​Your home insurance policy will probably cover any liability claims owing to a house party. But you're going to need to take a few steps to make sure that your insurer has no reason to deny your claim. Here's what you're going to want to do:

• Figure out your maximum occupancy and stick to it. If you don't know the number, get your square footage, divide it by 36, and round the number down. If there's a fire, you don't want to have your claim denied because you ignored the fire code.
• Lock away your valuables. Chances are there's going to be a handful of people you don't know at the party. Inviting several strangers into your home and leaving the silverware on display right next to the bar is asking for trouble.
• Talk safety with your guests. Make sure to lay down some ground rules, and don't be afraid to speak up when someone starts sprinting laps around the pool. At the very least, do everything within your power to keep the guests safe so that if something does happen, it's not due to neglect on your part.
• Let your insurer know. It's a good idea to call your agent any time you're inviting additional risk onto your property.
• Check IDs. This may seem excessive at a small get-together of a dozen people, but with 40 or 50 people on the premises, a few teenagers might slip in. Even if you don't get charged with serving alcohol to minors, it's still never a good mix to have them on-site and unaccounted for.
• Inform your neighbors. On that note, if you have a Homeowners Association or any other groups which might have an opinion on the matter, you'll want to get in touch with them before you decide to host a party.

It really comes down to giving your best effort to hosting a fun, safe party. When it comes to insurance, that best effort serves two functions:

1. You don't want anyone getting hurt in the first place.
2. If something happens, your insurer can't say that you simply sat by and let it happen.

You can't prevent every accident, and you can't guarantee a 100 percent safe environment. But trying your best means that your insurer has little reason to deny your claim.

Blog Post by: ITC

​You need to document your possessions if you want them to be covered under your home insurance policy. But how far should that extend? What needs to be documented?

​The short answer: Everything.

That said, some things should be documented more extensively than others.

You want to have a document of all your possessions, because all those little things might not seem to be worth covering. But when you've lost them all in a fire, the losses start adding up, and you'll be glad you have documentation.

Now, filing paperwork for every single Blu-Ray you have — or every single book on your shelf — might sound like an insurmountable task. When it comes to situations like this, your insurer might be happy with simple video or photo documentation. A video document is great because you can narrate the video while you give a tour of the house. You can explain what you're filming, and anything you forget to mention will be caught on video. You will want to talk to your insurer about whether this will be sufficient documentation. For many providers, it will be.

For more expensive items — such as TVs and silverware collections — you'll want to file receipts and photos. Serial numbers always help when it comes to electronics and appliances.

While documenting your possessions, don't forget the garage, closets, storage sheds, and all the items you tucked out of the way under the bed.

Oftentimes, the payout for a home insurance claim is not a precise, to-the-penny payment for every single loss. Instead, it’s a rounded estimate. It can be difficult to prove the exact value of your possessions, even if you do have a receipt for every single item. This is the case because of inflation, depreciation and similar financial and economic concepts. Put simply: Your insurer probably knows how much a Blu-Ray costs to replace. But they might not know how much your art collection or antique armoire is worth.

Blog post by: ITC

​According to experts, the best investment that one can make is often real estate. This is particularly true when the housing market is thriving. When one invests in the market, there is always the chance of loss. Therefore, many investors choose to buy a second home to rent out to other people or for vacation. If you want to buy a vacation home, you should buy a home insurance policy for it. Here is some information about how to choose a home insurance policy for a vacation home.

Getting Second Home Insurance
If you are buying a vacation home, the first thing you should do is take a look at your homeowners' policy to see if it covers additional homes. If your current policy does, you may be able to extend the liability to protect an additional home.

However, in most cases, the best choice is to buy a second home insurance policy to protect the contents and structure of your vacation home. Some homeowners choose to use the same insurer for both their year-round home and vacation home. Therefore, the insurer can advise them on the best course of action.

Keep in mind that vacation homes are frequently viewed as riskier to insure than primary homes. Therefore, you may end up paying a higher price for insurance for your vacation home than your primary home. You might also need more-specific coverage.

