by Gordon Buchanan | May 18, 2022 | Uncategorized
According to the USDA, termites cause $40 billion in damage every year to homes in the United States, damaging or destroying 600,000 homes annually. Many homeowners are well aware of this risk and assume their home insurance policies provide some protection against the little vandals. But sadly, this assumption is not made after careful research, and they often find themselves on the hook for enormous repair costs. It also could leave a home condemned and beyond repair if a termite infestation was allowed to get too far out of control.
Insurance policies do not generally cover termites
So, to simply answer the question in the title of this article, unless you have a fairly unusual policy, you can bet that your home insurance does not cover damage from termites. This is not just an attempt by the insurance companies to get out of covering one very specific and common cause of damage though. Home insurance does not cover pest damage in general. So, damage from rodents, roaches, raccoons, bats, and all the other pests you hope are not in your home is also not covered.
The reason for this is simple: damage from pests is considered a preventable maintenance issue, not the kind of unexpected, accidental, sudden peril that insurance is meant to cover. The same is true for plumbing problems. If a pipe one would assume was in working order bursts suddenly, it is generally covered. But if a pipe gradually accumulates gunk from the shower or sink and then backs up, causing water damage, the insurance company will consider you at fault for not maintaining clear pipes.
With termite damage, the assumption is that everyone is responsible for making sure there are regular termite inspections and, if necessary, treatments. Homeowners should be aware of what regular maintenance is considered to be their responsibility, and they should make sure they are protecting their investment in their home by performing this maintenance. Being unaware of these expectations and hoping home insurance will cover any problems that arise is a dangerous move. Many people who have taken this attitude have ended up having to pay enormous bills from their own pockets. And termites are definitely one of the major culprits for this.
How to protect your home against termites
Since the insurance company will not be much help in protecting your home against termites, what should you do instead?
- Get regular termite inspections: This is the most important step for you to take. If you are aware the very moment termites become present on your property, you can move quickly to eliminate them.
- Prevent any long-term moisture: Not just termites, but nearly all pests, look for long-term sources of moisture. It’s not a big deal if you let some water sit out on the counter once, but a dripping pipe, a flooded basement or other steady presence of water draws pests like a magnet. Termites especially like wood that has been softened by moisture.
- Take notice of signs: Blistered walls, hollow wood in framing or cabinets and small discarded insect wings are three signs you may have termites. Sagging floors or ceilings could be signs that the infestation has reached an advanced level.
- Know when to call an exterminator: Often, the company that inspects for termites will also exterminate them. If they spot any signs, or if you do, have a professional company take care of it immediately.
Do you have home insurance? If not, you should get some.
While home insurance will not help with termites, it does help with most other risks to your home. Call Winstead Insurance in Elkton, Maryland, at (410) 398-6700 if you are interested in home, car, life or other types of insurance.
by Gordon Buchanan | Mar 15, 2022 | Uncategorized
Are you one of the millions of people every year who start googling when asked at a rental car counter if they want to buy the insurance, wondering if you are already covered by your personal auto insurance? The quick answer is that your insurance probably covers you, at least to some degree. But it’s wise to dig a little more before getting behind the wheel.
What does your car insurance cover usually?
The key to the question of whether your rental car will be covered in an accident is whether your usual car insurance would have covered the same situation in your own car. If you have liability insurance (which you are legally required to), then typically, your policy will cover liability claims in a rental car. If you also have collision insurance, which covers damage to the car you’re driving, then this should also be covered in a rental. The same goes for comprehensive coverage, which typically covers claims not related to driving, like from theft, vandalism and weather.
Other coverage you may not realize you have
If there is an incident in a rental car, your auto-insurance policy may not be the only policy that will come to your aid. Homeowners insurance or renters insurance will likely cover your personal effects, albeit to a lesser degree, when you are outside your home. If your laptop or bookbag is stolen, you can submit a claim under these policies.
Interestingly, your credit card may also come to your rescue and fill in gaps in your coverage. This is only the case if you used the card to rent the car, but it is still worth checking in to. Travel insurance, personal injury insurance and health insurance, depending on if you have them, can also help.
