Pack your bags and grab the kids. The vacation of your dreams is about to begin. Just make sure you have properly secured your home before you head for the beach/mountains/jungle or you may return to a nasty surprise.
Secure All Windows and Doors –
Keeping your home locked up will deter most potential
Homeowners Insurance
You have just closed on your home purchase and money is going to be tight for a while. Should you buy a home warranty to help you avoid out-of-pocket expenses or will it be a waste of money?
Before you decide if it will be worth it to you, you should understand what a home
For many people, homeowner’s insurance is one of those things they reluctantly buy because their bank says they must. It adds around a hundred dollars or so a month, give or take, to the mortgage payment, and most people probably don’t think too much about it once they’ve bought it and the policy is in
Umbrella policies are aptly named, although they have nothing to do with rain or Mary Poppins. Like an umbrella, these policies form an extra layer of broad insurance protection over and above the liability limits of your existing policies. When properly constructed, they fill coverage gaps in your existing policies and create higher limits for
By Sean Harper, CEO and Co-Founder of Kin Insurance
The holidays may be the most wonderful time of the year, but they are also a time of increased risk. Consider the extra visitors alone. Every person who walks through your door brings with them the chance of an accident, another opportunity for injuries on
A poor credit score makes your financial life difficult in a number of ways. You receive poorer interest rates and terms on credit cards, it’s harder to qualify for mortgages, and, “When it comes time to get insurance, maybe your insurance premiums will be a little more expensive because you have a low credit score,”
Did you quit smoking last year? Move into a gated community? Do you live within five miles of the nearest fire station?
These factors – and many others – make you a safer bet for your homeowner’s insurer, which means you can get a significant discount on your insurance premium. Something as simple as installing
June 28 is National Insurance Awareness Day and less than a week later, on the Fourth of July, we celebrate Independence Day. This is the perfect time to brush up on your knowledge of fireworks safety and how potential damage or injury could be covered by your insurance policies. For many Americans, the Fourth of
The Wide Reach of Your Credit Report Your credit report, which is a compilation of your credit-related activities, plays a huge part in all of your financial activities that involve borrowing money. The credit scores derived from your credit report affect the interest rate offers that you receive on a loan or a credit card,
If you are purchasing or selling a home, a mortgage broker may suggest that you get a CLUE. That’s not an insult; rather, it’s a reference to a report from the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, otherwise known as CLUE.
What is the CLUE Insurance Report? The CLUE report is in essence a comprehensive insurance claims
It is time for year-end reviews. Is your insurance coverage included on the review list? If not, it should be. Use this insurance checklist as a starting point to review your policies and address any gaps in your coverage, as well as potential cost savings.
Homeowner’s Insurance Change in Value – If your house has
Next time you’re cruising the App Store or Google Play, check out some very useful apps from the federal government that can help you with your business needs.
USPS – The U.S. Postal Service app allows you to track shipments, schedule package pickups, and locate nearby postal facilities, among other useful benefits. The USPS app
On Halloween, we all enjoy handing out treats to the little monsters that arrive at our door asking for candy. Unfortunately, some of us have to deal with damage created by larger monsters that arrive at our door asking for trouble.
Vandalism and property damage are just some scary Halloween insurance concerns. You also have
You have sustained an injury in a slip and fall accident away from your own property. Who is liable for your medical costs? Are you liable, is the property owner liable, or is there a middle ground?
Slip and fall cases are sometimes complex and hard to predict, since they are regulated at the state
Making a down payment on a house could be your biggest investment you make. Now there is a way to protect that investment.
Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is a method of protecting lenders from risk if you put down a lower down payment on a home (typically less than 20%). The PMI principle assumes that
For many homeowners, paying off a mortgage occurs only once in their lifetime. Taking on a large debt, especially one that lasts for thirty years, is a substantial commitment that deserves to be celebrated once it’s over. However, once the celebration is done, it’s important that homeowners take the time to make certain that they
Got a cracked windshield? You might get it fixed for free if your auto insurance includes glass coverage. If a major storm knocked out your power and everything in your freezer went bad, your homeowners insurance may cover the cost of the spoiled food. And, if the stash of emergency cash in your sock drawer
Home inventories are one of those things everyone knows they should compile but few people actually end up completing. Creating a home inventory can be a very long and tiresome process, which is why so many people avoid them.
Having an accurate inventory allows you to have some peace of mind should anything terrible ever
“Acts of God”, for insurance purposes, are defined as events that occur through natural causes and could not be avoided through the use of caution and preventative measures. In essence, the phrase “Acts of God” refers to natural disasters.
The phrase generally brings to mind hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, hail, or floods. However, the lines can
It is a hectic and bittersweet time as your children head off to college. There are so many issues to consider that it is easy to forget one important aspect — insurance.
Insurance policies and coverage will generally change once your children are no longer under your roof. However, with some planning, those changes may
Pack your bags and grab the kids. The vacation of your dreams is about to begin. Just make sure you have properly secured your home before you head for the beach/mountains/jungle or you may return to a nasty surprise.
Secure All Windows and Doors –
Keeping your home locked up will deter most potential
Dogs bring joy to the lives of their owners almost every day. Occasionally, though, some dogs will injure another person or damage the property of others. These circumstances can cause hefty financial damage to those who do not have proper liability insurance that covers their pets.
How to Protect Yourself Financially Insurance can be purchased
Your home has suffered serious damage. Perhaps the cause was a fire, flood, storm, burglary, or vandalism. In any case, you believe you are covered, file your insurance claim, only to have it denied.
Your first instinct probably involves cursing your insurance agent at the very least, and we will not even consider the details
If you have had to do battle with an insurance company to settle a straightforward damage claim, you may be surprised to discover some of the odd things that have been covered and paid under an insurance policy. Actually, a few cases are so outrageous you will probably be surprised whether or not you have
Dealing with the aftermath of a home-destroying disaster is bad enough without uncertainty regarding your insurance coverage and replacement costs. A full inventory of your possessions can accelerate the process of sufficiently replacing them and starting the recovery process.
Most of us have a scattering of files and information on our possessions, but not a
When you first purchase homeowner’s insurance, you may find that you are paying for a policy with more coverage than your home is currently worth. Is this just a way for the insurance company to extract more money from you? Probably not – your policy may cover replacement value of your home instead of market
If you are one of those people who likes to post on social media about all the things going on in your life, there is at least one event you might want to think twice about before hitting the “post” button: a car accident.
That is because insurance adjusters are increasingly turning to social media
Scheduled property covers items in your home that are not specifically covered as part of your standard homeowner’s insurance policy. While your standard policy will certainly include some basic personal belongings, your policy may set limitations on the amount covered for several broad categories, such as $2,000 for jewelry. Scheduling your property allows you to
If you’ve decided to work from home and/or start a small business, and you’ve converted that spare bedroom into a home office, you may be wondering if your current homeowner’s insurance will automatically protect you in case your office equipment is stolen or destroyed. You may also want to know if you’ll be covered for
If you live in an area designated as a potential flood zone, you are probably paying a flood insurance premium. However, flood risks are reassessed and changed periodically. You may find that your property has been incorrectly designated during a reassessment — or has been incorrectly designated all along. If so, you need to submit