Preparedness Makes for Fewer Winter Woes

As most New Englanders know, ice, snow and wind can take a toll on residential property, so remember to protect your home well before the snow starts to fly. Homeowners, especially those who spend the winter in warmer locations such as Florida, should do the following:

• Remove debris from gutters. Cleaning out leaves, acorns, sticks and pine cones allows melting snow and ice to flow freely. Cluttered gutters can cause ice damming. 
• Trim trees and remove dead branches. Ice, snow and wind can cause trees or branches to break, damaging your home, automobile or injuring someone walking on your property. 
• Add insulation to attics. If too much heat escapes through the attic, it can cause snow or ice to melt on the roof. If melted snow refreezes, it can result in a collapsed roof, and contribute to ice damming. Additionally, well-insulated basements and crawl spaces will also help protect pipes from freezing. 
• Protect exposed pipes. Wrap pipes with heating tape and insulate unfinished rooms such as garages that frequently have exposed pipes. 
• Keep temperature at a minimum of 65 degrees. Install programmable thermostats to maintain temperature. 
• Have furnaces, boilers and chimneys serviced at least once a year. Make sure that smoke and fire alarms are working properly and consider installing a carbon dioxide detector. 
• Make repairs. Broken stairs and banisters can become lethal when covered with snow and ice – make sure they are ready for winter weather. 

If you have additional questions about preparing your home for winter, or would like to discuss your home insurance policy, please contact your insurance agent by calling Hunter Insurance at 401-769-9500.

Properly Winterizing Your Boat

Boating season is coming to a close, so it’s important to properly winterize your boat prior to inclement weather. Failure to winterize your boat can cause it to suffer significant damage such as cracks that can lead to leaks, corrosion, frozen pipes, interior damage, and fuel degradation.

When spring comes, these problems could be expensive to repair, especially since most insurance policies do not cover damage resulting from lack of maintenance.

Prior to making any decisions for winterizing your boat, you should check the owner’s manual for their recommendations on winter storage.

A few ways to store your boat exist, including storing it in your driveway, yard or somewhere else on your property. However, some homeowners’ associations don’t allow for this kind of storage, so it is important to check first.

Another option is to place your boat in a boatyard where it can be shrink-wrapped. Shrink-wrapping keeps boats dry and well ventilated which often prevents mildew.

A third option is to store your boat indoors. Indoor boat storage provides numerous options for climate control and keeps your boat protected from any winter weather.

As a general rule, boat storage professionals encourage boat owners to properly cover their boats, whether by shrink-wrapping or with a durable, breathable, water-resistant cover.

If you have additional questions about boat or other watercraft insurance, please call Hunter Insurance at 401-769-9500.

Certain Events Should Trigger Changes in Coverage

September is inevitably a busy month. School, soccer practice and homework make schedules a little more hectic. While you’re in the organizing and planning mode of the challenging Fall season, consider the changes in the past year that may make it necessary to alter your insurance coverage. It is wise to contact your independent insurance agent at Hunter Insurance if, in the past year, you:

• Bought a new home, whether it’s your main domicile, a vacation home or rental property. 
• Purchased a new or used automobile. 
• Purchased a boat, recreational vehicle or motorcycle. 
• Are the parents of a teenager who obtained a driver’s license and is allowed to drive the “family” car. 
• Received or purchased an expensive piece of jewelry. 
• Received or purchased an antique of any sort, including household items and coins. 
• Started planning and paying for a wedding. 
• Completed major renovations or an addition to your house. 
• Had (and will continue to have) a dependent that is living away from home to attend college. 
• Got married or divorced. 
• Welcomed a new child or grandchild. 
• Had significant changes in your health or that of your spouse or domestic partner. 
• Took on the financial responsibility of an aging parent. 
• Refinanced your home. 

As you gear up for fall, take a moment to organize your insurance coverage. Please call Hunter Insurance at 401-769-9500 if you have questions about your insurance.

Don’t Overlook Rental Care Coverage When Purchasing Car Insurance

When most people think about car insurance, it’s the cost of collision repair, medical bills, or their own liability in an accident that worries them most. What they tend to overlook is the need for their car in the first place. If your car is in the shop getting fixed how are you going to get around?

Most people assume that they already have rental car coverage, when in fact many do not have it.

Other than the obvious convenience that comes with it, the best part about substitution transportation is how cheap it is. Per day coverage at $15 will cover much of the cost of a rental car and the coverage runs at only about $12 a year. Coverage at $30 a day is also available, but the annual cost is a bit higher, about four times as much as a $15-a-day plan.

For some people, a rental car may not be the best option, especially for drivers under 25 or anyone with a poor driving record that may make a rental car company reluctant to rent to them. But that doesn’t mean Substitute Transportation isn’t for you: it can also cover the costs of bus and rail transportation as well as cab fares.

We’ve found that after filing a car insurance claim almost all people correctly buy Substitute Transportation or increase their overall coverage. Save yourself the trouble and start out with full coverage from the get-go.

For more information about your auto insurance, call Hunter Insurance at 401-769-9500.

Avoiding Mold

Mold occurs naturally throughout the environment—both indoors and outdoors. And during these warm months, mold can be found indoors more often than during the winter months. In fact, mold spores could probably be found in nearly every structure in the United States, regardless of how new or clean the structure is. That’s because mold—in normal amounts—is no more dangerous than dust or pollen.

However, excessive amounts of mold, certain types of mold and/or exposure to molds may present health concerns for some people.

If there is an ongoing moisture problem in your office or home it is important to be alert for:

• The presence of visible mold 
• Strong, musty odors, which may indicate mold is present 
• Any evidence of past moisture problems that might have caused mold growth 

These conditions may require the expertise of a qualified Indoor Air Quality/Environmental Professional to inspect the building for mold growth and water damage problems.

Usually, mold damage is covered by your homeowner’s insurance if it is the direct result of another claim, such as water damage. If you have questions about whether mold in your home is covered by your homeowner’s policy, please contact Hunter Insurance at 401-769-9500.

Hurricane Preparedness

Hurricanes do not strike Rhode Island all that often, but when one does hit, it can cause devastating property loss, serious personal injury or even death. To make sure you have adequate insurance coverage and are well prepared for such events, the Trusted Choice independent insurance agents, who include Hunter Insurance Agency, have established a comprehensive hurricane-related website.

Insuringconfidenceri.com has pages addressing deductibles, ways to minimize damage, available emergency resources, and what to do when a hurricane makes landfall.

Hurricane preparedness means taking action before a tropical cyclone strikes to lessen the damage and personal danger such storms can cause. It improves your chances that you and your possessions will come through a storm safely.

Take action now to ensure you are safe and adequately insured. If you have questions about preparing for a hurricane, contact Hunter Insurance at 401-769-9500.

Maintain That Clothes Dryer

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission report, there are approximately 10,000 annual residential fire losses in which the source of the fire is in the clothes dryer or vent. Dryers are the third most common type of equipment involved in fires, ranking behind stoves and fixed area heaters. Clothes dryers can catch fire due to excessive lint build-up in the exhaust pipe or inside the dryer; this lint build-up is often out-of-sight. As a result, you should take the following steps to reduce the chance of your dryer starting a fire.

• Follow the manufacturer’s instructions when installing the vent pipe. 
• Keep the dryer vent clean and unplugged. Check for a plugged vent if the dryer does not dry clothes efficiently. 
• Remove and clean the lint screen before each use. 
• Keep all combustibles away from the clothes dryer. 
• Hire a qualified technician to periodically inspect gas clothes dryers.