Following are some great reminders of home preparations in anticipation of winter:

Maintain Gutters
Remove leaves, acorns, sticks and other debris from gutters so melting snow and ice can flow freely. This can prevent “ice damming”–a condition where water is unable to properly drain through the gutters and instead seeps into the house causing water to drip from the ceiling and walls. You may also consider installing gutter guards. Available in most hardware and home stores, gutter guards are screens that prevent debris from entering the gutter and direct the flow of water away from the house and into the ground.

Trim Trees and Remove Dead Branches
Ice, snow and wind can cause weak trees or branches to break, damaging your home, car or injuring someone walking on your property.

Check Insulation
Add extra insulation to attics, basements and crawl spaces. If too much heat escapes through the attic it can cause snow or ice to melt on the roof. The water re-freezes causing more snow and ice to build up. This can result in a collapsed roof, and can contribute to ice damming. Ideally, the attic should be five to ten degrees warmer than the outside air. Well-insulated basements and crawl spaces will also help protect pipes from freezing.

Maintain Pipes
Wrap pipes with heating tape and insulate unfinished rooms such as garages that frequently have exposed pipes. Also, check for cracks and leaks. Have minor pipe damage fixed immediately to prevent much costlier repairs in the future.

Keep the House Warm
The temperature in your house should be at least 65 degrees. The temperature inside the walls where the pipes are located is substantially colder than the walls themselves. A temperature lower than 65 degrees will not keep the pipes from freezing.

For a more complete list go to one of our websites: JG Elliott & McBrayer Insurance Centers. Protecting People’s Stuff…It’s what we do!

So how do you become a credit savvy college student? It starts at home. Parents and students should come up with a plan on how to manage the financial burden that comes with a college education, particularly the use of credit cards.

According to Sallie Mae, the governing body that manages national student loans, the typical graduate leaves school with more than $20,000 in debt from loans and credit cards. With the cost of a college education going up twice as fast the typical family income, this debt burden will grow if it is not handled properly. While getting that college degree can add to a great future, new graduates need the financial skills necessary to manage their money along the way.

Regardless of what students need to know to be a doctor or a lawyer, they really need to thoroughly learn and understand Personal Finance 101. Because credit is a financial fact of life, and your first card starts a history that will affect all your future transactions, learning to use credit cards could be one of the most important lessons a for a college student.

Additional Information: Credit 101

 Before you begin camping season, consider the following common camping dangers:

Source: www.treadlightly.org

Springtime brings warmer weather, but also brings conditions such as fast melting snow combined with severe storms and heavy rainfall that increase flood risk. During the spring, frozen land prevents melting snow or rainfall from seeping into the ground. Each cubic foot of compacted snow contains gallons of water and once the snow melts, it can result in the overflow of streams, rivers and lakes. Add spring storms to that, and the result is often serious, spring flooding. Just a steady rainfall can cause rivers, lakes or other bodies of water to overflow their banks—threatening the communities near them.  Floods happen in all 50 states: on coasts, on mountains, along rivers, in the desert, in towns and cities of every size. In recent years, roughly 25% of all flood insurance claims came from areas not considered high risk. Most important is that most property insurance policies do not cover flood losses. If your community is a participant in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), you’re eligible for federally sponsored Flood Insurance coverage for your home or business. For more information go the J. G. Elliott Insurance Center website where you will find two recently posted articles about flood and being prepared for other natural disasters. Remember to “request a quote” while your on the site!

1.   Insuring a home for its real estate value rather than for the cost of rebuilding.

2. Selecting an insurance company by price alone

3. Dropping flood insurance

4. Only purchasing the legally required amount of liability for  your car

5. Neglecting to buy renters insurance

 Other Common Mistakes:

• Underestimating the replacement cost and inadequate listing of home contents

Remember to review your policy with your agent every year. Performing a walk-thru is an invaluable reminder of items that might have otherwise gone forgotten. Better still is performing a home inventory using “Know Your Stuff, free home inventory software.” Be sure to include the not so obvious items such as clothing, carpet, ornaments, curtains etc.  You will need to estimate the cost to replace them at today’s pricing, not the price you paid for them.

•  Neglect in including items that are stored outside the home.

Many homeowners have a storage shed in the back yard or in another location. These units are sometimes used to store expensive items such as bicycles or yard maintenance equipment. Most standard policies also cover structures that are detached from your home such as a garage, tool shed, or gazebo. However, generally these structures are covered for only about 10% of the amount of insurance you have on the structure of your home. Items stored in a rented storage unit may not be covered at all. So, depending on the items and where you have them stored, you may need more coverage. 

• Underestimating the true value of your possessions

In the hopes of lowering premiums, individuals will intentionally underestimate the true value of their possessions.  This is a serious mistake if the time ever comes for you to make a claim. If lowering your premium is the goal, a better idea would be to request a higher deductable.

•  Neglecting to “schedule” high valued items (i.e. guns, jewelry, antiques, etc.)

