comments

Douglas Inspection Service logo (1)

We interviewed one of our clients, Douglas Inspection Service about Wind Mitigation Inspections. If you haven’t had one yet you may be able to save money on your Homeowners insurance! You can learn more about Wind Mitigation Inspections on our blog and read about them and Douglas Inspection below!

Q. How long is an inspection?
A. The time spent at the property is usually less than an hour. We do research prior to the appointment and at the home we verify the results of our research and confirm the way the roof is secured to the house. It really depends on how far into the attic the inspector has to go to find and photograph the features the insurer is looking for.
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