Dear Valued Client,
As Independence Day approaches, we wanted to take a moment to reach out and extend our warmest wishes for a joyous and memorable July 4th celebration.
First and foremost, we hope that this message finds you and your loved ones safe and in good health.
While this year’s celebrations may still carry some restrictions and precautions, we encourage you to make the most of the festivities. Whether you choose to enjoy a backyard barbecue, watch a breathtaking fireworks display, or spend quality time with your family and friends, we hope that you find joy and happiness in every moment.
We also want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude for your continued trust and support. Our relationship with our esteemed clients, is the cornerstone of our success. It is through your partnership that we are able to strive for excellence and deliver the best service possible. Please know that we value your patronage deeply and look forward to continuing to serve you with the utmost dedication in the months and years to come.
May your day and weekend be filled with laughter, love, and cherished memories. As we look ahead to a brighter future, let us embrace the spirit of unity and optimism that this day represents.
Happy Independence Day!
Warmest regards,
Tony and the Scurich Insurance Team
Read more
In legal terms, an act of God isn’t, in fact, a religious experience. Well, that’s not to say that an act of God couldn’t be a religious experience, it’s just that that’s not inherent in the legal definition of the term. An act of God essentially comes down to the unforeseen and the unpreventable. You can reduce the likelihood of accidents on the job site by making sure that you don’t allow any drinking, fighting or general carelessness on site, you can reduce the likelihood of accidents on the road through proper auto maintenance, but you can’t prevent a flood or an earthquake no matter how many safety courses you attend.
Acts of God will exempt a party from strict liability and from negligence in common law. Many building contracts have a provision allowing for acts of God to excuse unexpected delays in a project’s completion. However, damages and delays owing to a natural disaster may be disputed as acts of God in some circumstance.
The key word is “unforeseeable.” If someone falls off of a scaffolding and spends the next four weeks in a cast because of an earthquake, then that will usually be chalked up to an act of God. If they saw a storm coming in, decided to keep working, and then got struck by lightning, then the “act of God” claim may be contested.
“Act of God” is sort of a liability free-pass card, exempting you from responsibility for things that you couldn’t possibly have predicted. There are a few steps that you can take to ensure that there is no gray area, no room for doubt when you need to lean on this legal term:
- Keep tabs on the weather. Don’t assume, for instance, that a storm “isn’t going to be as bad as they say.” It might not be so bad, but do you want to bet your career on it?
- Keep all of your safety equipment in tip top shape. You don’t want to give people any wiggle room to say that that safety harness would have snapped eventually with or without the earthquake.
- This goes for your vehicles, as well. It’s hard to claim a small flood as an “act of God” when your truck was the only one slipping and sliding across the road.
An act of God can be a sort of Get Out Of Jail Free card when it comes to liability, but you can’t play it every time.
Read more
Summertime fun often includes swimming in the pool. Whether you already have a pool in your backyard or are thinking about putting one in this year, you may wonder if your home insurance will cover your pool.
Personal Liability Coverage
If someone is injured while swimming in your pool, the personal liability coverage on your homeowners insurance policy will pay for it. Update this coverage amount when you install your pool to ensure it’s sufficient.
Related Structure Coverage
Your insurance company may classify your new in-ground pool as a related structure, similar to a storage shed or detached garage. Increase the related structure coverage on your homeowners insurance policy to cover damage to your pool. Keep in mind that this coverage won’t pay for pool maintenance.
Geography Matters
Find the majority of backyard pools in warm climates. Based on this fact, insurance costs for your pool may be cheaper if you live in the warmer southern states and more expensive if you live in cooler northern states.
Erect a Fence
To prevent accidents in the pool, many insurance companies stipulate that you surround your pool with a fence that includes a self-latching gate. Consider whether or not you have the space and ability to erect a fence before you install a pool.
Consider the Diving Board or Slide
Some insurance companies won’t cover accidents that happen on the diving board or slide. That policy will influence whether or not you install one of those pool accessories.
Consider an Umbrella Policy
Even if your homeowners insurance policy covers your pool, consider an umbrella policy. It provides extra coverage after your homeowners insurance limits are met. The extra protection gives you peace of mind if you need to file any pool-related claims.
A backyard pool provides hours of fun every summer. Before you install one, though, talk to your insurance agent. Get all the facts.
Read more
Millions of Americans take to the water each year during boating season, traveling the coastlines, rivers, lakes and canals. The watercraft range from simple rowboats to jet skis to small motorboats to luxury yachts. Boat owners spend significant amounts of money buying and maintaining their boats.
The need for insurance protection when the boat is on the water is obvious, but many boat owners question the need for it during the off-season. However, insurance is just as important when the boat is in storage as when the owner is using it.
A typical Boat insurance policy provides a package of coverages, including:
- Damage to the boat, motor, and trailer
- Damage to portable property used in the maintenance and operation of the boat, including things like anchors, life jackets, oars, tools, skis and surfboards, lights, and fire extinguishers
- Damage to other types of property, including sports equipment, clothing, and other personal effects
- Damage to equipment on shore, such as boat covers
- The cost of recovering a sunk or stranded boat
- The cost of emergency service and towing
- Damage to non-owned or substitute boats
- Loss of fishing tackle
- Liability coverage for injuries or damages for which the boat owner is legally responsible
- Coverage for injuries the boat owner or others on the boat suffer in an accident with an uninsured watercraft
A boat owner will need these coverages if their boat gets into a collision with another boat, or if thieves steal scuba gear from it, or if fire damages the motor. However, losses are still possible while the boat is out of the water. Progressive Insurance reports that nearly two out of every 10 boat claims it receives from northern states occur between Labor Day and Memorial Day, when most owners are not using their boats much.
