It costs mere pennies a day, yet many renters don’t get insurance to cover their electronics, clothes, furniture and other valuable possessions. Many renters are under the assumption their landlord’s insurance will cover their goods if there is a fire, a flood, or a tree falls onto the structure. Sure, the damage to the building will be covered, but not the contents inside.
With another winter storm slamming the eastern third of the U.S., insurance experts warn it could be a very cold reality for renters, and even homeowners who do not have property insurance, if a winter malady should hit.
Renters insurance covers fire or lightning, windstorm or hail, freezing of plumbing systems, theft, and more. Also, keep in mind, if someone is injured at the domicile you rent, renters insurance can help protect you if there is a liability lawsuit.
Renters insurance can be purchased for as little as a couple hundred dollars a year, but statistics show as many as 70 percent of renters go without the coverage.
It’s officially the Holiday Season! The season of holiday lights, holiday shopping, holiday parties, and…
Home Robberies.
As you travel to visit family and friends this holiday season, be aware that the high rate of travel also leads to a spike in home robberies.
Here are some tips for keeping your home and possessions safe while you’re away:
Install a quality home security system with burglary monitoring AND fire protection: The best defense against home robberies is a working security system. Be sure that you test your system before you head out of town to make sure you’re good to go. Also, double check that your security system hasfire alarm capabilities. A fire doubles in size every 30 seconds, so the quicker your system can alert authorities, the better
Keep your valuables out of clear site: Can you see your plasma TV from your front windows? Do you keep any jewelry near a window in your bedroom? Have a sweet sound system for all to see in your living room? Walk around the outside of your house and notice what you can see just by looking in. Before you leave town, move as many valuable out of view as possible. Close the doors of your entertainment center and put all jewlery in a locked, secure location
Make mail & newspaper arrangements: Piled up newspapers and mail are a huge tip-off to would-be robbers. Before you leave town, either stop your mail and paper service or ask a trusted neighbor to pick them up for you. If you have a reliable neighbor you trust, this is a better option than alerting the post office that you are out of town. Again, the less people who know you are away, the better
Take stock of your yard: Don’t keep any valuable sporting or gardening equipment outside while you’re out of town. Move everything that you can indoors or into the garage. Also, be aware of what you leave out by the trash. If you receive an expensive item, like a TV or a computer, for Christmas, don’t just leave the box by the trash- that’s advertising an expensive item in your home. Instead, break it down and bring it to recycling
Remove a burglar’s cover: Tall and overgrown trees and shrubs are welcome hiding spots for criminals. Cut away any tall tree branches that reach upper story windows and protect against attacks from above. That doesn’t mean you need to cut down every plant in your yard. Just keep things manicured
Do NOT broadcast your plans: No matter how tempting it is to brag about your upcoming getaway to your social media friends, keep your plans off the internet (until you return and show off your amazing pictures, of course!). The fewer people who know that you are gone, the better. Also, do not change your answering machine to say you are out of town. You never know who may ring you up while you’re gone, and you don’t want strangers to know that you are out
Make your house look ‘lived in’: Take steps to make it look like someone is at your house. Here are some ideas:
Ask a neighbor to park their car in your driveway. Anyone watching your house will see a car coming and going and be less likely to realize you’re away
Ask someone to shovel your drive if it snows while you’re away
Install outdoor and indoor lighting systems. Motion-sensor varieties are good for outdoor areas because they can stop robbers from using the cover of darkness to commit crimes. Timer varieties are good for indoors because lights turning on and off helps maintain the appearance that someone is home
Double check your locks & entrances: Go around your house and check every door, lock, deadbolt and window. Make sure you have a solid perimeter. If your deadbolts are 10-15 years old, you need to make sure they can still withstand force. If not, replace them before you leave. For windows, look into using a dowel rod (long, skinny sticks sold at the hardware store). You can wedge them into the window frame to reinforce windows and give them more strength, as robbers cannot force windows open with a rod in place
Don’t leave any hidden spare keys: Keep a secret key hidden on your property in case you or a family member gets locked out? Most people do. And that’s exactly why you should make sure you do not leave that key on your property when out of town. Robbers will check under rocks and around property for keys left ‘hidden’
Tell neighbors you trust or law enforcement that you are leaving: While it’s important to minimize the number of people who know you are gone, do alert neighbors whom you trust or members of your trusted neighborhood watch program. That way, they can keep an eye out for any suspicious activity at your house. Also, look up the non-emergency number for your police department and let them know you will be leaving town.
Be aware: Pay attention around your neighborhood. Is someone going door to door asking if a particular person is home? Has a car been parked suspiciously? These are both signs of people checking for unoccupied homes. Be alert to any behavior that is out of the ordinary and be sure to alert local law enforcement.
And last, but certainly not least, travel safely and ENJOY your holiday season with your loved ones!
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, many homeowners are dealing with Flooding damages.
We wanted to provide you with some basic Flood Insurance information* so you can be sure you are fully protected:
Standard homeowners insurance does NOT cover flooding: Your homeowners insurance policy will not cover flooding damage. Only Flood Insurance covers this kind of damage. To learn more about Flood Insurance throughCalifornia Casualty, click here or scroll down to read more.
Flood damages are expensive: Just two inches of water could result in more than $7,000 in damages. The higher the water, the higher the costs.
