News

How Your Home Insurance May Cover You for Water Damage

Four-year-olds, they do the darndest things, such as stuffing tissue down the sink in the guest bathroom (true story). And, if it’s not something happening inside your home, it’s something happening outside, such as water pooling in your yard, coming right up to your back door, because your neighbor doesn’t have a proper drainage system (also true).

These are just two instances that can lead to water damage in your home. Then there’s flooding, sewer backup, burst pipes and more. So, when does your home insurance cover water damage? And, when doesn’t it? It all depends on your specific policy and the optional coverages you add to it.

Take the four-year-old playing in the bathroom. The sink overflowed, causing extensive damage to the walls and floors – $8,000 in all. Was it covered? Yes, but only because the family elected to add Backup of Water and Sewer when they purchased their home insurance policy. As such, the carrier reimbursed them for the repairs they made. Whew, crisis averted.

And, what about the flooded back yard? Not covered. The claim was denied because it was considered flooding of surface water, which is excluded from the typical homeowners policy.

In fact, home insurance typically has coverage exclusions for many types of water-related incidents, including floods, tidal waves, tsunamis and more. In addition, backup of water from sewer or drains, overflow or discharge from a sump pump and water below the surface of the ground is not covered on a standard policy.

I know you're probably thinking, "What coverage do I have?" A typical homeowners policy may include coverage for water damage resulting from leaking, burst or broken pipes. The actual pipe or line that leaked, burst or broke isn't covered. The water damage that ensues is. Furthermore, if your home was built in the past 10 years and you discover faulty work, you may be able to get restitution from the builder (contractor/plumber) if he/she was licensed and bonded.

So, what about other types of water damage? You may want to consider some optional coverages or a supplementary policy to help. Backup of Water and Sewer / Overflow of Sump Pump is an optional coverage you can purchase along with your policy or add to an existing policy. This often provides anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 of coverage or more, depending on what’s available from your carrier and what you select. The coverage typically applies to pipes and drains on the property and/or inside the house, including in the walls.

Flood insurance (available as a separate policy) adds yet another layer of protection. It’s highly recommended for those in flood-prone areas. But, a flood policy may be suitable even if you aren't in such an area, as it covers surface water runoff as well. (Under this type of policy, the water damage resulting from the flooded back yard would likely have been covered).

If you're not sure whether or not you have coverage for these and other incidents, contact your independent insurance agent. Ask to review your existing coverage and go over additional coverage options that are available to you.

After all, there have been some surprising and not-so-surprising natural disasters in the past 10 years (not to mention incidents involving toddlers and neighbors) that have led to widespread water damage in homes. It wouldn’t hurt to get some reassurance.

More than half the country owns a home, but how many of us really understand what our home insurance covers?

From helping protect your favorite jewelry to helping keep your groceries cool and more, home insurance can come to your aid in some surprising ways – so long as you have the right coverage.

Let’s take a look at five scenarios you may not realize can benefit from having the right policy in place.

Updating the Electrical One of the worst nightmares for a homeowner is the house burning down. Now imagine, while it’s being rebuilt, the city requiring you to install a modern electrical system. Construction codes change through the years, after all. Your insurance company may offer optional Ordinance or Law coverage to help with the additional expense of bringing the home up to code during such an incident. Why might this be necessary? Remember, your home policy covers the cost to repair what you have or replace what you had, not upgrade it.
A Hotel in the Meantime When most people think of home insurance, they think of coverage for their actual home. But, what happens when you can’t live in it during construction? Most policies will help you pay for a place to stay if the home is uninhabitable due to a covered incident. Known as Loss of Use, this coverage helps compensate you for the additional expenses of living elsewhere and may cover food as well as lodging.
Refrigerator Meltdown Something unexpected go wrong with your chill box? Many insurance carriers offer Equipment Breakdown coverage as an option with your home insurance policy. This kicks in when an appliance, such as a refrigerator, has an unexpected mechanical or electrical breakdown and covers the cost to repair or replace it. But, that’s not all. Related costs, such as spoiled food and energy efficiency upgrades, may be covered, too. For only a few dollars a month, it’s a nice alternative to extended warranties for a range of products, including washers and dryers, ovens, electrical service panels, water heaters, computer equipment, heating and A/C systems and much more.
Stolen Identity Without going entirely off the grid, the potential for identity theft is nearly unavoidable. Identity Recovery is offered as an option with most homeowners policies and provides valuable tools to help pick up the pieces after your identity has been stolen. This can include use of a case manager to assist in recovery and reimbursement of some expenses related to your efforts. While anti-virus software and personal firewalls should still be maintained, this coverage can help with peace-of-mind in case security measures fail.
Lost Engagement Ring The engagement ring was sitting right on the dresser before you left for the gym, but now it’s nowhere to be found. Many people are shocked to realize that their homeowners policy may limit the payout for certain items, such as jewelry. So, while your engagement ring may be worth $3,500, your personal property coverage may limit payouts for jewelry to $2,500 per loss. However, if you added Scheduled Personal Property specifically to cover the engagement ring, the day will be saved. For high-value items like artwork, jewelry and more, scheduling them separately is your best bet. Then you know you have coverage for each item, rather than lumping them all together under your standard personal property coverage. Even better, unless otherwise stated, there is no deductible for scheduled items.

