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As insurance agents, we know that most people don’t like getting a homeowners quote.  It’s time consuming, boring, and many consumers are rightly concerned that they won’t get a good deal from an agent – or whatever monstrously massive company they’re calling because of a funny ad on TV.  The good news is that there are steps you can take to minimize the hassle of quoting and make sure the results are more accurate, the process takes less time, and that your new policy will have the best value for your situation.  A few quick tips are: be prepared, give the agent your declarations page from your old policy, and always tell the truth!

We do however run into the same questions on a regular basis, so let’s talk about the 5 most common things people leave out when we try and give them a homeowners quote.  I’m talking, of course, about the alligator in the backyard.

Excuse me, do you have a moment to talk about Alliance Insurance?

The alligator in the backyard is a joke in our office that goes a little something like this:

Agent: Looks like we’ve got your quote about finished!  Is there anything we’ve left out?
Customer: No, I think that’s it.
Agent: Great!  Here is the quote, and for less than we thought!
Customer:  Looks great!  One last thing.  I forgot to tell you that I have an alligator that lives in my backyard.

An alligator living in your backyard might have something to do with your homeowners insurance, since what we do is protect people from risk.  While some of our good friends in Florida may disagree with me, living with an alligator probably increases the risk that you or someone else could be bitten.

I’m just loving the new koi pond.

While alligators and other huge reptiles are pretty low on the list of things we run into, the following features are the most likely to be forgotten in the excitement of getting a homeowners quote.

The first most commonly left out risk are swimming pools.  We need to know if you have them, if they are fenced or not, and whether they are above or below ground.

The second often forgotten risk is your son or daughter’s trampoline.  We know they’re fun, but they also can lead to injury for your family or visitors.  It isn’t a deal breaker if you have one, but it lets us know the right place to put your policy so we can insure this properly.

The third item is man’s best friend, your dog.  We know, you love your furry buddy.  But certain breeds have higher risks, and letting us know what kind of dog you have will help us make sure we put you with a company that is comfortable with the breed and can insure it.  Not doing so could leave you in big trouble if Fido ever got scared and chomped down on that annoying neighbor.

Woof woof, Mrs. Simpson.

In fact, let us know about any pets you have – especially if they’re of the farm or exotic variety.

The fourth piece of information is water, or more specifically, bodies of water that aren’t man-made swimming pools on your property.  Let us know about ponds, creeks, fjords, or anything larger than that low point in your yard that floods because your husband won’t fill it in.

The fifth and final risk is all about how you get your heat.  If the answer involves combustion of any kind, we need to know about it, regardless of whether it is a wood stove, an oil tank, or natural gas.  If it is a tank of some sort, make sure you let us know if it is above or below ground.

I was just checking your meter here, and the bad news is I’m an alligator.

Make sure you let your agent know these important details and you can avoid having a nasty surprise when you get your bill – or even worse, if a claim should occur.  If you have any questions about these or other special circumstances at your home, give us a call or fill out the contact form below and we’ll be happy to help.  Also, if you want to know more about homeowners insurance in general, check out our article Homeowners Insurance 101 and get yourself some education.

And here’s the video for some additional discussion – enjoy!

When it comes to Homeowners Insurance, most of us know one thing for sure: we have to have it.

Whether you are a first time home buyer or you’ve owned a home for years, the simple fact of the matter is that most of us don’t really know what is in arguably the most important insurance policy we have.  Mortgage companies wisely tell us to have one so they can protect their investment, but when it comes to where coverage ends and what exactly the policy covers on your property, most policyholders don’t really have all of the answers.

Let’s see if we can fix that.

Not sure if covered, also known as “Self Improvement.”

Your Homeowners Insurance policy is split into two basic parts, Property and Liability.  Let’s talk about property first.

The piece of coverage that most people are aware of is Dwelling Coverage, or protection for the house itself.  In the world of insurance, we cover a home for replacement cost, or how much it would cost to rebuild a home, not market value, i.e. how much someone would pay for it.  So when your insurance agent says a number above what you paid for your home, don’t panic!  You’ll be glad you have the right amount of coverage if anything should ever happen.

The next piece provides coverage for Other Structures, helping you if something happens to an outbuilding, gazebo, shed or detached garage on your property.  These need to be in good condition and professionally made, so it may not cover your kid’s lean-to tent.

What about my sick yurt, bro?

The third piece is Personal Property coverage, a hugely important part of your policy.  This protects your stuff, like your television, computer, sofas and dining table, even the shameful stuff you probably should have thrown away that you’ve hidden in a downstairs closet.  Certain high-value items have limited coverage, however, so if you have lots of jewelry, furs, art or firearms, you should either add extra coverage on your policy by itemizing them, or get a separate policy called an Inland Marine policy to cover them.

I’m going to need more coverage.  And an armored truck.

The last piece of Property coverage is Loss of Use.  This part of your Homeowners Insurance policy is a really cool protection that helps cover things like hotel and travel expenses when you’re staying somewhere during construction to repair your house – if the repair is to fix a covered loss.  Getting your house repaired after a lighting strike fire and staying at a HoJo – probably covered.  Staying at an Airbnb because your mother-in-law won’t go back to Ohio – probably not.

Put me down and go back to Dayton, Sandra.