What their insurance may cover better
While you likely have some insurance that overlaps with the car-rental company’s coverage, there are also a number of circumstances where it can pay off to get their insurance. If you are traveling overseas, your auto insurance may not cover your rental. Also, if you have a high-deductible insurance plan and they have a small deductible, it may be worth it to fill that gap. You may even just get it in case an accident does happen, so you don’t have to file a claim and risk your rate going up.
Often car-rental companies offer a simple “damage waiver” that removes your responsibility for any typical accidents. Be careful though, because if you are determined to have been breaking traffic laws or were otherwise negligent, the waiver may be void, making you liable to cover the costs.
When in doubt, call your insurance agent
So, to summarize, the coverage at a car-rental office likely overlaps with insurance you already have. But it would be wise to confirm that that’s the case, and to what degree, so you don’t neglect to protect yourself against possible risks when you are driving a car you aren’t used to in an area you don’t typically travel. So, before making a decision, why not call an insurance expert? If you don’t have a trusted insurance agent, give Winstead Insurance a call. You can reach our Elkton, Maryland, office at (410) 398-6700.
by Gordon Buchanan | Feb 11, 2022 | Uncategorized
In the typical rental property, most landlords will take proactive steps to protect their property and the belongings inside them. To guard against losses from fire outbreaks or theft, the landlord will usually buy insurance. But, even though property owners do their best to prevent loss or damage, the typical landlord insurance has its limitations.
It leaves tenants and their belongings unaccounted for. As a tenant, the house you live in and the landlord’s possession inside it are insured, but your possessions are not. That is because instead of covering everyone and everything within a building, landlord insurance makes a distinction between the tenant’s belongings and what belongs to the landlord.
For two important reasons, renters in a rental property are exposed to significant risks of losing their belongings if something bad happens. Firstly, the lease agreement does not make it the landlord’s responsibility to protect the renter’s possessions. Secondly, the landlord’s insurance goes out of its way to exclude anything not belonging to the landlord from the policy.
This leaves the tenant’s belongings exposed if an incident occurs that results in loss or damage to their property. But luckily there is a way to get around this. People living in a rented home can protect themselves and their belongings by buying a policy tailored to the needs of renters. This policy is called renters’ insurance.
What is Renter’s Insurance?
It is an insurance policy that protects you from property loss and personal liability when you are living in a rented house, condo, or apartment. It provides you with the same level of coverage that property owners have through landlord insurance. Renter’s insurance protects belongings like clothing, jewelry, smartphones, artwork, furniture, and other personal belongings from damage or loss due to a range of perilous events including:
- Fire, smoke, lightning, explosions, and electrical surges
- Windstorm, hail, and volcanic eruptions
- Riot, civil commotion, theft, vandalism, and malicious mischief
- Damage by vehicles (including aircraft) and falling objects
- Damage by weight of ice, snow, or sleet
- Damage from accidental discharge of water/steam by household systems or appliances
- And many more
Personal Property Coverage
You are protected against the loss of your personal property by the policy. This may be loss that occurs due to fire, smoke, or theft. However, the policy does not just cover your belongings when you are in your home. It will protect you if your belongings are stolen or damaged while you are traveling abroad. It will also protect you if they are stolen from your parked car.
Renter’s insurance can either pay the replacement cost or actual cost of lost or damaged items. When the policy pays the replacement cost, it will pay out enough money to buy a new item, similar to the one that was lost or damaged. When it pays the actual cash value, it will pay you the estimated value of the lost or damaged item, which may only be enough to buy a used item.
Personal Liability Coverage
In the event that a friend, neighbor, or some random person gets injured while inside your apartment, the policy will protect you if you are found personally liable for the person’s injuries. The coverage will include your legal fees, monies awarded to the other party, and their medical bills. Also, if your dog causes bodily harm to somebody, the policy will protect you
Other forms of liability that you are protected from include protection from losses you incur when you borrow someone’s property and it is lost or damaged in your apartment. Or you accidentally leave the kitchen tap running with the sink clogged or plugged and the water runs over and damages your neighbor’s apartment.
Protection against loss of use
If due to any reason your rented apartment becomes uninhabitable and you have to live elsewhere while it is being repaired, renter’s insurance will cover the additional living expenses. This includes situations where a home is damaged by a natural disaster, smoke or fire, and you have to live in a hotel temporarily.
