For example, from a homeowner’s insurance perspective, having an annual new year’s party once a year is a much different circumstance then having people over twice a month to party. This is because your property is at a much higher risk from people being over on a regular basis rather than once every year. This increases the exposure your homeowner’s insurance company is taking for you. The most common exposures are:

1. Owning a trampoline – extreme risk to owners and uninvited trampoline jumpers
2. Parties involving alcohol – when alcohol is involved, accidents are more likely to occur
3. Dogs – even though many pets are great animals, some have a bad reputation, and others would not be considered ‘good neighbors’. Though Rottweilers, Dobbermans, and Pit Bulls have that reputation, one of the largest losses at Seely & Durland came from the bite of a Golden Retriever. In excess of $1.5 million!
4. Unfenced pools – individuals can freely have access to ones pool if unfenced, allowing risks to more likely occur.

The reason for having homeowners insurance is to provide coverage for those unanticipated losses that can turn into a large financial liability. Withholding specific information that is used to determine your rate or insurance coverage can result in your policy being canceled and/or claims being denied.

One of the best ways to ensure coverage for those all possible circumstances is having a one-on- one conversation with your Trusted Choice Independent Insurance Agent. Even if you think it may not matter, let your insurance company know of any alterations in your life or assets during the policy term to better yourself!

Nothing spoils a cookout quicker than an uncontrolled fire, so before you throw down the burgers and hot dogs on the grill, read a few of these safety tips!

• Check connections between the tank and the fuel line.
• Thoroughly clean gas grill after each use.
• Keep a fire extinguisher close at hand.
• Never throw a match in a grill particularly after the gas has been on three seconds.
• Don’t leave a grill unattended.
• Do not wear a loose clothing while grilling and wear shoes.
• Always use the grill’s starter button, if the starter is broken do not use the grill.
• Remember to cover the grill to avoid to corrosion and rusting in both the controls and gas line.
• Be careful when grilling food with high fat content because they can produce high flames.
• Never throw away the owner’s manual, follow the manufacturer’s directions carefully.
• Never grill/barbecue in enclosed areas, as deadly carbon monoxide can be produced.
• Dispose of hot coals properly by soaking them with water, then stirring to ensure that fire is extinguished.
• Keep flammable objects AWAY from grills.

Independent agents can appreciate a good cookout, but they would prefer not paying you a visit because you burnt your house down!

1. Removing all of the interior/exterior trim and strip the paint
2. Fix dents and waves appropriately
3. Re-installing the motor, transmission
4. Assemble the body panels and attach all remaining parts to the body
5. Reassemble exterior trim, install interior, and repaint vehicle

The point I’m making is that going through this whole process is expensive and time consuming, and you don’t want to be in a situation where you aren’t properly insured. A very common mistake made by collectors is…

1. An insurance company paying for a client’s loss who recently reported their vehicle stolen, when in reality the car was not stolen or wasn’t in the client’s possession to begin with.
2. If someone purchases auto insurance coverage online knowing they just damaged their car, they lie about when the damages occurred, and then receive a claim payment.
3. Someone burns down their own house to collect the insurance.
4. Misclassifying vehicles (saying its garaged here when its  actually garaged elsewhere)

Fraud costs large sums of money for insurance companies, therefore, how do you suspect they attempt to recover these losses?…

• Damages to wedding dresses
• The theft of wedding presents
• Issues with wedding photos or video’s
• The bride’s or groom’s wedding band, if lost or damaged.
• Postponement of wedding because of severe weather

In 2011, the average American wedding cost around $25,000. There isn’t much that would be worse than having, the biggest day of your life ruined AND losing some or all that money.

Cancelations of weddings occur more often than you may think. This is because we cannot anticipate certain circumstances, for example…

On average in the United States, someone dies because of…

The average residential home loses around 15% of water delivered from leaks and 22 gallons of water are lost to leaks each day…