“I just want you to find me the least expensive policy” said a business client during a recent policy review. “Isn’t that your job as my agent? Margins are tight and I need to save money wherever I can.” “Actually”…
I was just talking with the owner of a local real estate agency this week and reviewing their insurance portfolio when he asked “So sometimes I let my employees drive my vehicle when they need a truck to haul things,…
By Ryan Stueber While it is usually quite straightforward to get an Earthquake Insurance policy, understanding how the policy works and the options you can choose from is not. If you’re more interested in the answer to “Should I have…
There are many factors that go into determining the cost of insuring your new home. We’d like you to be able to consider them before you shop! This will help you avoid some unpleasant surprises after you have your heart…
By Ryan Stueber If we do experience “The Big One” in our lifetime we can be certain of two things- Our lives will be severely disrupted and our Homeowners Insurance will not cover any damage caused by the earthquake. We…
You just closed on that new home you worked so hard to find, then purchase, then move, then unpack, then get rid of all those boxes. It feels like just yesterday you threw away the last box – when you…
By Ryan Stueber January 18, 2019 (edited Jan 2020) It’s already been a wet and wild winter here in the Pacific Northwest with some significant weather events and yes, more on the way!! As the threat of wind looms, I thought it might be helpful to others to share with you some of the common scenarios that happen during our winter weather and how they are covered on a typical home insurance policy. As always, we’ll be here to help you thru the process should you have any questions or any damage occurs at your home. 5 Potential Winter Damage Insurance Claim Scenarios Windstorm blew shingles off my roof Is it covered? Yes but with some limitations- a typical Homeowners Insurance policy will pay for repairs to your roof, assuming the repair costs more than your deductible. But what if the roof is beyond repair and needs to be replaced? In many cases, the insurance company will pay out a depreciated amount to help replace the roof. This means that the older your roof is and the poorer the condition prior to the storm, the smaller the amount that the insurance company will pay. Insurance companies do this to protect themselves from paying out to replace people’s roofs that already need to be replaced due to wear and tear. Our recommendation The first thing to do in this scenario is the call 2-3 roofing companies to come out and assess the damage. If it is under or around your deductible, then it makes sense to take care of the damage yourself and not file a claim. If the damage is more severe or the roof needs to be replaced, give us a call to discuss further as it may be worth filing a claim at that point. Windstorm blows a […]
By Ryan Stueber January 2019 Liability Insurance- how do I know if I have enough? One sunny day you are driving along a road that you’ve driven many times before. You slow and prepare for a right hand turn into a parking lot but fail to notice the bicyclist riding along in the bike lane next to you. As you turn, the cyclist is unable to stop and crashes into the side of your car, causing significant head and chest injuries. As much as you are concerned that he will be ok, as he is carted off in the ambulance you can’t help but wonder, “Is my Auto Insurance going to cover this?” One of the biggest financial risks that we rarely consider as we go about our daily lives is a liability lawsuit from an auto accident. As we can see from the example above, it only takes a moment’s inattention to have life altering implications. With medical costs skyrocketing and more and more people hiring personal injury attorneys after an accident, it is more important than ever to review the Liability coverage on your Auto Insurance Policy. The State of Washington only requires Liability Limits of $25,000 per person, and up to $50,000 per accident on an Auto Insurance policy. That may seem like a lot but if you’ve been to the hospital or had any kind of medical care, you likely know just how fast 25,000 can be used up when treating an injury. In a hospital or major medical clinic that amount could be used up in less than a day! Once the Liability Limits on your auto insurance policy have been exhausted and all used up, the insurance company has done their part on the claim and steps out. The remainder of any financial burden […]
Written by: Ryan Stueber Due to the recent earthquakes in Alaska, we’ve taken a lot of calls from concerned clients asking about Earthquake Insurance. While having Earthquake Insurance is a great step to protect your home, you need to survive long enough to take advantage of it. Here are five simple steps that I am taking to prepare my family for a major earthquake. Buy a portable water filtration system According to a recent article in the Seattle Times, one of the first things we will lose in a major earthquake is water pressure needed to supply running water. Seattle Public Utilities also warned that it could take up to 2 months to restore running water to the city and its suburbs. So, while it may seem prudent to keep some bottled water in your garage, it likely won’t be enough to get you through. The good news is that we live in an area of the world that generally has a lot of water if you can make it safe to drink. Iodine tablets can be effective but I prefer some of the newer portable filtrations systems that you can find in REI and other camping stores. Katadyn, LifeStraw and Sawyer all make excellent filtration systems for a reasonable cost. Put one (or more) on your Christmas list this year. Know where to find water nearby Assuming you now have a system to filter your water, it would also be prudent to find the nearest natural water source and make sure you have something you can carry water in. I simply looked on Google maps to find the nearest lake and stream and determined how long it would take me to walk there (let’s assume the roads are damaged) and what I could use to carry the water. It […]
Nearly 100 year old family photos were saved, huge water damage avoided – all because of smart home monitoring…..and it all started about our pets being home alone…… Ever leave your pets home alone? Worry about irreplaceable items being destroyed? I do.Our family pets are often home alone. As many of you probably feel, our pets are definitely considered family members (and pampered and spoiled ones) at our house. Sometimes things that happen to others can trigger, a “what would happen” response in our own world. Such was the case, and I began thinking about things that could happen when we aren’t home. Around that same time, I became aware of Smart Home products and one called “Notion” was being featured by Travelers Insurance, it is a home monitoring system. Allowing users to be notified via a mobile apps if a smoke alarm goes off, if temperature exceeds or dips below a certain level, if water is detected on a sensor, movement of doors, etc. These devices are typically small and several vendors out there, the device is placed in the area you want monitored. You can then be alerted via email or text in most cases, if the smoke alarm goes off or if placed on the floor near hot water tanks, washers, toilets, etc for unexpected water. There are actually several features in these devices in addition to smoke and water. They can detect motion, such as opening doors or Windows. They can detect temperature changes such as if your heater fails while you’re on an extended leave in the winter you would know if your pipes are in danger of freezing. You could also know if by some reason someone left the heat on in your house and you were spending unnecessary money by heating an empty […]