Frequently Asked Questions
HOME INSURANCE
Homeowners insurance covers your home, private structures (detached garage) and your home's contents for major perils such as fire, wind, theft, liability and many other perils.
Ask if your home qualifies for "special form" coverage and "full replacement cost" for your dwelling which provides the best coverage available.
Your home is insured based on building costs in your area. Currently, building costs are about $130 or higher per square foot in Bristol County.
The best coverage is "special form" coverage with "guaranteed replacement cost" which pays for rebuilding, no matter the cost.
Creating an inventory of ALL your personal possessions will help to make claim settlements a lot easier at the time of loss. Create a paper inventory or a list of all your possessions and keep it in a safe place off-premise such as your safety deposit box or Dropbox or other safe cloud storage space.
It's helpful to supplement your inventory with photos of everything you own or with a home inventory video. Again, store the photos / videos off-premise in an internet storage space not on your computer as your computer could be lost in a fire or stolen.
Having an assessment of your personal property and how much it would cost to replace everything will help you in determining how much personal property insurance to purchase.
If your home is damaged or destroyed due to covered perils such as fire, smoke or water damage and you need temporary accommodations while your home is being repaired, loss of use /additional living expenses coverage would apply. It covers the actual additional expenses incurred as a result of not living in your own home.
Expensive items such as jewelry, watches, furs, and fine arts can be covered under Schedule Personal Property or SPP (in insurance terms).
By scheduling your expensive items under an SPP policy endorsement or rider your scheduled items will not have a deductible applied and they will be insured for the full appraised value.
Although we do our best to avoid accidents, but accidents do happen. If you were to cause a serious auto accident involving major property damage and/or extensive injuries to other parties, your hard-earned assets could be at risk.
The cost of the property damage, injuries to other parties, and/or subsequent lawsuits could quickly and easily exceed the limits of your auto insurance. That's why you should consider a Personal Umbrella Policy. It steps in to protect you over and above the limits of your auto policy.
All homeowners have a list of standard exclusions including flood coverage. Flood insurance is optional and offered through the U.S. government for homes that are listed in a flood zone area.
If you are in a flood zone your mortgage company may require you to carry flood insurance.
Check with our office to determine if you are in a flood zone.
CONDO / RENTERS INSURANCE
A condominium associations Master policy covers the building, the actual structure and it's common areas. The master policy also provides liability for injuries incurred on common areas. It does not cover your personal property.
A condominium unit owner's policy covers your personal property, furnishings and liability within your condo unit.
Provide your insurance agent with a copy of the master policy and they will advise you what coverages you may wish to consider for your specific condo unit.
Renters and condo owners also need to create an inventory of ALL your personal possessions will help to make claim settlements a lot easier at the time of loss. Create a paper inventory or a list of all your possessions and keep it in a safe place off-premise such as your safety deposit box or Dropbox or other safe cloud storage space.
It's helpful to supplement your inventory with photos of everything you own or with a home inventory video. Again, store the photos / videos off-premise in an internet storage space not on your computer as your computer could be lost in a fire or stolen.
Having an assessment of your personal property and how much it would cost to replace everything will help you in determining how much personal property insurance to purchase.
Condo owners see the question about Loss Assessment coverage!
Condo owners are often faced with additional assessments from their condo associations for losses that exceeded the condo association's master insurance policy limits. Your individual condo owners policy can provide by a separate endorsement coverage for Loss Assessment. The coverage is relatively inexpensive and buying higher limits is very worthwhile.
Same as for traditional home ownership. Creating an inventory of ALL your personal possessions will help to make claim settlements a lot easier at the time of loss. Create a paper inventory or a list of all your possessions and keep it in a safe place off-premise such as your safety deposit box or Dropbox or other safe cloud storage space. It's helpful to supplement your inventory with photos of everything you own or with a home inventory video. Again, store the photos / videos off-premise in an internet storage space not on your computer as your computer could be lost in a fire or stolen. Having an assessment of your personal property and how much it would cost to replace everything will help you in determining how much personal property insurance to purchase.
Some condo association's master policy may cover only "to the studs" in your walls and other association's master policy covers "all-in" which means the interior walls of your condo are covered in the event of a loss. What does this mean?
If your association's master policy only covers to the studs, you may want to purchase Special Form Coverage "A" with a higher limit to include the replacement of your interior walls in the event of fire, smoke or water damage.
Discuss this with your insurance advisor.
AUTO INSURANCE
- Higher Deductibles - Raising your deductibles for collision and comprehensive coverage is the easiest way to save $$.
- Remove Non-Essential Coverages - Consider removing physical damage coverage based on the age of your vehicle. Is it still worth paying for collision and comprehensive coverage if the vehicle is older and carries a lower actual cash value. The car may be worth more to you than what an insurance company may pay for it if totaled.
- Good Driver Discounts - Good driving record discounts are usually applied automatically. The Massachusetts Safe Driver Insurance Plan (SDIP) is a program that aims to decrease traffic accidents by requiring unsafe drivers to pay higher insurance premiums and offering discounts to safe drivers.
- Senior Discounts - Discounts for over age 65 are usually automatically applied.
- Low Mileage Discounts - You may qualify for low mileage discounts if your annual mileage falls within certain parameters.
Under 5000 miles - %
Under 9000 miles - % - Multiple Policy Credits - Many insurance companies provide credits for multiple policies with the same company or within the same agency.
- Liability insurance pays for bodily injury to others and damage to their property if you are the cause of the accident.
- Personal Injury Protection (PIP) will pay your medical bills, even if you were not at fault.
- Medical payments pays medical expenses for you and passengers in your vehicle up to a specified dollar limit regardless of fault.
- Collision insurance pays for damage to your vehicle regardless of fault.
- Comprehensive coverage pays for damage to your vehicle from fire, theft, vandalism and glass breakage.
- Rental reimbursement coverage provides for a rental vehicle while your car is being repaired due to an accident.
Determining the amount of liability coverage is often based on your assets. If you have a lot to lose (homes, savings, stocks & bonds etc.) you'll be wise to protect your assets from loss due to an automobile accident.
Even drivers who may not have a lot of assets today may feel they don't have a lot to lose but if they are found at fault in an auto accident the judgement stays with you and as you acquire assets you may be turning those over to satisfy the judgement.
Personal auto insurance policies typically extends coverage to a rental car as long as you're in the United States. If you pay for a rental car with certain credit cards, you may find they offer free insurance, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III).
However, it's important to review your insurance coverage to make sure you have the appropriate coverages in place before you decline the insurance offered by the rental company.