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Hecht Insurance Advisors, LLC Blog

Dogs Help Us in Everyday Life

4/2/2020

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How Having a Dog Can Benefit Your Health

Americans love their dogs. In 2017, there were nearly 90 million dogs living in American households, meaning that nearly half of all households had one. 

Why do we let these furry four-legged friends into our lives? For most people, it's companionship as well as an excellent burglar alarm.

​But there are other advantages to having a dog, including many health benefits to you and your family, like:
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​More exercise - When you own a dog, you should be taking it out for walks every day. And the benefit is that when you're exercising your pooch, you too are exercising. Walking 30 minutes a day can do wonders for your health.

Less stress - Numerous studies have shown that people with dogs have lower stress levels. Engaging with your dog in whatever form can reduce your stress.

Illness detection
- Dogs really see the world through their noses thanks to their keen sense of smell. Some dogs are sensitive enough to detect the onset of epileptic seizures, or the presence of some cancers. Many dog owners have reported their dog sniffing, licking or nudging areas of the body that later turned out to be cancerous.


More allergy tolerance
- Children who are raised around pets have a reduced chance of having allergies. And growing up with a dog can boost immunity to pet allergies later in life.


Boosting brain development
- Dogs boost brain development in children, along with emotional growth and connection to others.


Stronger heart
- Studies have shown that petting a dog can lower your heart rate, and male pet owners tend to have reduced rates of heart disease.


Less chance of depression
- Dog owners are less likely to be depressed. The companionship they offer has been shown to help people who have been diagnosed with clinical depression, largely because caring for another living thing can help relieve symptoms of depression and make people feel more positive.


​Safety
- Dogs are like a living alarm system. Barking dogs can keep burglars at bay and they can alert you if someone is snooping around the outside of your house, giving you a greater sense of security.
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Homeowner's Insurance Issues during COVID 19 Outbreak

3/31/2020

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​Homeowner's Insurance Issues during Coronavirus Outbreak

At first glance, it seems like the coronavirus outbreak would not affect your homeowner's coverage, since it's a disease that isn't likely to affect your premiums or force you to file an insurance claim if you or one of your family members contracts COVID-19.

But, because of the circumstances of many people now working from home and people self-isolating, there are a few instances you need to be aware of that could require you to take some action on your policies.

​Also, if you have a claim at this time, you and the insurance company may need to make special arrangements as it's unlikely that the insurer can send a claims adjuster to your home during the ongoing health crisis. And what if you can't afford to renew your policies if your income stream has dried up?
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Here's what you should know about your homeowner's insurance at this time.


Business at home

If you have had to move your business to your home, you may want to review your homeowner's coverage. The typical homeowner's police have very low limits on business property (usually up to about $2,000), which would likely not be enough if your equipment is damaged or stolen. 

If you are suddenly running your business from home, please call us and we can go through your policy and, if needed, we can work with your insurer to see if they offer a home business endorsement or higher coverage limits for business property.

Also, if you are running an Airbnb out of your home for a room or another property, you should have purchased landlord coverage or home-sharing coverage as a typical homeowner's policy may not cover damage incurred by paying guests.
At this time, you are likely not getting anybody staying at your place, so you should contact your insurance company about pausing or canceling coverage since you will have no need for it for a while.
 
Filing a claim
If you have an incident in your home and need to file a claim, there's a good chance that your insurer will be unable to send an adjuster for an inspection. Most homeowner's insurers now have apps or offer you the ability to file your claim online on their website.  

The procedures for filing a claim using an app or doing it on your insurer's website is pretty straightforward. You can start by taking pictures of the damage and providing receipts or a list of the property that may have been damaged or stolen. If it was stolen, make sure you file a police report and submit that with the claim as well.

However, if you have a high-dollar claim, the insurer may send an adjuster to inspect the damage before they pay the claim. For smaller claims, it's likely they will pay them out.