Some examples of losses that could occur:
- The building which houses the boat during the winter burns to the ground.
- Vandals damage the boat in the middle of the night while it’s in the owner’s driveway.
- A neighbor’s child, playing in the owner’s yard, runs into the boat stored there and injures his head.
- Someone steals the boat and its trailer from the yard at a repair shop.
- While the boat is stored in the yard, heavy snow melt causes a flash flood that damages the boat’s interior, including the mechanical system and the radio.
Some insurance companies offer “disappearing deductibles,” where the deductibles for collision and damage losses from other causes decrease by a certain amount for every claim-free year. Those companies will grant this benefit only to boat owners who keep their insurance continuously in force with them.
One of our insurance agents can provide advice on the types and amounts of coverage a boat owner needs. We can also recommend insurance companies that have expertise in boating, good claims-paying practices, and reasonable prices. Insuring a boat all year round can be expensive, but compared to the cost of a large uninsured loss, it may well be worth the cost.
Read more
This was a very wet winter for us. But spring is here and the flower super blooms are amazing. It’s a season of new beginnings, where flowers bloom, trees grow new leaves and the weather gets warmer. While this may be a time to celebrate and enjoy the beauty of nature, it’s important to remember that springtime can also bring potential risks and hazards that could result in property damage or personal injury. As such, it is essential to have insurance protection in place to mitigate any potential losses.
Home insurance is one of the most important types of protection to consider during springtime. Heavy rainfall and strong winds are common during the spring season, and these can cause significant damage to your home. For instance, heavy rainfall could cause flooding or water damage to your home’s foundation, walls, or electrical systems. This could be costly to repair and could result in significant loss if not covered by insurance. Therefore, it is advisable to ensure that you have adequate insurance coverage for such eventualities.
Additionally, springtime can be a prime time for home improvement and renovation projects. From repairing leaky roofs to repainting walls, homeowners are often eager to spruce up their homes after a long winter. However, any construction or renovation work can potentially cause property damage, and it’s essential to have the right insurance coverage in place to protect against these risks. If you are planning on carrying out any renovations or remodeling work during springtime, it’s important to inform your insurance provider beforehand to ensure that you have adequate coverage for any potential damages.
Springtime is also a season of increased outdoor activities, such as gardening, barbecues, and sports. While these activities can be fun and exciting, they can also lead to personal injury or property damage. For instance, a gardening tool could accidentally cause injury to a neighbor, or a sports ball could break a window. In such cases, having liability insurance coverage can protect you from any legal or financial liability that may arise.
Similarly, springtime is also a time when many people start planning their vacations and road trips. Before embarking on any travel, it’s important to review your insurance policies and ensure that you have adequate coverage. This may include travel insurance, which can protect against any trip cancellations, medical emergencies, or lost luggage.
Springtime is a season of change and new beginnings, but it can also bring potential risks and hazards that could result in property damage or personal injury. As such, it’s important to have insurance protection in place to mitigate any potential losses. Home insurance, liability insurance, and travel insurance are just a few types of protection that should be considered during this time of year. By taking the necessary precautions and having the right insurance coverage in place, you can enjoy the beauty of springtime with peace of mind. Get in touch with us, your Scurich team is happy to help answer any questions.
Read more
Home invasions and vandalism is on the rise. As many as one in five homes are invaded annually in the United States. One tool thieves use is lock bumping. They use a bump or rapping key to unlock pin tumbler locks and gain access to your home. Learn about lock bumping as you take steps to secure your home and peace of mind.
How Lock Bumping Works
Typically, you can only open a door with a key that’s specific to that lock. The key’s design aligns with the lock, pushes the pins into place above the shear line and unlocks the door. A bump key is designed to also unlock a door except the thief inserts it into the keyhole and taps the key with a screwdriver or hammer. The bumping pushes the pins in the lock above the shear line and pops the lock.
Thieves can easily learn how to make a bump key thanks to numerous online how-to videos and instructions. With a collection of 10 different bump keys, they can open 90 percent of the doors in the U.S., and the entire process takes a few seconds. Tips That Protect Your Home From Lock Bumping
Protect your home and prevent lock bumping with several steps.
- Buy a different pin tumbler lock. Certain locks are harder to bump. When shopping for new locks, look for ones that are:
- Made with security pins
- Not made from hardened steel
- Designed with programmable side bars and not top pins
- Equipped with a trap pin
- Shallow drilled where one of the interior pins is slightly shallower than the others
- Change the spring tension. Stronger top springs in the lock make bumping harder, so ask a locksmith to make at least two of the top springs firmer.
- Replace the traditional pin tumbler lock. Instead, invest in a disk tumbler, time, combination, electronic or electromagnetic lock. They don’t contain pins and are less vulnerable to bumping.
- Reinforce existing locks. If you don’t want to replace all the locks in your home, replace the door’s metal strike plates. It mounts on the doorjamb and costs about $10.
- Lock your door always. Whether you’re hanging out at home, working in the yard or garage, going to work or taking an extended vacation, lock your doors. Don’t make it easy for a thief to enter your home!
Purchase adequate insurance. Homeowners and renters insurance won’t prevent lock bumping, but it can give you peace of mind. With the right insurance, you can replace any of your possessions that are lost, stolen or vandalized.
Your home’s security and peace of mind are vital. Understand and prevent lock bumping as you protect your home and family.
Read more
