Tag Archives:Home Insurance
What is Off Premises Theft Coverage?
What do you do if your car is broken into and your briefcase, dry cleaning and your favorite guitar are stolen? Can you claim it under your auto insurance? No! You need Off Premises Theft Coverage!
It’s On Your Homeowner’s Insurance
Your personal property is not covered under your car’s insurance policy. One way to cover your belongings is with the Off Premises Theft endorsement.
Off Premises Theft coverage can be added to your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy. It will cover you for theft of your belongings that are TEMPORARILY away from your home. Examples of this would be property in your vehicle or at a vacation condo or hotel. Let’s say you are on vacation and your camera is stolen from your hotel room. Off Premises Theft could pay for this loss, less your homeowner’s insurance deductible. The limit of coverage is usually 10 percent of the personal property limit on the home policy.
You Need To Ask Your Agent
You will want to ask your insurance agent about the cost to add this endorsement. The endorsement may already be part of your policy. If you would never consider making such a claim, you may be able to remove it and lower your premium.
Avalon Agency is an independent insurance agency serving the tri-state area for over 50 years. Please visit us at www.avalonagency.com or call us at 914-234-5678 for a quote!
Posted: Cynthia
Categories: Car Insurance, Connecticut, Home Insurance, Insurance, New Jersey, New York, New York Insurance, Personal Insurance, Pound Ridge NY, Renters Insurance, Uncategorized
The Perils of Short Term Rentals
Have you decided to rent your home short-term? It sounds like a great idea, as long as you trust that your fellow humans will treat your property as you would.
Have you signed up with Airbnb or VRBO? They can offer you the opportunity to benefit from doing just that.
If you are thinking about just such an adventure, there is one important question you need to ask. What sort of insurance coverage you will have while your home is occupied by your guests?
The best-known of these companies offers primary personal liability and property damage coverage. But coverage will only respond when renters who have signed up through the company’s website are occupying the premises. If you develop a relationship with a renter and want to rent to them outside of the website, that coverage may not respond.
The same will probably be true of your current home, condo, co-op, or renter’s policy. You should speak to your insurance agent to confirm. For the most part, your personal home policy will exclude most of the exposures that arise from the short-term rental.
Many insurance companies do offer coverage for rental homes. Make a point of speaking with your independent insurance agent. The most important thing is that you are covered properly in the event of a loss.
Call Avalon Agency for a quote for your New York or Connecticut insurance coverage.
Posted: Cynthia
Categories: Connecticut, Home Insurance, Insurance, Liability Insurance, New York, New York Insurance, Personal Insurance, Pound Ridge NY, Renters Insurance, Uncategorized
NY Times Article - Rebuilding After Hurricane Sandy, but with Costly New Rules
Ron Jampel of Brick, N.J., working on fixing up his home, which took on three feet of water during Hurricane Sandy.
Posted: Cynthia
Categories: Connecticut, Flood, Home Insurance, Hurricane Sandy, Insurance, New Jersey, New York, New York Insurance, Personal Insurance
It's Simple - Fire Belongs in the Fireplace
I just feel I have to post this, especially after the horrific fire in Stamford, CT, only minutes from our office, on Christmas day this past week.
This terrible tragedy, in which five family members perished, is now being blamed on embers from the fireplace. When I first heard this, I tried to imagine how embers in a fireplace could cause such an inferno to erupt. I could only think of two possibilities: either the firebox have failed in the fireplace itself, or someone had mishandled the embers. Sadly, my second guess seems to be the right one.
According to reports from fire investigators, preliminarily, ashes and embers were removed from the fireplace, placed in a bag, and set in or near a mud room in the house. It is heartbreaking. Anyone who is familiar with the workings of a fireplace knows that THAT is where the fire belongs. And embers are still fire, albeit hidden, smoldering within a charred piece of wood, just waiting for the opportunity to light up again.
Photos from Northern Suburb News
This story has saddened our entire community here in Pound Ridge, New York. Personally, I simply can’t believe this has happened again. I say that because my family has personal experience with just such a situation.
A number of years ago my father owned a ski condo in Windham, NY. It was in the middle of a row of units, a wood frame structure in the snowy woods that we loved to escape to when we could for relaxing weekends or holidays. As time went on, and we all became busy with our lives, he started to rent it out, now and then, to folks who enjoyed the skiing on the nearby mountain. One such family from Brooklyn rented it and ended up proving that they had little or no experience with a fireplace. Evidently, after having a lovely fire in the hearth one night, someone decided that they needed to shovel out the red hot embers from the fireplace. They were placed in a bag, then into a plastic garbage can outside, which was then set back into its normal place, right next to the outer wall of the building. Some time in the night the renters were running out for their lives as fire consumed the downstairs bathroom, the upstairs bathroom above it and out the roof. We lost a third of the unit. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. To this day I cannot fathom what would seem logical about the actions that lead up to this fire.
And if you think this is an isolated incident, it’s not. The next year my husband and I arrived late one night to stay in the now-repaired unit. We were tired, but did notice before we went to bed that the place seemed to be a mess, with dirt all over the counter. Blaming the last family members who had stayed, we resolved to sleep and clean in the morning. When we awoke the next day, we realized that the entire inside of the unit was covered with a film of soot. After what had happened the year before, I was frantic, but realized there was no sign of fire in our unit.
We cleaned up and, confused, exited to head out for the day, at which time my husband told me to come look at the unit on the end of the line of townhouses. It was almost completely gone, burned by fire. Astonishingly, we came to find out that the very same scenario had occurred, with renters removing embers and setting the place on fire. In this instance, though, a pregnant woman almost did not make it out. After that, all of the owners invested in metal garbage cans, and we posted a notice on the hearth with detailed instructions for all future renters.
Ok, I am a city girl at heart. I was born in NYC, but I’ve lived in a house with a fireplace since I was 9 years old. Still, I cannot understand why someone would work to remove hot, burning ash or pieces of wood from a place that is specifically built for it. It can be cleaned down the road, when all the contents are cooled and the heat completely dissipated. Nobody will fault you for having a dirty fireplace. Just leave it to burn down where it belongs and where it is safe.
My heart goes out to this couple for all they have lost. I’m not sure I could survive it myself and there are no words befitting the situation. If it is even possible, may they find peace one day.
Be safe.