Expensive items like jewelry, furs, firearms, fine arts and silverware are covered, but there are usually dollar limits if they are stolen. Generally, you are covered for between $1,000 to $2,000 for all of your jewelry and furs. To insure these items to their full value, purchase a special personal property endorsement or floater and insure the item for its appraised value.

Many people don’t really know what is and what is not covered on their insurance policy and have a tendency to draw their own conclusions. Understanding how your policy works is to your benefit. Discovering the truth of policy coverages after a claim might not be the best scenario. The best advice is good communications with your agent and being sure to inform your agent as to changes that might impact your coverage.

Here are some tips when considering insurance options:

Deductibles: You can save money by having a higher deductible on your policy. Typically, insurance companies will start giving discounts at a $500 deductible and increase the discount as your deductible increases. Most companies offer deductibles up to $10,000. Be careful, however, because many mortgage companies will not allow you to exceed a $1,000 deductible, so check with your lender before opting for a higher deductible.

Replacement Coverage: Most homes are eligible for replacement cost coverage that will replace the damaged part of your home without deduction for depreciation.  Many insurance companies will even allow increased replacement cost coverage in excess of your policy limit to cover increased building cost.  Be sure to ask your agent for “replacement cost coverage.”

Liability Coverage: Liability covers you against lawsuits for injury or damage that you or family members negligently cause to other people. It may also pay for damage caused by your pets. The liability portion of your policy pays for both the cost of defending you in court and any court awards—up to the limit of your policy. You are also covered not just in your home, but anywhere in the world.

Available Discounts: Make sure that you are getting all of the credits for which you are eligible. Providing security measures such as deadbolts for doors, a burglar alarm, or installing a security system may make you eligible for additional credit. The same holds true for having fire and smoke alarms. The most common discount is the multi-policy discount. By combining both your home and auto policies with the same company, you are given a percentage discount on both.

Review your homeowner policy at least every three years. We all know that life changes. Make sure your insurance policies keep up! For more information, call one of our personal lines insurance professionals today!

Request a Quote  

www.jgelliott.com

Locations:

J. G. Elliott Insurance Center, Scottsbluff, NE 308-672-5106

McBrayer Insurance Center, Torrington, WY 307-532-2147

McBrayer Insurance Center, Wheatland, WY 307-322-4025

 Protecting People’s stuff, it’s what we do!

Crop insurance is unique to other types of insurance in that the government subsidizes the premium. This is due to the Federal Crop Insurance Act. It was first  passed by Congress in 1938. Prior to the implementation of this program, private insurers had difficulty providing producers an affordable insurance product. Unfortunately, the program was not heavily participated in due to the high cost to producers.

Trying to increase participation, Congress passed new legislation in 1980. This was marked by creating a partnership between the U. S. Government and private insurance companies. Essentially, the Federal Government would provide the financial support while the insurance companies delivered the product. While the new arrangement helped with expanding the program, participation was still low. Even into the 1990’s participation remained in the 30 percent range.

In 1994, the Federal Crop Insurance Reform dramatically restructured the program. And in 1996, the Risk Management Agency (RMA) was created in the U.S. Department of Agriculture to administer the Federal Crop Insurance Program. By 1998, more than 180 million acres of farmland were insured under the program. The program continues to grow; documentation from the 2010 growing season shows a much greater number.

Below are a few interesting facts:

• In 2010, 256 million acres of farmland were protected through the Federal crop insurance program.

• There are 16 private sector insurance companies that currently sell and service policies through the Federal crop insurance program. Altogether, these companies issued more than 1.1 million policies in 2010.

• According to Dr. Bert Little, Tarleton State University, the rate of fraud in the Federal crop insurance program is estimated to be less than one-half of one percent. By insurance industry standards, this is an extremely low rate of fraud.

• More than 80 percent of insurable farmland in the United States is now protected through the Federal crop insurance program. In 1985, that number stood at less than 18 percent.

Have you secured your revenue protection policy? If not, be sure to stop in to see Dean Kamerzel at J. G. Elliott Insurance Center. Dean has over 19 years experience in the crop insurance industry! We have a team of professionals at JGE writing insurance to cover almost anything you need to insure. Protecting people’s stuff, that’s what we do!

Source: http://www.cropinsuranceinamerica.org/index.php

Here are a couple of tips to help you get through the winter days:

• Ice-proof your windows with vinegar! Frost on its way? Just fill a spray bottle with three parts vinegar to one part water & spritz it on all your windows at night. In the morning, they’ll be clear of icy mess. Vinegar contains acetic acid, which raises the melting point of water—preventing water from freezing!
• Prevent car doors from freezing shut with cooking spray! Spritz cooking oil on the rubber seals around car doors & rub it in with a paper towel.  The cooking spray prevents water from melting into the rubber
• Fog-proof your windshield with shaving cream! Spray some shaving cream on the inside of your windshield & wipe if off with paper towels. Shaving cream has many of the same ingredients found in commercial defoggers.
• De-ice your lock in seconds with hand sanitizer! Just put some hand sanitizer gel on the key & the lock & the problems solved!