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42 Pine Street · Lockport, NY 14094 · PHONE 716-433-9199 · FAX 716-433-9297 · 1-800-557-2947 |
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Q: How often should I review my homeowners policy?
A: Our office makes a partial review of your homeowners policy each year. In order to do a full review, it is necessary for you to contact our office so we can find out what has changed in your home. Any updates to the roof, furnace, electric, plumbing, may help qualify you for additional credits. Any addition, or structural changes may add value to your home which are not covered under your current policy. Inflation, may over a period of several years leave you underinsured. Special purchases of jewelry, stereo equipment, swimming pools, ATV's, boats, etc. all need to be discussed for adequate coverage. Alarm systems offer additional credits which may save you money.
Q: There is water in my basement am I covered?
A: Probably NOT. There are two types of water coverage in the public eye at this time. Primarily there is FLOOD insurance. This is a national program to cover flood losses. What many people do not know is that in order for a flood policy to pay, there first must be a declaration by the government of a National Disaster. In other words if your home is on the wrong side of this somewhat arbitrary disaster area your damages under your flood policy may not be paid.
The second type of coveage is also a very limited. In order for you to even get WATER BACKUP coverage you must first insure you home to 100% of its replacement value, and take the most broad form of homeowners policy available a HO-7. This is also the most expensive homeowners policy. Don't get too paniced! The total cost may be as little as and additional $25 per year depending on the type of policy you currently have.
Now the more important facts. WATER BACKUP coverage is limited to $2000 of damage due to backup of sewer or drains ONLY. See your policy for details. This coverage primarily will pay if your properly maintained sump pump cannot keep up with the flow of water or burns out in the process. We have seen a number of these claims paid and a number denied for various reasons. Again please call our office for more details.
Q: Should I get a seperate policy for my 16 son or daughter?
A: YES, The most recent statistic I have reviewed showed a 94% chance that a driver ages 16-24 will have a major accident or conviction durring this period of time.
This means that your will be legally responsible and potentially lose your house, bank accounts, etc. if the child was driving your vehicle and has an accident.
You will save money by placing the child under your insurance policy, but given the potential loss of everything you have worked your whole life to acquire, we strongly suggest that you have your son or daughter get their own vehicle and insurance. (including titling and registering the vehicle in their name)
Q: When should I drop the Comprehensive and Collision coveage from my vehicle?
A: You will be forced to carry both Comprehensive (Other than collision) and Collision coverge for as long as there is a loan on your vehicle. Otherwise I suggest that you consider removing this coverage any time the book value of the vehicle drops below $5000.00. This is an arbitrary amount that seems to be popular with most of our clients at this time. I would urge you to consider the current value of your vehicle and compare it to the total amount you would be willing to lose should you have an accident. Even not-at-fault accidents should be considered as part of this process since it is not uncommon for it to take 2 years for a claim to be settled.
Q: Should I carry towing coverage?
A: For a number of years this was a low cost and effective coverage under your personal auto policy. Currently, the insurance companies are using the 1 or 2 towing claims a client may have in the past three years as a reason for cancelling your insurance policy. Since it does not make much sence to jepordize your good driver status on two $25 dollar towing claims we suggest that you get your towing coverage from AAA.
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