Tag Archives:New York
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
A Very Brief Holiday Checklist
It’s holiday time again and most of us are feeling the pinch of the bad economy. Here’s a helpful list that might make thing easier.
Posted: Cynthia
Categories: Car Insurance, Connecticut, Home Insurance, Insurance, New York, New York Insurance, Personal Insurance, Pound Ridge NY, Uncategorized
No NY Insurance? No NY License Plates. It's that simple.
We’ve had a couple of our customers in the last week get caught up because of this rule. Both recently moved out of state and we did our best to explain to them that you cannot have New York State license plates unless you have at least the minimum New York State liability insurance coverage for the registration attached to those plates.
I was asked by one customer how the average New Yorker would know this information if they are not told by their insurance representative (something we do regularly, and did do in both of these situations). Unfortunately, it’s hard to answer that question without seeming unfeeling or rude. But the answer is simply that, having registered the vehicle in the state, you are required to be aware of the rules, someone else telling you not withstanding. I am subject to them myself.
I would say we explain this to someone at least 10 times in any given week. The response is always the same. It’s black and white. No insurance, no plates. Keep the plates and cancel the insurance and you get fined and a suspension letter from DMV for your license and that registration.
In the two instances I refer to, both customers moved out of state. We told them AND emailed them what needed to be done. We can’t come to their homes and take the plates from them forcibly. They chose, instead to keep the NY plates, but wrote insurance coverage in their new states of residence. The first asked us to cancel her policy which we did, at her earnest request, only now to find out she held onto her plates and now she has the nasty DMV Suspension letter. The fact that she HAS now turned in her plates should render the situation moot and clear it up, but it’s no fun to receive that letter. The second wrote coverage in the new state, but the current NYS coverage is still in force. So having not turned in their plates, they is still paying for two policies. Nobody wants to do that either. Now those plates need to be mailed back to New York and, once that is done, the coverage can be canceled.
Here’s a link to the New York State DMV page explaining what you need to do about your license plates.
We at our agency are going to look for a way to make sure our insureds are even more informed on this subject in the future. Even though we feel we do a good job of explaining the issue, we still end up being the ones blamed in the end. I think it’s the result of an unpleasant societal shift of blame by a majority of the populace. Perhaps we will add a new notice to be given to all of our customers, regardless of the status of their auto coverage. We will come up with something, I’m sure of that. In the meantime, remember: No insurance, No plates. Plates & No Insurance? Nasty notice or overpaying.
