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Does My Insurance Policy Cover Floods? Get the Facts on Floods Insurance Coverage

Flood insurance minimizes socio-economic flood impacts, especially in areas prone to flooding. Even living in areas with a low risk of flooding, it is still worth considering purchasing a policy to protect yourself and your property from potential damages.
Here are some key reasons why you have flood insurance:
It helps cover the costs of repairing or rebuilding damaged properties when a home or a business
It provides financial protection for your home, business, and property in case of floods
It covers the cost of temporary living arrangements if your home is uninhabitable after floods
It covers the cost of cleaning up debris and other damages caused by floods.
It also provides peace of mind knowing that you're financially protected against the potential devastation of a flood

Flood insurance is not typically included as part of residential insurance or standard insurance policy. Flood insurance is a separate policy and requires a separate purchase. Depending on the coverage you choose, your flood insurance can cover a variety of damage, including but not limited to:
The physical structure of your home or business
Electrical and plumbing systems
Built-in appliance
Personal property such as furniture, clothing, electronic equipment, stock, and inventory
The cost of flood insurance depends on factors such as the amount of coverage you purchase, the location of your home or business, and any additional riders you opt for. To get the full protection of your policy, you must purchase it before any flooding occurs. Our experienced agents can help you assess your unique needs and provide a policy that fits your budget and coverage requirements.

People in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana need flood insurance because the region is particularly prone to flooding due to the Ohio River. Floods can cause devastating property damage, and homeowners must be prepared with flood insurance coverage to protect their homes and possessions. With the proper insurance coverage, people in Greater Cincinnati can get the help they need should a flood occur. Intelli Choice Insurance offers flood insurance policies to give property owners along the Ohio River peace of mind and financial security in case of flooding.

August 17, 2020 / By Brandon Barnes / Home Insurance/ Home Security • Renters Insurance/ 0 Comments

Home Security Tips

Everyone wants to keep their home safe from burglars or intruders, but not everyone wants to have an alarm system installed. There are plenty of people who prefer the do-it-yourself route, whether it’s home improvement or home security.

And nowadays, there are more options than ever when it comes to home security, so we here at Intelli Choice Insurance want to help you sort through those options with a few tips.

Do-it-yourself options

The widespread availability of electronic tools means that homeowners can set up their own monitoring systems if they choose, without the help of a home-security company.

Cameras: Smaller and more inexpensive than ever, cameras can be placed nearly anywhere on the exterior of your home and monitored from inside wirelessly – or set to record footage for review later. Available software even allows you to point your laptop camera in a particular direction (say, at the front door) and check the images from a remote location.
Lights: Motion-detecting floodlights are an excellent deterrent to thieves, because they don’t want to be seen. If you add these, make sure they’re installed near entryways, and that they aren’t easily reached from the ground. And using timers for interior lights is a good way to give the appearance that your home is occupied.
Alarms: Vibration alarms are available for windows, alerting you if someone is trying to get in. Similarly, other monitors can be installed near doors and programmed to sound if a person comes within a set distance. Some even emit barking sounds to make it sound like a dog is in the house.

Even if you aren’t interested in installing security equipment around your home, there are a number of things you can do to increase safety:

Keep your home locked. It sounds simple, but you’d be surprised how many people leave windows or doors unlocked. Make sure that sliding doors and windows have extra security, such as a track lock or dowel in the track.
Don’t leave a key outside. If you need to provide access to your home while you’re away, leave your key with a trusted neighbor or friend, not under the doormat
Watch the landscaping. Thick shrubs and bushes around your porch or yard can give thieves a good place to hide. Keep them well-trimmed and ensure that problematic areas can be illuminated with your outdoor lighting.
Use common sense. If you’re going away on vacation, cancel your newspaper and other deliveries. Ask a neighbor to keep watch, and park a car out front. Don’t post publicly on social media or leave a message on your answering machine or voicemail indicating that you’ll be away for an extended period.

Burglars really do consider deterrents such as alarms, cameras, dogs, etc. when looking at targets, according to a study released by the University of North Carolina. So a small investment in security can make a big difference!

Contact Us!

At Intelli Choice Insurance, we can work with you to make sure you’ve got the coverage you need, while at the same time using all possible credits and discounts to make that coverage affordable. Just give us a call at 513-777-3606 or send us a note at Brandon@intellichoiceinsurance.com. We want to help you meet your goals, and make sure what’s important to you is protected!

