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The relationship that you have with any insurance company becomes stronger when more and more policies are tied to your account.   It only makes sense that if you are bringing more dollars into a business, that business may want to spend more time, effort and energy in serving you, their client. This additional service may be the added time to answer your questions, find additional discounts that you may qualify for if other conditions are met, or simply the one on one relationship that you might expect from the company that is financially protecting your hard earned assets.  As your life changes and your insurance needs change over time, it is beneficial to do a complete review of the policies and keep them “tuned” to your changing needs.  I believe that this kind of review is important at least every 5 years and sooner if you have life changing events like a new baby, a new spouse or divorce, or a change in work or a move to another home.

Insurance discounts vary from company to company and can “slip” off if you are not paying attention.  All students should be checking to make sure that the “Good Student” discount is still in place.  Every 6 months, this massive discount may need to be re-qualified for by providing a copy of your grades… These can be huge dollars that should remain in your pocket, if you had simply forwarded the information on to your insurance carrier.   Be sure to ask your specific company for all available discounts and what it will take for you to get them!

Some of the biggest discounts for drivers under the age of 25 is simply letting the insurance company know that you are now married or that you have become a parent.  These life changing events tend to affect the cost of your auto insurance in a wonderful way!  Moving into a less populated area, being able to park your car in a garage vs parking in an open area, having an alarm on your car… are all chances to lower your insurance costs.

Regardless of the name of your insurance company or agent, having the ability to communicate and ask questions is the ticket to reducing the overall cost of your insurance.  Making one call to one agent, who knows who you are,   is preferable to calling a telephone tree and speaking with a new “REP.” every time.

In recent weeks, I have had numerous claims that have been denied or greatly reduced because clients are thinking that “if it’s in the home, it’s protected by the home policy.”  If you are a plumber, electrician, framer (think any of the building trades) your tools are considered your business property and there is little if any coverage that extends to these items if they are stolen out of the truck or the garage!

Another example to be aware of is the bookkeeper or accountant that is working from the house.  The last client I worked with was the PIANO TEACHER. The office furniture, Fax machine, filing cabinet, copy machine, GRAND PIANO etc … are not insured under the homeowners insurance policy if it is part of your business.

In each of the above examples we have been addressing the property, but perhaps the biggest exposure that is not covered is the Liability protection that is NOT EXTENDED from your homeowners policy. The client that comes by the house to pick up the payroll report, and while at your house trips or is bitten by the family dog.   The music students that come to your home and get hurt for whatever reason…

The solution is simple. Let your insurance agent know about your unique business exposure, and let your agent give you the different solutions to the problem. Today there are numerous insurance companies that have created a specifically designed policy for the “BUSINESS IN THE HOME”. It is the same type of coverage that you would enjoy if your business were in an office down the street, or a strip mall around the block. The premiums for these types of policies are usually very inexpensive and offer the protection that your home owners insurance does not.

Running a Business from the home is just one example of limitations that your homeowners policy has, but there are others that should be noted as well.

Gold and Silver bullion or coins have become very popular in recent months due to the economy. NOT COVERED with your homeowners insurance. Be very careful of thinking that adding a vault at home will take care of this risk.  The vault is only good if you are not there when the bad guys come.  If you are there, the bad guys will have you opening up the vault in seconds!!!

Jewelry, furs, Silverware, Guns, Rugs/Tapestries, Computers, Stamps, Securities, Cash, Trading Cards all have limited coverage under a homeowners insurance policy but can be addressed on an individual basis that fits with each clients needs.

In summary, your homeowners insurance is designed to protect against certain things.  It is probably better to know what is NOT covered instead of what is covered. You can then make an educated decision as to what is important for you.

If you think that someone else is taking care of the insurance for you, I would caution you to think again.  The Association may have a “Master policy” that insures the structure, but chances are, that policy has a very high deductible or may only be covering the outside walls.  YOU NEED to know what that Master policy covers.  It makes little difference if you own a Condo to live in or you have purchased it as investment property…. The CONDO INSURANCE policy you purchase needs to include what the Master policy does not.