Second Home Insurance Cost
Most home insurance companies increase premium costs by a certain percentage for second homes. You will probably end up getting a discount if you get a second policy with the same insurance company, however. The reason for this is that many insurance companies offer discounts for multiple policies.

Be sure not to make the mistake of buying a policy and claiming that the policy is for a primary home rather than a vacation home. In the event that you have to file a complaint, the home insurance company will likely discover that the home is a vacation home and not a primary home. The insurance company could deny your claim as a result. That’s because the home might qualify as a vacant property, which might not have coverage under a standard home policy.

There are several other ways you can save on vacation home insurance. If you have a full-time caretaker live in your vacation home while you're not living there, you can get a discount. Installing a security alarm could also decrease the amount of your home insurance policy. However, it is possible that you will spend more on subscription fees than you save. Anything that will prevent you from having claims will likely lower your premium costs.

Blog post by: ITC

​It’s easy to think that buying auto insurance is one of those things that we’ll eventually get the hang of. But the truth is, it can be confusing to even seasoned drivers. Whether you're a brand-new driver, or just want to make sure that you're getting the best insurance you can buy, here are three of the most common mistakes that you'll want to avoid next time you buy a new policy:

1. Buying the legal minimum protection. In most states, the only legal requirement for auto insurance is liability. This is the insurance protection necessary to cover the other driver if you are found to be at fault in an accident. Liability-only coverage means no comprehensive or collision protection. It also leaves nothing to protect you against theft or vandalism. Buying the legal minimum of protection legally implies that you’re willing to pay for these costs out-of-pocket. Additional protection can be considerably more affordable than you'd expect. So, it's worth looking through your options and getting more protection — even if you don't think your car is anything special.
2. Shopping exclusively on price. Just because an insurer can offer you the lowest price doesn't mean they're your best option. Look up your insurer on websites like the Better Business Bureau and find out if they pay claims on time, if they're easy to work with, if they deal fairly with their customers. Look at your policy and make sure it provides a level of protection that you're comfortable with no creative exclusions.
3. Leaving your insurer uninformed. Anything your insurer might need to know, tell them. If you initially told them that you were driving five minutes to and from work, and now you're commuting twenty minutes, let them know. If you had to rehaul the engine, or if you got married and now your spouse drives the car sometimes, let your insurer know. The only way that your insurer can guarantee adequate coverage is if they know what you're driving, where you're driving it, and who else might be behind the wheel.

It doesn’t have to be difficult to get the best insurance coverage at great prices. Don't be afraid to put a little time and effort into the process, know what you're buying, and know who you're buying from.

Blog post by: ITC

​If you're looking to rent an office, you should also look into business insurance. Whether or not you expect to have clients come visit you, it's still a good idea to protect yourself. And your landlord may require it anyway.

Check Your Landlord's Requirements
Many commercial landlords require you to provide proof of coverage before they will offer you a lease or allow you to move in. The most common requirement is a commercial general liability policy that will cover damage that you to do to the building or the property of the other business owners. The same commercial general liability policy will also usually cover damage or theft caused by people you invite to the building to the landlord or the other businesses.

Consider Accidental Damage
Let's say you buy a coffee pot, and it shorts out and causes a large fire. The landlord may sue you for damage to the building, the other businesses may sue you for damage to their property, and both may sue you for lost income while the building is unusable. These could all be viable claims if your negligence caused the fire or some other accident.

To protect your business, you probably want to carry insurance even if your landlord doesn't force you to.

Consider Personal Injuries
Now assume a client who had an appointment with you slipped on coffee spilled on the tile floor and had to go to the hospital. Maybe it was your fault. Maybe it wasn't your fault. Either way, the client can sue you, unless you figure out whose coffee it was. Maybe you'll eventually win in court, but will still have to pay for a lawyer.

This type of scenario is real. It’s also why you shouldn't think nothing will happen that could get you sued in a "safe" office.

Protect Your Own Belongings
After you've guarded against lawsuits, it's time to protect your own belongings. Adding property coverage to your business insurance policy can give you protection against theft and accidental damage. Be sure to read the policy carefully, as there may be separate limits on such items as computers and software. You also want to make sure that your total business insurance package covers anything that could reasonably happen without gaps.