Benefits of renter’s insurance to landlords
In addition to the benefits you get from this policy, renter’s insurance also benefits your landlord.
- It helps landlords avoid liability claims from tenants whose belongings are damaged
- It serves as a tenant-screening tool to judge the prospective tenant’s level of personal responsibility
- It ensures that the landlord’s will not be burdened by the tenant’s relocation expenses if the home becomes uninhabitable
- It shields the landlord’s insurance policy from claims by tenants
As a result of these benefits, many landlords are now requiring tenants to have renter’s insurance.
What is the Cost of Renter’s Insurance?
Compared to the amount of coverage you get under this policy, renter’s insurance is surprisingly cheap. The average renter’s insurance does not cost more than $200 a year. This means that for less than a dollar a day you can have adequate protection for all of your belongings. There is really no reason why you should not buy this policy today.
Have questions or looking for a quote? Contact Winstead Insurance today at (410) 398-6700
by Gordon Buchanan | Jan 28, 2022 | Uncategorized
A very common question regarding home insurance is whether water damage is covered in one’s policy. And the answer, like many things in the insurance world, is, it depends. To see if the specific type of water damage you’re curious about is covered in a typical policy, read on for the two basic tests. For what is covered in your specific homeowners insurance policy, though, you’ll need to speak with your agent or review your policy agreement.
Inside or outside
The first thing to consider is whether the source of the water that caused the damage was from inside the home or outside the home.
Water that begins outside the home and ends up causing damage is generally not covered. The biggest example of outside water is flooding. Floods are one of the most common and most destructive types of water damage, but homeowners policies do not cover them. You can get an additional flood insurance policy; however, and if you live in an area with frequent floods, like near the Chesapeake Bay, it is probably a good idea.
Roof leaks are an exception to the “outside the house” rule. Because your roof is a key structural element of your home, and one of its purposes is to keep rainwater out, homeowners policies will generally cover rain water damage if it entered due to a failed roof.
Water that begins inside the home, though, is covered — when other factors are taken into consideration. This kind of damage could be from an appliance (like a refrigerator or washing machine) malfunctioning or from a plumbing problem.
Gradual and negligent vs sudden and accidental
But on top of the “inside vs outside” considerations, you also have to consider whether the damage occurred because of a gradual issue (especially if it included neglect), or if it was due to a “sudden and accidental” issue.
While water damage due to plumbing problems can be covered, for example, this rule will determine whether it will be. A pipe that burst suddenly and with no negligence on the homeowners’ part is covered in most policies. However, if the heat was turned off during the winter, and that’s why the pipe burst, this could be considered neglect, leading to the claim being denied.
Also, if the plumbing issue is from a gradually worsening problem where the homeowner should have performed routine maintenance, then the water damage wouldn’t generally be covered. For that reason, clogs and backups from exit pipes are not covered.
While the two basic tests can give you a good idea of what is covered and what isn’t, specific homeowners policies can differ. So, if you really want to know the answer in your circumstance, call your insurance agent. Don’t have one? Call Winstead to learn more at (410) 398-6700. We provide not only homeowners insurance, but car insurance, business insurance, life insurance, and so much more.
A few quick tips
Because water damage can be so expensive — due to mold, ruined drywall and insulation, rotting wood etc — a little knowledge can go a long way. As a bonus, here are some tips that may end up saving you big money.
- If you notice some mold, act fast. A little mold is not a big deal, but a lot of mold can become a dangerous, messy and expensive problem.
- Take pictures and call your agent immediately. When you notice water damage, the right time to act is at that moment. Delaying can lead to a claim being denied for a number of reasons.
- Know where your main water shutoff is. If a pipe bursts, water will come pouring out, and every second counts. But if you know where the shutoff valve for the whole house is, you can quickly stop the flow. If you don’t, you may have to wait an hour or more for someone to come find it for you. The damage at that point will be astronomically worse.
- Repair roof damage. If a storm damages your roof, get it fixed. Ignoring it may mean the insurance company won’t fix the roof or the water damage when the next big storm hits.
by Gordon Buchanan | Jan 28, 2022 | Uncategorized
There are many good reasons to keep personal items in an off-site storage unit: you may need extra storage, be in the midst of a move, need to store items for a child in college or a number of other possibilities. But when your valuables are not under your roof, you may wonder whether your homeowners insurance policy still covers them. Before getting into the details, we can let you know that most policies will, in fact, have at least some coverage for these items kept in storage units.