The second part of your policy is Liability.  This protects you from most of the dark mechanics of the legal system, or at least the ones having to do with your home.  The most common example of this protection is if someone is hurt on your property and sues you.  The Liability section of your Homeowners Insurance policy will provide funds for court costs and possibly hospital fees that could accrue from the accident.  Having liability coverage is vital in today’s litigation happy world, and it really doesn’t cost that much to get extended coverage in this part of the policy.  You can also get an Umbrella Policy for additional liability protection if you have assets you need to protect.  One bad court case can leave you financially exposed in a way most people never think of until it’s too late.

No, really, it hurts!  I’m calling my lawyer!

For those who want even more coverage, there are better policy types that provide greater percentages of coverage – feel free to ask your agent about them.  The most common Homeowners policy is called an HO3, but there is also an HO5 and, in NC, the HE-7.  These provide greater coverage for those high-value items and can also give you more coverage for Other Structures and Personal Property.

A Homeowners Insurance policy is one of the most important protections you can have to keep you and the things you value most safe from harm.  Make sure you’re covered the way you should be by filling out the form below or giving us a call.

Need more information but not sure if you want to talk to a human being yet?  Here’s a helpful video about Homeowners Insurance below.

If you have a car, you have auto liability coverage.  But do you have enough?

For a lot of people, auto insurance is not something that protects you, but instead is just another hoop to jump through in order to drive legally.  Insurance offices around the country receive calls every day from people who want whatever the lowest amount of coverage is in that state to satisfy the legal limits of liability.  When we ask what kind of coverage they are looking for, the answer we get is, “Whatever is the cheapest.”

Unfortunately, this view of auto liability insurance is not just wrong, it’s dangerous.  According to the Association for Safe International Road Travel, accidents in the U.S. total $230.6 Billion in damages a year.

That’s a lot of money, and it means that everything that happens, from fender-benders to multi-car pile ups, happen with disturbing regularity.  And they cost more than they ever have, with a new car averaging over $30,000 in 2017.  When you consider that most states have minimum limits at around this mark, for example $25,000 of Property Damage coverage in NC, that makes for a very expensive problem with only one accident.  In the video above, I talk about how disastrous it could be hitting a new Mercedes if you have the minimum limits of coverage.  But you don’t even have to hit and total a high-end vehicle to exceed your minimum limits and owe tons in out-of-pocket damages.

It is even worse if someone is injured, and the sad truth is that people get injured a lot in auto accidents.  Over 2.35 million people are injured or disabled in accidents every year!  Even worse, 37,000 are killed in auto accidents per year in the U.S.  Not only are these numbers tragic and staggering, they are also incredibly expensive.

If you hurt someone in an auto accident, the costs can be massive.  Injuring a person in an accident costs on average over $20,000, while disabling someone averages over $50,000.  The worst case scenario, ending someone’s life in a car accident, is the most expensive, with an average cost of over $1 Million dollars for each fatality.  In a flash, minimum limits like North Carolina’s $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident can be exceeded, leaving you with a fortune in out-of-pocket expenses.

And that doesn’t even account for potential lawsuits.  (That’s why you need an Umbrella policy.)

Having minimum limits is unnecessarily rolling the dice with your entire financial future.  One mistake could cost you your entire life savings.  And the cost of properly insuring yourself with higher limits of liability really isn’t that much more.  At Alliance, we regularly recommend 100/300/100 in order to protect our insureds from the realities of today’s roads.  Don’t take the risk on yourself when there is an entire industry designed to do it for you.  If you think you may have lower limits of liability, give us a call or email us and let us take a look at your coverage.  You may be surprised at how little it would cost now to save a ton in the future.

Let’s talk a little bit about something you are told you should have all the time – Package Policies.

No, not that kind of package.

Bundles, packages, home-and-auto, whatever you want to call them, package policies are the secret weapons of insurance value.  They give the biggest discounts in the industry for simply having your home, auto, and (hopefully you have one!) your umbrella policy with one carrier.  But why?  Why are insurance companies so willing to give you big discounts for having everything packaged together?

The reason is loyalty.

I’ll never leave you.

A customer with two or more policies with one company is much more likely to stay with that company, or what the industry refers to as retention.  Rather than being a bad thing, this is actually a great thing for consumers!  This means that you can use a carrier’s desire to keep you by switching all of your policies with one company and getting somewhere around a 10% discount on each policy you have.  This is huge!  It’s bigger than Safe Driver discounts, Good Student discounts, and just about any other discount that you can have.  Plus, it is completely under your control.  Have a ticket that makes your insurance go up?  See about combining home and auto with the same company and get a handle on that increased premium.  Package policies give you the power to control your overall premium in ways other discounts can’t match.

Not only that, but it creates a much better experience from a service perspective.  Companies that have all of your policies know both sides of your risk factors, and can give better advice for how to best protect you.  They can share information in-house if need be, and are much more likely to bend over backwards in order to make you happy.  Why?  Again, loyalty!  In order to keep your loyalty, they will be loyal to you.  It’s pretty groovy, really.

That bundled feeling*
(*Disclaimer: Pugs are not impressed by saving money)

With so many benefits, it’s surprising that so many people don’t have both policies.  And for those monoline auto policyholders that say, “I don’t own a home, so I can’t get this discount,” that couldn’t be farther from the truth.  If you’ve watched my video about Renter’s Insurance you’ll see just how simple, easy and inexpensive it can be to get your personal belongings covered (averages are around $200/year!).  Not only that, but renter’s insurance counts for package policies!

There’s really no reason not package your coverages with the same company.  If you don’t want to take my word for it, take my word for it – in visual form.

I know, you’re excited.  So just fill out the form below and let’s see how we can help you be better protected than ever, all while saving some moolah.