August 4, 2020 / By Brandon Barnes / Home Insurance • Personal Insurance/ Insurance Claims/ 0 Comments

Will my homeowner’s insurance cover my claim?

The cost to rebuild your home is its replacement value. This can be very different from the estimated market value or actual purchase price. In most cases, it costs more to rebuild the home you own than to buy a new one.

How much home insurance is enough?

Intelli Choice Insurance understands the Northern Kentucky & Cincinnati home insurance needs of our customers. We’ll work with you to estimate the replacement cost for your home and to adjust your policy limits from time to time as needed.

It is critical that you provide us with accurate, updated information about your home and contents. If your dwelling limit accurately reflects your home’s true replacement cost, some companies will pay more than the limit if a covered loss is greater than the limit on your policy.

Once a review of your home and possessions indicates you are properly insured, it’s a good idea to reexamine your coverages and limits from time to time, especially whenever you make additions or improvements. Intelli Choice Insurance can help you re-evaluate your Northern Kentucky & Cincinnati home insurance needs. Just call and speak with one of our agents.

Be Sure You Have Enough Home Insurance Coverage

Here are some steps you can take to reduce the danger of being seriously underinsured:

Call Intelli Choice Insurance - If you have questions or concerns about the limits in your policy, ask us to show you how those amounts were calculated. This will also give you an opportunity to make us aware of any overlooked information.
Read your policy - Certain property, such as jewelry, and certain perils, such as earthquake or flood, is better insured separately. Knowing what is covered and for how much will help you insure properly. If there is anything in your policy you don’t understand, contact us and ask for an explanation.
Review - At each annual renewal of your policy, you receive a new Policy Declarations page showing limits of coverage and optional coverages. Review this information. If you do any significant remodeling or add a family room, extra bedroom or bathroom, etc., tell us about these changes so your coverage limits can be adjusted to cover the improvement.
Consider carefully whether your policy provides all the protection you need.
Does it provide coverage for extra costs resulting from building code changes?
Does it automatically increase coverage limits annually to keep pace with inflation?
Does it provide additional funds if the cost of rebuilding your home exceeds the policy limits?

Make sure you know:

Will your insurance company stand behind agreed upon repairs after a claim? Some companies are willing to put this guarantee in writing.
Does your policy include replacement cost coverage for contents (clothing, furniture, appliances, and other personal property inside your home)? If not, you can add it by endorsement. The cost is small, but the protection valuable. Replacement Cost Coverage pays for losses to your possessions at the cost of brand new items. Without this option, a covered loss to your personal possessions would be depreciated by their age and condition, reducing the size of your claim settlement.

If you have an art collection, antique furniture, jewelry, or other valuable possessions, ask Intelli Choice Insurance about supplemental coverages, such as fine arts or scheduled property endorsements, to adequately protect your investment in these items. The cost is modest for the extra protection, and often the deductible is waived.

Consider whether you should have more coverage for personal property (contents) than your policy provides. Personal property coverage is usually 70% of the coverage limit for the structure. Your limit may be lower than 70%. Supplemental protection is available for a small additional premium.

Inventory your home

Prepare an inventory of personal property items , update it periodically, and keep it in a safe place outside your home, such as a safe deposit box at your bank. It will save you hours of time trying to list everything damaged or destroyed if you need to make a claim. It will also help ensure you don’t forget some items. We can advise you on ways to simplify the job of preparing a personal property inventory such as videotaping each room with descriptive information on the sound track.

Personal Liability

Besides making sure you have enough protection to cover possible damage to your own home and contents, you should also evaluate your exposure to liability risks. These result from damage to the property of another, or injury to a person, not a member of your household, for which you can be responsible.

In recent years it’s become common for homeowners to be sued for injuries or damages to others, even when there is no evidence of negligence by the homeowner. The reality today is if you have any appreciable assets, you are exposed to the risk of being sued. Even if you ultimately prevail in court, your legal fees and the months or years of worry and uncertainty can be a terrible burden on you and your family.

The Personal Liability coverage provided by your Homeowners Policy usually provides a limit of $100,000 or $300,000. We recommend increasing this protection with a personal umbrella policy. Not only will it increase your personal liability, but also your auto liability. Limits are available from $1 million to $10 million and beyond. The cost of this coverage is usually very reasonable.

Keep in mind that Kentucky requires certain minimum levels of coverage. The right coverage for you is unique – talk to Intelli Choice Insurance today to find out how to get the best price and value on home insurance for you.