Why Renters Insurance?

A HUGE misconception about renting is that your "stuff" is covered by your landlords insurance. NOT TRUE! As a renter the only coverage available for your belongings is a renters insurance policy. This cheap insurance protection will cover your "stuff" in case of fire, theft, vandalism, etc. Renters insurance also provides coverage for liability. For example, if you are held responsible for damage to the place you are renting, the renters insurance can help cover the costs, otherwise it will come out of your own pocket.

Most renters insurance policies start around $100/year and can even be paid monthly. Less than 10 bucks a month is extremely cheap considering the alternatives! Have a great Day!

What is an umbrella?

Aside from the umbrella that protects you from the rain, most people have no idea what an umbrella liabilty policy is for. An umbrella policy covers all of your insurance policies (i.e. auto, home, business, etc.) under one higher limit of liability. For example, lets say you have an auto policy and a home policy with $300,000 in liability limits. If you have an at-fault accident and your limits are exhausted, then the rest would be paid out of your pocket. If you have an umbrella liability policy of $1,000,000 then the umbrella would step in and cover any additional costs over what your auto or home policy would cover. In todays society where people continue to be sue happy, then an umbrella policy is extremely cheap insurance. Most people that have 1 house, and 2 cars will pay around $250/ year for $1,000,000 in liabilty protection. Don't risk your assets or your future earnings and make sure that you are adequately protected.

Basic vs. Broad vs. Special Coverage Forms

There are typically three different coverage forms available on most personal and commercial insurance policies. The three different forms are basic, broad and special. Each coverage form applies to that insurance policy and states exactly what causes of loss are considered covered by that specific policy, subject to the exclusions of that policy. The first and most restricted is BASIC form, which only covers losses due to:

• Fire or Lightning
• wind or hail
• Explosion
• Riot or Civil Commotion
• Aircraft
• Vehicles
• Smoke
• Vandalism
• Theft
• Sinkhole Collapse
• Volcanic action
• Collision

All other causes of loss are not covered under the basic coverage form. The next coverage form is BROAD form. Broad form provides coverage against all of the Basic causes plus the following:

• glass
• Falling objects
• Freezing, thawing, pressure or weight of ice, snow, sleet and water
• Tearing apart, cracking, burning, or bulging
• Discharge, overflow or leakage of water or steam
• Freezing of a plumbing, heating, air conditioning, lines, pipes, or other similar items containing water
• Artificially generated electrical current

The last, SPECIAL form, is the most comprehensive form of the three. Instead of listing what is covered, a special form policy will "provide coverage against risks of direct physical loss to eligible property," subject only to the specific exclusions and conditions of that policy. Meaning, unless it is excluded in the policy itself, most losses are covered losses. Special form is typical of most insurance policies in todays market as it can be extremely beneficial to an insured.

Welcome to Graybeal Insurance Agency!

Hello, and welcome to Graybeal Insurance Agency, LLC. My name is Jason Graybeal, and I am the owner and primary agent. This shall hopefully be the first of many blog postings by myself or my staff relating to insurance questions and needs of consumers. The primary function of this blog will be to help educate my customers and other consumers about the different functions/coverages/benefits of insurance products. If there is any insurance related topic or question you would like to see me discuss, please feel free to send an email to jason@graybealins.com. Thank you for reading and have a great day! Be sure to check out our website www.graybealins.com