Blog post by: ITC

​When you get into an accident that seems relatively minor, you may end up surprised when your insurance company declares your vehicle totaled. Also known as declaring a total loss, this decision relies on different information than you might expect. Understanding the total loss formula will give you some insight into what might happen the next time an accident damages your vehicle.

The Total Loss Formula
As with most other insurance decisions, the adjuster handling your case uses a formula to determine if the car is repairable or a total loss. Even minor car repairs are expensive, so older cars with lower values are often less expensive to replace than repair. A repaired vehicle often doesn't function quite the same or offer the same safety benefits either.

By declaring a total loss, the insurance company can reimburse you with the money to buy a replacement vehicle rather than spending more to cover the repairs. When the car insurance company declares a vehicle as totaled, they usually must pay you its fair market value on the day of the accident. Remember, this is the car’s depreciated cash value at the time of the loss.

What Happens to Totaled Cars?
You can't keep a car that the car insurance company declares as a total loss. In exchange for the reimbursement of its value, the insurance company becomes the legal owner of the damaged vehicle. They sell these cars to salvage yards to recoup a little of their cost.

Salvage yards generally break these cars down into salable parts and recycle the rest, but cars with limited damage may undergo repairs and end up resold as running vehicles again. This means you may see your old totaled car driving around again one day, but it's highly unlikely.

Can I Dispute a Declaration of Total Loss?
When you get into a minor collision but have a car with a very low market value, even a badly dented bumper could tip your car into a total loss. If you want to keep your vehicle, you can try disputing the declaration.

Hire a private vehicle appraiser to make their own assessment of your vehicle's condition and value to back up your claim. If the auto insurance company disagrees, you can argue the case in litigation, but must prove the vehicle costs less to repair than to replace to win the claim.

Getting compensated an adequate value of a totaled car should help you find a reasonable replacement. If you're concerned, talk to your auto insurance company about how they handle declarations of total loss before you get into an accident.

​Owning a vehicle is a big responsibility. Even if you never take it out onto the road, it tends to be a good decision to maintain proper auto insurance on it. This can help protect your investment. However, the laws on this differ from one state to the next. A vehicle not on the road may not legally have to have coverage. But, what should you do?

Protecting the Value of the Vehicle
Perhaps you plan to park a car in the garage for a few months to a year. You want to keep it, but you do not plan to drive it. In this case, you may not legally need auto insurance. But having it can prove to be very important to you. For example, if someone breaks into your home and damages the vehicle, you want to be sure you have coverage for it. Storm damage can also occur. With comprehensive car insurance, you have protection in place for it.

Protecting Valuable or Classic Vehicles
Most drivers should maintain a policy on their valuable older car. Antiques and vintage cars tend to have significant value. And, it is harder to obtain parts to make repairs on them. For this reason, your policy should reflect the value of the car and the way you use it. Most classic car auto insurance policies are affordable. You can choose a low mileage policy. This can reduce your costs significantly.

Is There a Chance Someone Will Take It onto the Road?
Another risk occurs when someone does venture out onto the road with the car. For example, a driver in your home may decide to see if the car still runs well. They get behind the wheel. And, they collide with a telephone pole. Worse yet, they may cause damage to someone else’s vehicle. In these situations, it is always wise to have a comprehensive policy, a collision insurance policy, and general liability coverage. Even just five minutes on the road can make it worthwhile.

If you are unsure what is right for you, discuss your options with your auto insurance provider. Find out what type and level of coverage is best for your situation. In many situations, your agent can work with you to find cost-effective car insurance. These policies can reflect the limited amount of time you operate the car.

Blog post by: ITC

​When most people think of life insurance they think of the end of life needs. Most people think life insurance is just to cover the cost of estate taxes, paying off debt, replacing income, or mortgage protection which are all valid reasons for life insurance. Life insurance does more than just cover the loss of income or pay off debts when someone dies. If set up correctly; life insurance can care for you in a variety of ways. Agents use what is called a “rider” or insurance clause to add in the right protections for your future. With the right rider life insurance can give you financial protection against cancer or other critical illnesses that may strike later in life. Life insurance can be written to provide income if you become disabled. There is assistance with long term care if written into the life insurance policy as well.