As you can see, a homeowners policy can cover a lot more than just the home! To make sure you have the coverage you want, read your policy carefully and contact your independent agent for help understanding all your options.

Easy Steps to Help Protect Your Identity

Shopping online. Visiting the doctor. Buying gas. In nearly all of the things we do from day to day, there’s the risk of identity theft.

You could unknowingly give your information to a fraudster thinking you’re shopping at a legitimate site. Your doctor’s office could experience a data breach. Or, you could come across a tampered credit card reader at the gas pump.

The risks your identity faces go on and on. So, what can you do to stop it? Unfortunately, virtually no one today can completely negate the risk of identity theft. But, we can all take some important steps to help prevent it.

Here are 10 sensible habits to adopt that will help you protect your identity:

Limit what you carry in your wallet, and know what’s there in case it goes missing. First things first, don’t carry your Social Security card on a regular basis. Instead, keep it in a locked safe at home. Have a form of identification or some other card with your Social Security number (SSN) on it? Carry a photocopy of it instead of the real thing, and cut out or otherwise render your SSN unreadable. As for credit cards, only carry the ones you need. Finally, make photocopies of the front and back of the cards you always keep in your wallet and store them in your home safe. If one (or all of them) goes missing, you won’t have to search high and low for the card issuer’s contact information.
Keep your computers, software and other electronics secure and up to date. This means using strong passwords or enabling passcodes – remember not to write them down. It also means installing firewall, spyware and virus protection. Keep everything up to date (and backed up) for the latest security enhancements. For your portable devices, consider installing software to remotely wipe your data or locate the device if it’s ever lost or stolen.
Don’t over share. Does every entity that asks for your (or your child's) SSN really need it? Take a moment to think instead of automatically jotting it down. At the very least, maybe only the last four digits will do. In addition, be careful what you share online. Posting your full address, phone number, license plate number or your birth date online, even if it’s in a photo, may help others piece together a full picture of your identity.
Do check your credit reports throughout the year. You’re entitled to a free credit report from each of the three bureaus once a year. And, since the information on each report is oftentimes largely the same, you can stagger your requests and receive a different report once every four months. Once you receive it, check your report for accounts and other activity you don’t recognize. Even a credit check from a company you haven’t done business with could be an attempt at identity theft. To order your free credit reports, call 1-877-322-8228 or visit www.annualcreditreport.com.
Keep an eye on your accounts. Your account statements can alert you to identity theft sooner than your credit report, in most cases. Check regularly for unauthorized charges or withdrawals and other illicit activity, such as address changes or additional cards you didn’t request.
Watch your surroundings. Whether you’re using the ATM or a portable device, you want to be sure others nearby aren’t watching as you type in your PIN or password. And, just because you don’t see anyone nearby doesn’t mean they’re not there. If you’re using a shared or public WiFi, everyone else on the same network may see the data, including passwords or account numbers, you submit. Be sure to conduct sensitive transactions on secure networks.
Reduce your mail. Start by opting out of pre-approved credit card offers by calling 1-888-5OPT-OUT and following the prompts. This should stay in effect for five years and help curb the risk of someone else obtaining a new credit card in your name. Next, sign up for paperless billing with your financial and service providers and/or schedule automatic payments through your bank. The less mail containing personal and account details that comes to your home, the less likely it is to fall into the wrong hands.
Be skeptical when someone asks for your information. Scam artists don’t always have to steal your information. Sometimes they convince you to give it up willingly by telling you via a phone call, email, snail mail or text that you won a prize or need to verify your account. To claim the prize or account, you’ll, of course, need to supply some sensitive information. Requests like these are almost always inauthentic – what’s known as a “phishing” scam. So, stay on guard and contact the entity through a known, verified method to inquire about the matter, rather than providing personal details on the spot.
Mind your garbage. If you’re throwing out account statements or other documents with personal information, you’re making it easy for dumpster divers to learn a little, perhaps a lot, about you. They may even learn enough to take over one of your accounts. So, shred your sensitive documents and then recycle them – don’t just throw them out in the garbage.
Tidy up at home. Tax returns, credit cards you use infrequently, checkbooks, passports, birth certificates – these and other important documents should all be stored under lock and key. Whether it’s in a home safe or a locking desk or file cabinet is up to you. And, don’t leave the code or key in an easily discoverable place.

