What you Need to Know About Home Insurance

We all hear about home insurance on a daily basis. Even though we hear many stories about the importance of home owner’s coverage, how much does the average consumer know about their homeowner’s policy? A recent study shows consumers know more about the contents of their breakfast cereal than their home insurance. Taking that into consideration, let’s take a look at the basics of homeowner’s coverage.

 

Who needs home insurance?

Any homeowner that doesn’t want the financial burden of replacing a home that has been devastated by fire, hurricane, tornado, or other insurable event, needs home insurance. If you have a mortgage on your home, you’re required to have a home insurance policy because the enormous financial responsibility of replacing your home lies with your lender. If you do not have a mortgage, then no one can force you to have home insurance; without this important coverage, or an enormous bank account, you will not have protection against the financial loss that a natural or man-made disaster can cause.
Imagine having to tap into your savings as well as possibly facing tax or early withdrawal penalties in order to rebuild and refurnish a home lost to fire. While you may have the funds to do so, do you really want to risk the feeling of security your savings brings? Instead, with a home insurance policy, you can look to your insurance carrier to cover the costs over your deductible and below your policy limits.

 

What does home insurance cover?

You will have to look at your individual policy to find out the details of your coverage, but your homeowner’s insurance covers many different scenarios. In general, some of the coverages you can expect with your policy include:

• Loss of the main structure.
• Loss of use.
• Loss of outer buildings.
• Loss of contents/ personal possessions.
• Liability coverage.
• Damages to the outer building, contents or main structure.

There are many different classes of home insurance as well as several coverage options to choose from. If you live in a townhouse or condo, you will only have coverage that focuses on the internal walls and contents rather than exterior areas.

 

What does my home insurance NOT cover?

Depending on the choices you make when purchasing coverage, your specific policy may not cover certain events that your friends, neighbors’ and family members’ policies do. You can rest assured that no home insurance policy will cover things like:

• Flood damage.
• Mold removal or damage.
• Bed bugs.
• Everyday wear and tear.
• Acts of war.

Again, it is important not to over-generalize coverage restrictions. To find out what your policy does and does not cover, you should read your actual policy pages or call your agent to review your current coverage.

 

What are policy limits?

One way to control the cost of your premiums is to adjust your policy limits. Policy limits are the maximum amount your insurer will pay toward damages caused by an insurable incident. In home insurance policies, there may be several different limits set for different coverages. For instance, your contents may have a limit of $50,000 while your structure is insured up to $150,000.
While lower limits create a lower premium, they also expose you to additional risk. If your actual damages exceed the amount of your limits, you must pay the difference out-of-pocket. On the other hand, if you choose limits that exceed the actual value of your contents or rebuilding costs, then you will not be paid that excess if you suffer a total loss because the goal of insurance is to make you whole, not to give a profit.

 

What are deductibles?

Another way to control your policy premiums is by agreeing to take on a higher percentage of the financial burden of an insurable loss. You do this through having a deductible. The deductible is the amount that you must pay out of your own pocket for damages. Any financial liability above your deductible, but below the policy limits, is the responsibility of the insurance company. 
For example; during a hurricane, let’s say your roof is damaged. The insurance company assesses the damage, says that they will cover your roof claim, and the total of the damages is $5,000. If your deductible is $1,000, you are responsible for paying $1,000 toward the repair while your insurer pays the remaining $4,000, provided that does not exceed your limit. Homeowner’s policies will, at times, have more than one deductible depending on your regions specific risk.
While home insurance may technically be an optional policy for some, the reality is that few investments will have such affordable protection against a loss. Not only can home insurance help protect your future financial goals; it can also give your family the means to regain comfort quickly after a disaster. Call us at 614-221-1500 for a free Columbus home insurance quote.

JG

Protect your vehicle - Don’t be at the mercy of bandits and burglars

Whether you are out shopping, attending an outdoor event or visiting friends anyone can break into your vehicle and take whatever valuables they find inside.

Generally people are sure to lock their car doors and close their windows when they are no longer in the safety of their own neighborhood, and thereby stopping access to potential car thieves. But as soon as they get home, to their white-picket fences filled with neighbors that they trust, all their safety habits fly out the window. They leave their doors unlocked, leave windows rolled down low enough to twist an arm through, and use their automobile like it’s another room of their home.

You should never underestimate the safety of your surrounding environments, whether you live in a secure access apartment block, a condo in the heart of the city or on a farm in the middle of nowhere. Crime is possible everywhere you go, even the most sheltered areas could be susceptible to criminal activity.

Your vehicle is one of the most exposed places to store expensive belongings like MP3 players, laptops, shoes and other items. It is the last place you should leave open to the mercy of thugs and thieves.

Hot Tips:

• It doesn’t matter how secure you think it might be, you should always strive keep your automobile locked and remove any unnecessary expensive items.
• If you are unable to extract your valuables, you can just as easily put them in your trunk. While a single-minded burglar could still get into your trunk, it’s unlikely they will risk it if they don’t know if there’s anything in there worth stealing. Rest assured a passing pilferer will take advantage if valuable items are in plain view inside a car.
• Tinted windows can help reduce visibility but its best not to take the risk, just bring those items into your house with you each evening.

You never know what could be lying in wait around the corner. That’s why buying Columbus auto insurance is so important. The more you can do to prevent these disastrous events from happening, the cheaper your premiums and the less worry for you to replace your lost valuable items. Call us today to discuss your options at (614) 221-1500.

How to Shop for a Safer Car

The internet has become one of our main sources of information and it is great for consumers who are interested in learning about keeping their family safe. However, at times, it can be overwhelming to try and figure out which sources to listen to and which to disregard.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, is an independent, non-profit group that researches data that can help reduce highway accidents, injuries and crash deaths. The group is funded by auto insurers and provides a good educational materials and videos to better educate consumers.

