Reviewing your Insurance Policies

We will make this blog post quite simple for our readers – have you reviewed your insurance policies lately?  Or, more importantly has your agent reviewed your policies?  We understand that insurance terms can be confusing and a bit daunting.  But, that’s why your agent is here.  They can help explain the complicated terms and make them simpler and easier to understand.

Why should you review your policies?

  • Change is constant.  You may have new things to insure or things to drop from your policy.  Let’s get it up to date.
  • A discount may be in your future.  Combining your home and auto can provide a discount – how about some savings before the holidays?
  • Proper coverage.  Ensuring you will be taken care of properly should you have a loss is quite important.

So, contact our Sales & Service Center or your MAX agent to review your policies today!

Photo by Margaret Ornsby

College Grads moving out? Need Renter’s Insurance?

This time of year is full of graduations. For all of you college grads out there, are you moving out of your parents’ homes this summer? You have landed your first “real” job and with that comes a new place to call home. If you are renting an apartment this summer, you should definitely cross one item off your list now and that is renter’s insurance. Renters insurance is important. Why? Well, you want to have your personal items covered in a loss. Your electronics, clothing, household goods and other personal items are important to you. Why not get the coverage you deserve for these items to ensure they can be fully replaced should a loss occur? Contact a MAX agent to learn more about renters insurance.

Photo by Alan Light

Spring Cleaning – Insurance Style

This time of year is known for spring cleaning.  Have you considered cleaning up your insurance policies?  One way to do so is to review your policies with your MAX Agent.  Think about what has changed this past year in your life that may affect your policies.  Here are some questions to ask yourself:

  • Is the coverage on my home adequate? Have you added an addition or made any significant upgrades? It’s important to remember that insurance is based on “replacement cost” not market value. If your dwelling is underinsured, you may not be able to fully replace it should you have a total loss.
  • Is the coverage on my related private structures adequate? The Homeowners policy automatically includes a limit of 10% of Coverage “A” Dwelling for Related Private Structures. Any structure designed or used in whole or in part for farming or agricultural purposes is excluded and can be written under a Farmowners policy.
  • Is the coverage for theft on certain property like money, jewelry, silver, guns, etc. adequate? If not, additional coverage should be purchased.
  • Are you a collector or do you own antiques? If you have valuable items that cannot be replaced easily, an appraisal will help your MAX agent more accurately evaluate whether your contents are adequately insured. These types of items should be scheduled in order to avoid any question of value at the time of a loss.
  • Is there coverage under my Homeowners policy for my business? The Homeowners policy has very limited coverage for any type of business conducted on or away from the premises. If you own and operate a business from your home, you should contact your MAX agent as you may need a commercial insurance policy.

We hope you find these questions useful and that you’ll do some spring cleaning of your insurance policies this month.  Feel free to contact your MAX agent or us and we’ll be happy to assist you in your spring cleaning!

Photo by christinejwarner

Time to Review Coverage

It’s 2013 and with the beginning of a New Year comes a great opportunity for us to review our insurance coverage.  Sure, it’s not the most fun thing to do, but simply put, it’s just ones of those things that you should do on an annual basis to ensure you have sufficient coverage for your home and belongings.

Here are a few questions to go over with your MAX agent:

  • Is the coverage on my home adequate? Have you added an addition or made any significant upgrades?  It’s important to remember that insurance is based on “replacement cost” not market value.  If your dwelling is underinsured, you may not be able to fully replace it should you have a total loss.
  • Is the coverage on my related private structures adequate? The Homeowners policy automatically includes a limit of 10% of Coverage “A” Dwelling for Related Private Structures. Any structure designed or used in whole or in part for farming or agricultural purposes is excluded and can be written under a Farmowners.
  • Is the coverage for theft on certain property like money, jewelry, silver, guns, etc. adequate? If not, additional coverage should be purchased.
  • Are you a collector or do you own antiques? If you have valuable items that cannot be replaced easily, an appraisal will help your MAX agent more accurately evaluate whether your contents are adequately insured. These types of items should be scheduled in order to avoid any question of value at the time of a loss.
  • Is there coverage under my Homeowners policy for my business? The Homeowners policy has very limited coverage for any type of business conducted on or away from the premises. If you own and operate a business from your home, you should contact your MAX agent as you may need a commercial insurance.

Students Heading Off to College

August is that one month out of the year with three famous words – Back to School.  In this post we are going to focus on children who are heading off to College this fall.  Aside from coming to terms with the fact that our little ones aren’t so little anymore and that they are more than ready to move out of the nest, parents should also think about their insurance needs for their college bound children.  You should check with your MAX agent to see if your homeowners policy covers the personal items your children take with them to college of if renter’s insurance is needed.

Here are some other helpful tips:

  • A personal renter’s policy is a convenient way to help protect your valuable personal property while renting or away at school. Your personal belongings are not covered by most dormitories or under a landlord’s policy.
  • Take an inventory of all personal belongings to help determine the amount of renter’s insurance needed and for future reference in case of a loss.
  • Several optional coverages can be purchased at an additional cost and should be considered when purchasing renter’s insurance.  Computer coverage, Identity Theft, and Replacement Cost coverage are just a few.

We hope you have the best coverage possible for you and your college student this fall.  Don’t hesitate to contact your MAX agent for any assistance in making the right choices for your family.

Photo by Sean MacEntee