Despite your best efforts, you may still discover that your identity has been stolen, If so, take immediate action to:

Fill out the Federal Trade Commission's Identity Theft Affidavit.
Take your affidavit to the police and file a report. Be sure to get a copy for your records. It will come in handy if you need to close fraudulent accounts, straighten out your credit report and more.
Call your financial providers to request new account numbers and, if needed, cards.
Contact one of the three credit bureaus to place a fraud alert, which will encourage creditors to contact you before opening new lines of credit, on your credit report. The bureau you contact will share it with the other two. Experian: 1-888-397-3742 Equifax: 1-800-525-6285 Transunion: 1-800-680-7289

And, if you’re involved in a data breach and offered free credit monitoring, be sure to take advantage of it.

In today’s world of hyper connectivity and speed, it’s easy for your information to end up in the wrong hands. But, by being cautious with how you use and share your information, and checking for misuse, you can help keep your identity secure.

Add Identity Recovery Coverage to Your Home Policy

Your homeowners policy no doubt already covers stolen personal property. Add Identity Recovery Coverage to your policy, and, if your identity is stolen, it will help with certain recovery efforts, too. Talk to your independent insurance agent about possibly adding this optional coverage to your policy, for as little as $1 a month.

Gun Safety at Home

The topic of guns can be very sensitive, but there’s one thing virtually everyone can agree on: Storing them safely is incredibly important, particularly in homes with children or even those where children occasionally visit.

Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to help ensure firearm safety at home — whether you have kids around or not. These five tips are a great start:

Keep ‘em locked ... Not only should you store your firearms in a locked cabinet, safe or vault, you should also limit who has access to the key or combination – even if everyone in your family is a skilled shooter. In addition, use a gun-locking device so your firearms are inoperable when not in use. (This is not a substitute for appropriate storage, however.)
... and unloaded. Before putting away a gun, first unload the ammunition. Then, the next time you go to take it out of storage, point it in a safe direction and reconfirm that it is not loaded.
Separate guns and ammo. Keep your ammunition under lock and key, too – away from your guns. That way, if an unauthorized person does gain access to your firearms, he/she won’t be able to load them.
Educate your family and others who visit your home. Everyone in your home – family members and short-term visitors alike – should know that there are firearms present. Remind children regularly that if they find a firearm — either in your home or someone else’s — they should alert a responsible adult and never touch or play with it.
Remember “S.A.F.E.” Project ChildSafe educates firearm owners to: Secure your firearms when not in use; be Aware of those around you who should not have access to guns; Focus on your responsibility as a gun owner; and Educate yourself and others about safe handling and storage.

Having firearms in your home can present unique insurance issues as well, both in terms of the value of the guns themselves and your liability coverage. Check with your independent insurance agent to see what your policy limits are regarding personal property coverage for firearms, as well as whether an umbrella policy might be the right option for additional liability protection.

Whether you have one gun or an entire collection, always aim for safety. Your entire family, as well as your houseguests and neighbors, will thank you for it.

Insuring Guns

Whether you rent or own, you likely have personal property coverage for your guns under your renters policy or homeowners policy. Be sure to include them in your home inventory and to adjust your policy, if needed, to ensure you have the coverage you want for your entire collection.

It is hard to believe, but we have been in our new office a little over a week now! We love our new building and the convenient location where it resides. Our Team has truly been blessed with wonderful friends, clients and community leaders; all visiting us at the new office and offering their well wishes and support. It has no doubt been an amazing couple of weeks!

I thought since we have moved to a new location, I would go back to the basics in this blog and give you an overview of what Paschall Insurance Group is all about.

Paschall Insurance Group is Parker County’s Trusted Choice Independent Insurance Agency. Paul Paschall and his team have more than 100 years of combined insurance experience in personal and commercial lines of insurance. The Paschall Insurance Team is dedicated to ensuring your family and business are properly protected from life’s unpredictable moments.

Paschall Insurance Group is Independent from all insurance companies, this means that our loyalty will always remain with YOU, our client! The typical corporate or captive agent works exclusively for one insurance company and is obligated to provide insurance through only that company, leaving the consumer with only one option. Paschall Insurance Group works exclusively for the client. Representing over fifty top-rated insurance companies, our team is provided the freedom to design a policy that will custom fit your specific needs. As a Trusted Choice Independent Insurance Agency, Paschall Insurance Group will allow you to have zero worries by knowing that you are protected with the best product, price and customer care available in the insurance industry.