 
What insurers are doing
Insurers are making adjustments to their operations and policies during this time as well. Their actions will vary from company to company, but there are similarities in some of their responses:
  • Some insurers have announced that they won't cancel a policy for a policyholder who is temporarily out of work or has seen their income drastically cut. These carriers are granting premium payment extensions.
  • For those people whose policies may be in danger of lapsing because they cannot afford to pay the full premium, some insurers are working with them to reinstate the policies and set up a payment plan. They are often waiving reinstatement fees as well.
  • Many insurers are postponing scheduled home inspections.
  • If an insurer has asked that certain home repairs be carried out for a policy to renew, and the policyholder can't meet the inspection deadline, some companies are giving more time to finish the repairs.
Insurers are still running their call centers (in some areas, these staff are working from home).
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Smart Home Sensors Can Save You from Calamity

3/4/2020

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​Smart Home Sensors Can Save You from Calamity

One of the nastiest surprises a homeowner can encounter is finding out about damage to their home that they could have prevented had they caught the problem earlier.

For example, a leak that's been slowly dripping behind your wall and causing extensive damage may not be covered by your homeowner's policy since you should have caught it with regular upkeep.

Homeowners have countless stories of leaks that caused extensive damage, sump-pump failures that flooded whole rooms, frozen pipes that burst and gas leaks that led to fires, or worse.

​Fortunately, technology has come to the rescue with a number of smart home sensors that can detect problems when they develop, either suddenly or slowly. Thanks to a number of smart sensors that can alert your phone if something is amiss, you can greatly reduce the damage any of the above scenarios may cause.
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You can set up some smart sensors as stand-alone units with their own dedicated hub, while others are adaptable and can communicate with brand-name smart home hubs like:

  • SmartThings,
  • Apple HomeKit, or 
  • Wink

The sensors communicate with a central hub using Bluetooth technology, while the hub uses your home Wifi to alert the app on your phone. 


Here are the sensors that can give you the most bang for your buck in terms of safety and preventing damage to your home, its contents, your family - and even pets.


Water sensors

There are a number of smart leak detectors on the market, and depending on the brand, the system can shut off water in about five seconds after detecting a leak in your home. This can save you thousands of dollars in property damage.

You can place these sensors
at specific points where leaks are possible, such under sinks, appliances and water heaters. This allows you to customize a leak detection solution based on your needs or concerns. Some sensors can even detect changes in water temperature, which can help you avoid damage from frozen pipes.


These sensor units may also include shut-off valves, which
can be installed at strategic locations in your piping. It's best to call a plumber because installing a shut-off valve may require cutting into the water line. Leave that to the pros. 


Freeze sensors

These are typically only necessary in regions that have freezing temperatures and snow for periods of time in the winter. When pipes freeze, they can back up, expand and burst and possibly flood parts of your home.

Many of the systems that detect leaks also can detect if pipes have frozen. Like leak sensors, freeze sensors are small devices that constantly monitor the temperature of the object or area they're in touch with. If a sensor detects frozen pipes, it will notify you via your smart phone app or activate a shut-off valve if it's installed.


Smart smoke alarms

A smart smoke alarm works just like a normal smoke alarm, except it has the added feature of notifying you if there is a fire and you are not home. That gives you the opportunity to call the fire department or a trusted neighbor to ensure a faster response.

If you own an Alexa speaker, it has a feature that will act as a smoke alarm by listening for the sound of your regular smoke alarm then send you an alert. There is also a smart 9V battery on the market that you plug into your smoke alarm and which alerts you in case it goes off.


Temperature sensors

Smart temperature sensors can alert you to changes in areas of your home that need to have steady temperatures, such as wine cabinets, crib rooms, pet enclosures and humidors. 

Window and door sensors

For your home security needs, you may want to consider door and window sensors. They usually come in two parts - one that attaches to the door or window frame, and another that attaches to the door or window itself.

When the door or window is closed, the circuit between the two parts of the sensor is complete and so is marked as 'closed' - but as soon as a door or window is opened, the circuit is 'broken,' which triggers an alert.