New Policies take 30 days to kick in: If your home is at any risk of flooding, protect it now. Flood insurance policies take 30 days to take effect.
Flood insurance offers two types of protection: Flood insurance protects your building and the contents inside of the building. Neither type protects the land they occupy.
Building Coverage includes:
The insured building and its foundation
The electrical and plumbing systems
Central air conditioning equipment, furnaces, and water heaters
Refrigerators, cooking stoves, and built-in appliances such as dishwashers
Permanently installed carpeting over unfinished floors
Contents coverage includes:
Clothing, furniture, and electronic equipment
Curtains
Portable and window air conditioner units
Portable microwaves and dishwashers
Carpeting that is not already included in property coverage
Clothing washers and dryers
Securing Flood Insurance through California Casualty:
We provide flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program to offer you the best rates and service. It was created by Congress in 1968 to help property owners protect themselves financially against flood damages. To learn about the program, click here.
*These represent typical coverages, you should speak with an agent to verify what is and is not covered
We’ve been keeping a close eye on the wildfires raging in Colorado.
This is for a couple reasons. First and foremost, we like to know what’s happening in the ‘fire world.’ We have a big network of Firefighters and we work to stay in tune with what’s going on in their professional worlds. It’s part of the whole ‘understanding your profession’ promise. The better we know you and what you are up against, the better we can support you.
So, we’ve been watching. Updating our ‘Thank You Firefighters’twitter account with updates on the multiple fires raging across the country and the brave men and women out there fighting them- even as their own homes burn down.
It’s personal for us. We work with these firefighters.
This week, it got even more personal.
One of our service centers is in Colorado Springs.
As those of you in the area, or following the fires, know: The Waldo Canyon Fire is getting close to the Colorado Springs area. As it moves towards homes, fanned by heat and dry conditions, some Colorado Springs residents are being evacuated from their homes.
Our employees included.
This is the view from our service center:
Here in Kansas City, we know a thing or two about seasonal extreme weather.
So as we’ve followed the fires, some of the issues surrounding them are completely foreign to us.
For example: Media coverage of active wildfires.
If you can’t tell by now, I like to read Fire blogs. I’m a total social media nerd.
And a LOT of the Fire bloggers are not happy with the media stations in the areas surrounding these fires.
Why?
Because of pictures like this.
Some media stations are running footage–especially footage captured from the air–of actively burning homes.
The major risk? That families will find out that their home-their memories-have burned to the ground by watching the news.
Now, this is a complicated issue.
As a journalist by training, I know that whatever you shoot from the air is (legally speaking) usually fair game.
But what about ethically? Do people deserve to be alerted about the fate of their homes BEFORE they see the emotional footage on air? Can you imagine turning on the news after dinner, only to see your house engulfed in flames?
I can’t imagine.
So, we’re asking you. Where do you fall on this side of the debate? To air or not to air?
And of course, our thoughts go out to ALL of those affected–nationwide–by this devastating wildfire season. Please keep the safety of our firefighters in your thoughts, along with all of those displaced by these fires.
Update:
Here is a new series of pictures, showing the effect the wind changing has…
October is National Fire Safety Month – and we wanted to share some tips for keeping your home safe from fire. Thankfully, we have a lot of Firefighters (and some other really smart people) on our Facebook page – and I asked them to share their tips with us!
Here’s what they came up with:
Keep debris and brush away from your home
Always have a water supply handy near a burn pile
Don’t leave burning candles unattended
Create home escape routes and a safe meeting place, and practice them!
keep dryer vents cleaned out
test smoke alarms regularly
keep fully charged ABC fire extinguishers handy
eliminate extension cords
turn ceiling vent fans off when leaving the room
turn off the stove 🙂
check for frayed/worn wiring
keep space heaters away from flammable items
don’t let candle tins burn too long
don’t leave flammable materials near the stove
And last, but not least – don’t play with matches!
Thanks to all our wonderful Facebook Fans for helping me out!
Hurricane season is here, and with it comes the risk of damaging storms in coastal areas. While your primary goal should be emergency supplies and an evacuation plan to keep you and your family safe, there are also some steps to take to protect your home from catastrophic damage.
One of the biggest keys to protecting your home from damage is to secure the windows. Why is this important? For one, once the windows shatter, the high winds enter the house, wreaking havoc and causing interior damage. The most important reason is that as hurricane winds blow into the house, it creates upward pressure on the roof. This pressure may be enough to blow the roof off – which will likely lead to the total destruction of your home.
The ideal way to protect your windows is to install heavy duty wood or metal storm shutters. This can be quite an investment, but one that will pay off in protection, as well as the ability to quickly respond to the threat. Alternatively, you can use marine plywood attached to your home’s exterior. It is recommended that you have these pieces purchased, cut, and pre-drilled/ready to install before a hurricane watch is in place. If you wait until danger is bearing down on you, it may be too late.
Some other tips to protect your home during a hurricane:
Remove dead trees or tree limbs on your property
Be aware if your home is in a storm surge danger area
Create a “safe room” in your house
Keep battery powered radios, flashlights, and extra batteries on hand.
October is National Fire Safety Month – and we wanted to share some tips for keeping your home safe from fire. Thankfully, we have a lot of Firefighters (and some other really smart people) on our