Personal Property coverage
The reason your belongings kept in storage units off site are still covered is because homeowners insurance policies cover “personal property.” In a breakdown of the typical policy, put together by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, they listed personal property as one of the six covered areas.
The definition of “personal property coverage” that they give even specifically states that this covers off-site storage units, saying it “Reimburses you for the value of your possessions, including furniture, electronics, appliances and clothing, damaged or lost even when they aren’t on your property, such as those at an off-site storage locker or with your child at college.”
Off-site claims are lower
While your personal property is covered, it isn’t covered at the same level as the home itself. In fact, it is usually covered at 80% of the dwelling coverage limit. So, if your home itself has a $100,000 coverage limit, your personal property would only be covered up to $80,000.
Then, if that personal property is off-site, not in your home, that $80,000 of coverage is dropped further, often to one-tenth of the usual personal property coverage. This means a person with a $100,000 dwelling coverage limit may only have a $8,000 coverage limit for personal property being stored off-site.
It also depends what the “peril” (which is the insurance term for “what went wrong”) was that caused the loss of the property. Certain perils, like theft and fire, are generally covered; while others, like flooding or neglect, will not be.
Getting more coverage
If you have items in storage that add up to more than what off-site personal property coverage from your homeowners insurance will pay for, you can choose to get more insurance to cover them. If you don’t, realize that that hypothetical $8,000 limit, which is a fairly typical amount, can very quickly be reached if you have expensive jewelry, designer clothing, hi-tech gadgets and other high-price items in a storage unit.
One type of extra coverage for this is called scheduled personal property coverage, also sometimes called itemized personal property coverage. With this coverage, you itemize each piece of property you want covered, telling your insurance company how much it’s worth and other information about it.
Another way to get extra coverage is through the storage facility itself. Some storage facilities actually require that you have some kind of insurance covering the items you store. And if you don’t have any, or enough, they are often happy to provide some. These policies may not be as favorable as ones you can find yourself, though, so it’s always smart to speak to an insurance agent who can lay out your options more fully.
One trusted insurance company where you can get more information about homeowners insurance, scheduled personal property insurance and many other policies, is Winstead Insurance in Elkton, Maryland. We can be reached at (410) 398-6700 and are always ready to help you find the best coverage for your needs.
by Reagan Fisher | Feb 3, 2020 | Uncategorized
Valentines Day is upon us!
It is the most popular time of year for giving or receiving jewelry. Whether you are the giver or the receiver (or if you currently own valuable jewelry) the following information can be very helpful in determining to insure or not to insure.
Did you know that coverage for jewelry is limited on your homeowner’s insurance policy? There is typically some basic coverage that applies. That limit can vary from company to company. It is important that know how much coverage your policy provides. Discuss this with your agent so that you know how much coverage you may or may not have.
To insure or not to insure
Loss to your everyday jewelry may already be covered by your homeowner’s insurance policy, subject to the policy deductible. If you have jewelry that exceeds the limit provided by your current policy, you are able to add coverage for those items. To do this, you would need to provide your agent with a copy of an appraisal or bill of sale that includes a complete description of the item. The item would then be “scheduled” on your insurance policy and you would be covered for theft, loss and mysterious disappearance. You would also have coverage for loss of a stone from its setting. You would see the item specifically described on your insurance documents. Scheduling the item(s) on your policy provides broader coverage and gives you the option of choosing a lower deductible.
Appraisals
Because this issue is so important, The Winstead Agency is bringing one of the leading jewelry appraisers in the mid-Atlantic into our office on March 4th to help customers get the documentation needed to update their policies. Vincent Lash, who is a Graduate Gemologist (GIA) with 40 years of experience, has agreed to appraise each item for only $45. This is a very special deal and easily half of what jewelry stores charge for a similar service. What’s more, everything is done in front of you, there is no need to leave your items, and your documentation is ready within days.
Call your Agent
It is important that you know what is and what is not covered by your insurance. Take time to contact your agent for clear, concise answer to any of your coverage questions.
If you are interested in participating in the upcoming jewelry appraisal event, please contact us today at 410-398-6700.
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