​
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Adult Children on Your Policies Can Create Coverage Gaps

2/28/2020

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​Adult Children on Your Policies Can Create Coverage Gaps

These days, many families are assisting their adult children financially far longer than parents of earlier generations. And that kind of support for college, and sometimes basic survival, can create insurance coverage gaps for the adult child that can be a major risk to their parents' financial wellbeing.
​

If you have an adult child who is still financially dependent on you in some way, it's critical that you secure appropriate insurance coverage. Issues that will affect coverage include if they are a full- or part-time student, where they live and how old they are.
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Homeowner's insurance

Under a homeowner's policy, the insured is limited to:
​
  • Residents of your household who are your relative, and
  • A student enrolled in school full time, as defined by the school, and under the age of 24-29 (this varies depending on the policy and carrier, so check your policy).
 
This causes issues for some people, as many children are still in college beyond the policy cut-off date. You could run into coverage gaps for their contents and personal liability if:

  • They are older than the cut-off age on your policy,
  • They aren't a full-time student, or
  • They are living away from home.
 
The picture gets murkier these days as well because many parents are renting an apartment or buying condos for their adult children to live in. Some parents may mistakenly think that since they are footing the bill, their insurance may still cover their adult child. But that's not the case.
 
Auto coverage

Typical auto insurance policies will include family members under the coverage. The standard policy form defines a family member as "a person related to you by blood, marriage or adoption who is a resident of your household." 

For your adult child's vehicle, insurance coverage is determined by:

  • Who owns the title on the car.
  • Who is listed on the policy as a named insured or additional insured.
  • Where the child is living.
 
As you can see, even if a parent owns the title of the car and it's insured under the parent's policy, if the adult child is driving the vehicle and lives on their own, they could run into coverage issues in certain instances.

The following scenarios could leave you with coverage gaps:

  • If a vehicle is co-titled or titled solely to the child, but the child isn't listed as an additional insured or named insured on the parents' policy.
  • Your child borrows a friend's car (which the friend had not insured) for the day, gets in an accident and injures the driver of the other car.
  • Your child rents a vehicle, doesn't buy the insurance offered by the rental car company and then is in an accident.
  • Your child is hit by an uninsured motorist while walking across the street. There is no medical payments or uninsured motorist's coverage for their own injuries.
  • Your child is at a concert and accidentally bumps someone off the edge of the stadium bleachers, causing severe injuries. There's no coverage for the injuries caused to that person.
 
If you have an adult child on your policy, play it safe and give us a call so we can go over your policy and circumstances with you to identify any possible coverage gaps. 

Without the proper insurance protection for injuries and damages, you risk significant financial liabilities that you may not be able to cover.

​
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Flood Risk

2/24/2020

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Do You Know Your Flood Risk?

Almost everyone has a risk of their home being flooded, regardless of where they live. And now as flooding has become an annual threat to many communities across the country, even areas that were not considered flood-prone are also at risk. 

There was record rain and snow in many parts of the country in the early part of the year, and many areas can therefore expect flooding.

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, more than 20% of all flood insurance claims come from areas outside of high-risk flood zones - and that number is rising with each passing year.

​
That still means the vast majority come from high-risk areas. How can a property owner find out what their flood risk is?

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Gauging your flood risk
FEMA considers a property to be at high risk of flood if there is at least a one-in-four chance of flooding during the life of a 30-year mortgage.

Geographic areas with this risk are known as special flood hazard areas (SFHAs). Federal regulations require federally regulated or insured mortgage lenders to confirm that mortgaged properties in these areas carry flood insurance.  The traditional way to determine a property's flood risk is to locate it on a flood insurance rate map (FIRM). FEMA publishes these maps based on geographic survey data. They are the official depictions of flood hazards in a locality.

FIRMs are freely available for review at the Flood Map Service Center on FEMA's website. As a property owner, you can view your flood risk by entering your address in the search field.

