Home Insurance Tips

  • Most people don't think much about their home insurance, but the 3 most common things people forget to include are...

    • coverage for valuables, collections, etc. - every carrier has different limits on things and it's important to review to make sure all your stuff is covered! After a claim is too late to find out.

    • backup of sewer/drain coverage - if you have a basement, particularly if it's a finished basement, you NEED this coverage! It's normally excluded if the sewer line backs up.

    • building coverage if you own a condo. The interior fixtures, flooring, cabinets, counters, etc. are usually NOT covered by the condo association insurance!

  • Flood, for insurance purposes, is defined as a body of water rising. Period. This is often confused with a pipe bursting and "flooding" a basement or any other damage caused by a lot of water.

    If you are in a potential flood zone you should secure flood insurance.

    For the other issues some general tips....

    • make sure all pipes are in good repair - have your sewer line routinely scoped

    • leave heat on when traveling to prevent pipes freezing - insurance carriers won't cover pipes bursting because the heat was turned off

    • have people check on your home when you are out of town - subsequent damage caused due to lengthy time before discovery is not covered by insurance and can be spendy!

    • check draining, seals, slopes, gutters, etc. to make sure things are clean/maintained/adequate. Insurance won't cover damage

    • check into backup of sewer/drain coverage. If you have appliances in the basement or a finished basement it is TOTALLY worth adding this coverage

  • Earthquake insurance is becoming more and more common as fears of "the big one" increase. A few notes on earthquake insurance...

    It's not often included in regular home insurance unless you are in a low-risk area or are grandfathered

    It typically has a % deductible as it's for the "big one." If there is a tremor and the china hutch falls over the deductible will not be reached

    Pricing and carrier options are dependent on the age of the home, location, and if the home has been earthquake retrofit

    We have carriers that will go down to 2.5% deductible at a reasonable cost.

  • Wyze Cams - HD Infrared (night vision) Wifi camera to keep watch on your home while you are away. It can be set up to send an alert to your smartphone when there is motion and when the fire alarm or the CO2 alarm go off. Live feed video available via your smartphone! While this doesn’t replace a monitored alarm system (as they will call the police if you are asleep when something happens), but an inexpensive alternative to provide some extra protection! They are only $27.99! Corey got them for everyone in his family for Christmas.

    Smart Water Detectors - Self-explanatory, but it will sound an audible and visual alert and send you an email if it detects water! You can have your email account TEXT you if it gets an email from the device so you would be notified instantly and can address the issue!

    Dryer Vent Cleaning System - this is one of the TOP reasons for house fires! Please clean yours annually. Corey cleaned his and got a FULL VACUUM bag full of lint! Scary! Gardus RLE202 LintEater 10-Piece Rotary Dryer Vent Cleaning System