Car Damage - at mechanic or being towed

Hey just a quick tip, always use your smart phone to take front back and side photos of your car when it is left off at the mechanics or is going to be towed. This will help record the existing condition of your car when it is in the care,custody and control of those services. You may even take a picture of the inside too. Date and time the photos. Just because a shop or valet posts "not responsible for damage" sign means nothing legally.

JeffWFG

Home Insurance - update your roof - lower your premium

Your home insurance in Florida uses windstorm mitigation credits to lower your home insurance premium, review your last windstorm mitigation inspection. Section 4 roof to wall connections may indicate "toe nails", you can lower your premium if the photos indicate a nail is missing and only 2 or 3 nails needed in a certain nailing pattern. Single wrap or double wrap credits are significant and in many circumstances you can add that valuable third nail. Consult with your agent and see what is needed and how much you could save.  check out a site like http://www.thirdnail.com

Car Insurance - Reporting

So you have a new roommate and you do not even think about telling your car insurance company about it, are you going to be safe should you file a claim?  Maybe.  Any changes to the vehicles you have, lease, store and who drives them, has access to them, lives in your house need to be disclosed to your insurance company. If you think that not reporting saves you money in premiums, you may stand to lose much more if a claim is denied becasue you did not report. Review your policy today and make sure it reflects what is accurate. This is also a cahnce to see that you are getting as much discounts as possible, are you getting homeowner, education,job,member of an association, married discounts?

Car Insurance - one policy - can I stack UM/UIM?

Just a quick note that could be useful. In certain states you can stack coverage for your UM/UIM on 1 car, like in Florida. The advantage is that if you incur high medical bills that exceed your policy or the at fault policy you will have more protection. Additionally there may be circumstances where your UM doesn't cover you at all if you have non-stacked UM/UIM coverage. I suggest you do some research on line to find out why and what state offers stacked coverage for a single policy, it will cost a bit more but please get informed before you reject the "non-stacked" option. DO you ride a motorcycle with no UM/UIM whether you own it or not? check out stacked v non-stacked.

Home Value v Insurance Coverage

If your home’s market value has increased recently and the cost to rebuild your home in your region have remained constant – there should not be a direct effect on its replacement cost value. Increased market value of your home alone should not have to make major changes to your home insurance policy.

 Notify your insurance agent when you make major renovations such as adding a room, gutting bathrooms and kitchens for improvements, and installing swimming pools – anything that would require a homeowner to get permits. If you have replaced that old kitchen with granite or upgraded the cabinets, likewise in the bathrooms that would be a significant event to increase your insurance coverage, specifically Coverage A also known as building or dwelling coverage.

Adding replacement cost value to your home by remodeling the kitchen with newer – more expensive – materials typically requires some updates to your home insurance policy, since the cost of replacing these materials could exceed your previous coverage limits.

The short answer is that anything that adds to rebuilding your home due to improvements should be added to the limits of your home insurance.

My Agent doesnt call !

As much as agents are in the people business, we are in business and that sometimes can conflict practicality versus profitability.  I know that I have not spoken to my existing clients enough and if I did schedule  phone calls for everyone it might take months to complete and consume my time, my time to keep producing and maintain profitability. Hey I apologize! It is very helpful when my clients call around the time of renewal or send an mail, I am not making excuses, just suggesting a reason why you may not hear from your agent and making you aware that you should consider taking the initiative and email and call. insurance agencies are similar to doctors and lawyers practices, you don't hear from them out of the blue too often, hmm that reminds me my doctor hasn't called, I guess I will.