Flood maps assign each area in a community to labeled flood zones. Areas with low-to-moderate risks of flooding are assigned to zones with labels beginning with the letters B, C, X or a shaded X. SFHAs are designated with the letters A or V. These areas are shaded on the maps for easy identification.

Property owners can also search for their flood risks at FEMA's flood insurance consumer web site, www.floodsmart.gov. By entering your address in the fields on the home page, you can quickly learn whether you face a low-to-moderate or high risk.

​
The site offers other valuable tools, such as an estimator that can calculate how much financial damage a given amount of water (two inches, four inches, etc.) would cause in homes of various sizes. 

For example, six inches of water in a 2,000 square foot home would cause $39,150 in damage.
FEMA also offers a suite of flood risk products that go beyond the information provided in a FIRM. They include:

•    Flood risk maps, which show the overall picture of risk for a given area,
•    Flood risk reports, which show community-specific risk information, and
•    The Flood Risk Database, which stores all flood risk data for an area.
 
These products are helpful for community planners, but individual property owners can also use them to get a clear idea of their flood risks.

Elevation certificates may also be on file with local governments for certain properties. These documents show the elevation of the lowest floor of a building (including the basement) compared to the base flood elevation for the area.

An elevation certificate demonstrates community compliance with flood-plain management laws and is used to set appropriate flood insurance premiums.
 
The takeaway

A flood can be every bit as catastrophic as a fire. It is worthwhile for property owners to learn their flood risk and take steps to reduce it. Additionally, with the increasing risk of flooding in non-flood-plain areas, if you live near a flood plain, you may want to secure flood insurance. 

Request a Flood Quote
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Millennials Misconceptions of Renter's Insurance

2/8/2020

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​Renter's Insurance and Misconceptions among Millennials

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A recent study found that millennials are renting in larger numbers than ever before, but that they are not getting renter's coverage even though it's inexpensive and can provide protection for their belongings.
Researchers also found that most (75%) of the people surveyed did not know they could obtain renter's insurance for about the same monthly cost as a pair of movie tickets, and had therefore not purchased coverage for their possessions.
They concluded that there was a clear misconception among this group of young people about how important it is to have renter's insurance and the true cost of coverage. Leaving belongings at risk when about $20 per month can buy adequate coverage is an unwise move. 
Renters often live in properties with multiple units, and they may not always realize how high the risk of fires and other disasters are in these places.
Although property owners are responsible for repairs to the structure in the event of most disasters, they are not responsible for tenants' belongings. It is up to renters to make sure their possessions are protected.
In their research, experts also found that about 40% of people without renter's coverage did not think it was necessary. Nearly 70% of all young adult renters replied that the cost to replace all of their belongings would exceed $5,000. Renters who had coverage said they bought policies because they wanted the peace of mind to know they were protected.​
Renters' biggest fears:
  • Two of the biggest fears among respondents were theft and fires.
  • About 40% said their biggest fear was fire damage.
  • About 30% said their biggest fear was theft.
  • Believe it or not, almost 5% said that their biggest fear was a zombie apocalypse!
  • Nearly 25% of the renters surveyed said they would rescue their laptops first ahead of mobile phones, hidden cash and heirlooms.
  • About 40% of respondents said they did not know stolen property was covered in a renter's insurance policy.
  • About 30% said they did not believe party mishaps would be covered, and they were surprised to find that many types of damage to personal property or the structure that are typical at parties were actually covered.
 
Inexpensive peace of mind

A plan that costs around $300 a year generally covers up to $50,000 worth of property. But most people won't need that much coverage as renters.

A policy that covers $15,000 to $20,000 worth of property should be enough for most millennials. Such policies can sometimes be had for less than $200 a year, or as little as $10 to $15 a month. (The average renter's insurance premium cost about $187 in 2017, according to the Insurance Information Institute.)


​Renter's insurance is quick and easy to buy, and millennials everywhere should make sure they always have it. To learn more about this type of coverage and how affordable it is, call us today.


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