Life Happens 365 - Are You Managing the Risk?

By Diane Tait Image courtesy Pixabay When you get right down to it, shopping for insurance isn’t a lot of fun.   That’s because there are so many companies and so many different types of insurance coverage to consider.   Did you know there were 5,965 insurance companies in the US alone in 2020?     You also have to deal with insurance jargon that sounds to most consumers like a foreign tongue.   Before you wind up buying the wrong coverage or start working with an insurer whose idea of customer service is an endless voicemail loop, I thought I’d take the time to teach you ten ways to get it right.

  By Diane Tait Image courtesy Pixabay You may have noticed that the grass is growing, the flowers are blooming and the birds are chirping in the trees.   Signs that spring has sprung in north Florida are abundant.   But what’s not so obvious is the toll that winter has taken.   That’s why many homeowners reassess what’s what at this time of year.   Spring cleaning is a great way to review, reorganize, and rejuvenate your home and yard.   Whether it’s mowing the lawn, pressure washing the deck, organizing your garage, or cleaning the barbecue, spring cleaning is going to save you tons of time during the dog days of summer.   It can also save you is money on your insurance if you know where to look.

By Diane Tait If you own or lease a car, own your own home or business, or just want your family to have peace of mind in our ever more complicated world, you undoubtedly have some form of insurance.   That’s because failure to carry insurance can cause you to take a financial hit which could possibly wipe out your savings or even require you to file for bankruptcy.   That being said, determining what type or how much insurance you should carry can prove to be a complicated not to mention a frustrating task.   Before you waste a lot of time trying to determine how to protect your assets, I thought I’d take a few minutes to give you some food for thought.

By Diane Tait Image courtesy Pixabay If you rent your home instead of owning it, you may have considered renter’s insurance.   Like homeowner’s insurance, a renter’s policy is there to cover your assets that could wind up lost damaged or destroyed by such things as theft, fire, flood or storm.   The reason more renters don’t follow through and acquire renter’s insurance is because they feel the costs outweigh the risks. Unlike a homeowner, if the house, apartment or room you rent is damaged or destroyed by fire or water, all you’re out are your belongings.   The property itself has no value to you other than putting a roof over your head, right?   Well, not exactly as you’ll soon find out below.

By Diane Tait Image courtesy of wikipedia Insurance is like a pit bull on a leash.   You hope to never have to set it loose on an intruder.   But if you do, you don’t want it to turn on its owner.   If you’ve ever read any of your insurance policies, you can appreciate this fact.   While insurance has been protecting individuals and businesses for hundreds of years, understanding the language of insurance isn’t always the easiest of things to do.   Add to it the fact that you’ve no doubt read magazine articles written by writers who are only too eager to point out how someone who bought insurance was denied covered for specified damage they assumed was covered.   When it comes to insurance policies, the devil is indeed in the details.   To make sure you understand what’s what when it comes to your policies, below are some of the terms you could encounter when you peruse your policies.

By Diane Tait Image courtesy of flickr Since I’m writing this blog on Halloween, I thought I’d give it an appropriately scary slant.   While insurance is meant to take the fright out of owning things like homes, cars and businesses, sometimes you need to realize that the insurance industry was designed to make your life a little less scary.   With that in mind, allow me to share some spine-tingling facts, stories and myths with you.

By Diane Tait Image courtesy of wikimedia As I write this, Hurricane Florence continues to wreak havoc in the Carolinas. Both North and South Carolina continue to be affected by epic flooding as some areas have been hit by 30-40-inches of precipitation.   This doesn’t even take into consideration how much more flooding will take place as rivers in the area top their banks.   The worst part of the disaster will be the fact that many homes and businesses that will sustain flooding were not in designated flood zones.   That means many families and business owners affected by flood waters do not have flood insurance.After dealing with the aftermath of Hurricanes Mathew and Irma during the past two years, I felt it was high time to dive into the ins and outs of flood insurance.       1 .       Do flood zones matter? – Many people make the mistake of failing to procure flood insurance simply because their homes and busines...