Having a whole life policy or universal life policy can give financial benefits to the owner of the policy as well. These kinds of policies build what is called cash value. Over time an owner of a whole life or universal life policy can turn the policy into cash by surrendering it back to the insurance company. The longer the owner has this type of policy the more cash value builds. Cash value can be taken out as a loan for different needs. It is also a form of financial equity. Having a larger cash value can help get a mortgage or loan approved as well.

When life insurance is written correctly it can serve many different functions throughout your life. You need a knowledgeable agent to guide you through the process. Take your time and work with an agent to make sure your life insurance will protect your whole life not just leave money for your loved ones. We are always willing to help you answer questions like these. Feel free to get in touch with us.

Blog post by: Andrew Kitchen

​The first step when doing renovations in your home: Get in touch with your home insurance provider. Below, we'll run down the basics of what you need to know, but every insurance provider has their own rules regarding renovations, and the only way to avoid an insurance gap is to make sure that you keep them up to date every step of the way.

You Will Want To Up Your Limits
There are a lot of reasons, some obvious and some less-so, that you may want to up your limits when doing renovations, whether or not your insurer requires it. For instance:

• The big one: Your home is going to be worth more. You want your policy to cover what you have now, not what you had a month ago.
• Liability concerns multiply on an active construction site. If you have your buddy come over after work to help raise a wall for your new guest room and he injures his hand, you could be looking at everything from medical costs to lost wages. Let your insurer know you may be employing some part-time help (even unpaid, and unofficial), and find out what they recommend.

You will probably want to incrementally increase your limits as you go. A guest room addition may only take a week to construct, but more extensive kitchen remodeling may take months of small improvements. When you install that new sink, put up a new wall or re-tile the floor, get it appraised and covered.

Make Sure Your Contractors Carry Insurance
Technically, anyone can start a private contracting company simply by putting a listing in the local paper. Make sure your contractors are the real deal, and fully insured. If one of their employees is injured, you want to be sure that the costs are covered on workers' comp, and not on your own liability policy.

Reappraise The Home When Finished
You may have been incrementally increasing your limits along the way, but it's still a good idea to have someone take a look at the finished product so that you can insure your home for what it's really worth. A beautifully renovated home is more than just the sum of its parts.

Your home insurance provider will be a big help in guiding you through the process, so stay in touch with them, keep them up to date on how the project's coming along, and stay covered.

Blog Post by: ITC

​If you find yourself in possession of a house with no occupants, a vacation home, a retirement home or a home that you are planning to rent out someday, you may question whether it's worth buying home insurance to protect it while it is vacant. Here's what you need to know:

• ​Home insurance is never a legal requirement. If it is mandatory, it is mandatory because of the terms of a loan or mortgage. If this is the case, then of course, it will come down to whether your lender insists that you insure your unoccupied home while you still do not own your home free and clear. It will be very difficult to find a lender who does not require unoccupied homes to be insured.
• If you own your home outright, then it is down to personal discretion whether you plan to insure an unoccupied home. It is difficult to recommend in favor of letting home insurance lapse because nobody's living in it. Uninsured homes can still be damaged by broken pipes and storms, they can still be broken into, and with nobody around to control the damages, there's a lot that can go wrong.
• A standard policy is likely not going to cover certain damages for an unoccupied home. To make up the difference, you will want to look into vacant home insurance. This is a plan that can help you to get vacation homes covered, to cover your rental property between tenants, or help to keep you covered if you spend weeks at a time away from the house.

When it comes to insuring your home, the question of necessity is less about regulation and law — what's mandatory — but whether or not you feel comfortable with your level of protection. If you leave a home, unoccupied or otherwise, uninsured, then any damages that befall the home will have to come out of pocket, and will likely far outweigh anything you would have paid to maintain your policy.

If you have a home that you are leaving unoccupied for weeks at a time, make sure to get an unoccupied home policy in place. Don't expect a standard policy to provide a vacant home with the same level of coverage as it provides an occupied home.

Blog Post by: ITC