The Association’s CC&R’s (Codes Covenants and Restrictions) are the ultimate laws that direct how insurance issues will be handled.  Who is responsible for the damage to interior walls, fixtures, flooring, roofing, heating and cooling?  If it is the Association’s Master policy, who is responsible to pay the deductible?  How high is that deductible?  These questions are better answered before lightning strikes or the toilet overflows for 8 hours!

Besides the physical damage to the structure, each owner should also take into consideration the replacement cost value of their contents inside the condo and most importantly, the liability issues associated with home ownership.  The Master policy purchased by the homeowners association does nothing for your personal property nor  does it provide you with insurance for your personal liability exposure.

Finding out at the time of a catastrophic claim is the worst time to find out that your HOA ( Home Owners Association) just reduced the monthly association fees because they stripped the master policy of protection that you were counting on.  What this means, is that keeping aware of what the Board of Directors are doing is also critical in protecting your home.  I have found that every few years, the newly elected Board of Directors review the association’s balance sheets and when they see the high cost of insurance, start working to bring that figure down.  Make sure that you are on their mailing list for “News about the HOA”.  Many times, this important information is sent to the Condo unit’s address and not the mailing address of the owner!

If there was one thing that I would wish that all my Condo clients would do, especially in Arizona, is to invest in a water shut off valve to the house, making an easy place to turn off all the water.  One of the leading causes of Homeowners claims in Arizona is plumbing related water damage that occurs while the owner is away.  Living in Arizona and dealing with dry heat, most Arizonans try to get away during the hottest part of the Summer.  This is when rubber hoses on the washing machine tend to dry and crack and also when supply lines to the toilets tend to lose their “grip”.  It would be a dream come true if the water was shut off before this happened!

Please visit our website for a free Arizona Condo Insurance Quote.

Each item below has limited coverage in the event of a covered loss. (Some items are not covered at all.)

1. Cash, Coins and other cash equivalents . (stamps, Travelers checks, Bank Notes)
2. Property used or intended to be used in Business. (TOOLS IF YOU MAKE YOUR LIVIMG FROM THEM)
3. Home computers
4. Rugs, Tapestries, Wall hangings
5. Silverware and Gold ware
6. Guns/Firearms
7. Jewelry
8. Trading cards, Comic Books, Coin Collections
9. GOLD/SILVER Bullion
10. Watercraft and equipment
11. Trailers
12. Cars stored in the garage (ONLY AUTO POLICIES INSURE CARS)

The insurance policy contract provides coverage for some things that happen to your home and contents…. But not for EVERYTHING THAT CAN HAPPEN. Here are areas that you should be aware of:

Losses to your home because of:

Arizona House

1. Birds, rodents, insects or domestic animals are not covered. (When your dog goes crazy on New Year’s Eve and rips down all the drapes… not covered!)
2. Damage to your home caused by deterioration, settling, contamination or nuclear hazard… not covered. (That old roof, is probably not an insurance problem. The crack in the tile floor, probably not.)
3. Earth movement including earthquake and mudslide is not covered under your home policy.
4. Flood is not a covered loss under a home policy. (Toilets overflowing are not floods!) Flood usually happens when it rains for 40 days and 40 nights… If you see animals going by the house in groups of two chances are that there will be a FLOOD. ) If you purchased a FLOOD policy, you will have a chance to make a claim.

In recent years, more and more people are running a business from their home. The common belief is that if the business is in the home that the home policy will cover the business. STOP THINKING THIS!! Your business in home needs the same type of business policy as if you were renting space in a strip mall or had your own business location. Your home policy was never intended to insure the business contents or liability exposure.

To find out how much coverage you need or see if you are currently under-insured, please fill out one of our free Arizona Home Insurance quote forms.

I love insurance for what it was designed to do. It protects you from financial loss for certain things, but not everything. The best way to make sure that your unique situation is taken into consideration when purchasing any insurance contract is to take the time to work with your agent. Go over the areas that are limited. Agree to taking on the risk yourself or passing it on to the insurance company for additional premium, but most importantly, don’t learn about your contract after the loss happens!