Today, I am going to discuss one of their videos, Shopping for a Safer Car. This video gives an overview of all the safety features that you should look for when you go to buy a new automobile.

Size and Weight

Large, heavy vehicles offer more protection in crash because they have more structure with which to absorb the crash energy around you.  With that in mind, extra-large vehicle offer little additional protection and can actually cause more harm to other vehicles when involved in a crash. Finding a happy medium in terms of size and weight will keep your family safe while not increasing the potential damage you could cause others.

Structure and Restraint Systems

Automobiles with a strong safety cage and crumple zones are safer for you and your family. Automobiles with lap belts in addition to side and front airbags will do more to protect your body from injury.  It is also good to consider adjustable head restraints for whiplash prevention...

Continue reading "How to Shop for a Safer Car" or contact us at 614-221-1500 to learn more about Columbus auto insurance.

What can Affect the Price of your Home insurance?

Your personalized quote for home insurance is not found on a standard diagram that matches your age, home value and deductible information to a set price. Home insurance quotes are explicitly developed for each applicant and are based on the very personal details of your lifestyle and living space. Here’s a taste of some of the factors that are involved in your premium pricing:

The age of the home: Older homes are less fortified against natural disasters than newer homes, and are also more expensive to repair. Newer homes are built to new safety standards and with more durable materials. What does this mean to you? If you have an older home, you can expect a more expensive home insurance quote.

The construction of the home: Wood frame houses are susceptible to fire in a way that concrete block and brick homes are not. Concrete homes can also stand up to harsher environmental elements. That makes wood frame houses more expensive to insure.

Fire protection options: Many times, smaller towns do not have their own fire department. Instead, they may have a volunteer force to fight small blazes and a force from a bigger city stepping in to control larger fires.

Continue reading "What can Affect the Price of your Home insurance?" or contact us at 614-221-1500 to learn more about Columbus home insurance.

Columbus Auto Insurance - Ohio

What is Auto Insurance?

Ohio Auto insurance protects the policyholder against financial loss if you have an accident. It is a contract between the policyholder and the insurance company. The policyholder agrees to pay the premium and the insurance company agrees to pay his or her losses as defined in your policy.

Auto insurance provides typically three types of coverage:

• Property coverage pays for damage to or theft of the car.
• Liability coverage pays for your legal responsibility to others for property damage or bodily injury.
• Medical coverage pays for the cost of treating injuries, rehabilitation and sometimes lost wages and funeral expenses.

An auto insurance policy is comprised of six different kinds of coverage. Most states require you to buy some, but not all, of these coverages. If you're financing a car, your lender may also have requirements.

Most auto policies are for six months or a year. Your insurance company should notify you by mail when it's time to renew the policy and to pay your premium.

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cincinnati and Cleveland. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city in the United States of America. It is the county seat of Franklin County, yet the city has expanded and annexed portions of adjoining Delaware County and Fairfield County. Named for explorer Christopher Columbus, the city was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and assumed the functions of state capital in 1816. The city has a diverse economy based on education, government, insurance, banking, fashion, defense, aviation, food, clothes, logistics, steel, energy, medical research, health care, hospitality, retail, and technology. Modern Columbus has emerged as a technologically sophisticated city. It is home to the world's largest private research and development foundation, the Battelle Memorial Institute; CAS, or Chemical Abstracts Service, the world's largest clearinghouse of chemical information; NetJets, the world's largest fractional ownership jet aircraft fleet; and The Ohio State University, the nation's largest campus.

In 2009, BusinessWeek named the city as the best place in the country to raise a family. Forbes Magazine in 2008 ranked the city as the no. 1 up-and-coming tech city in the nation, and the city was ranked a top ten city by Relocate America in 2010. In 2007, fDi Magazine ranked the city no. 3 in the U.S. for cities of the future, and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium was rated no. 1 in 2009 by USA Travel Guide.

In 2008, MarketWatch named Columbus as the 7th best place to do business in the nation. In 2011, the city had five corporations named to the U.S. Fortune 500 list including Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, American Electric Power, Limited Brands, Momentive Specialty Chemicals, and Big Lots. Major foreign corporations operating or with divisions in the city include Germany-based Siemens and Roxane Laboratories, Finland-based Vaisala, Japan-based Techneglas, Inc., Tomasco Mulciber Inc., and A Y Manufacturing, as well as Switzerland-based ABB Group and Mettler Toledo.

The population of the city was 787,033 at the 2010 census. Although Columbus is the most populous city in Ohio, this is due to the city's relatively large territory (over 212 square miles (550 km2)), and not due to a high density rate. This explains why the Columbus metropolitan area has a relatively small population, and is smaller than both the Cleveland and Cincinnati metro areas. In 2008, Columbus was the 16th largest city in the United States, with 754,885 residents, but has only the 32nd largest metropolitan area, and the third most populous state capital in the U.S. 2008 estimates indicate that roughly 116,000 of the city's residents are foreign-born, accounting for 82% of the new residents between 2000-2006. According to the U.S. Census, the metropolitan area has a population of 1,773,120, and the Combined Statistical Area (which also includes Marion and Chillicothe) has a population of 2,031,229. Columbus is located within 550 miles (890 km) of half of the population of the United States.

(Source: Wikipedia.org)

Gardiner Allen DeRoberts Insurance

Gardiner Insurance began operations in 1928 and Insurance Associates, founded by Bruce Allen, was formed in 1949. Gardiner Allen DeRoberts Insurance specializes in Columbus auto insurance as well as home, car, business insurance and employee benefits in Upper Arlington, Grand View, Ohio. Contact us at (614) 221-1500 for a free Ohio auto insurance quote.