When Buying a home

Whether you’ve just begun searching for a new place or you’re waiting to close on your dream home, one important aspect of moving you can’t ignore is insuring your investment.

Enter the homeowner’s best friend: the homeowners insurance policy.

Just like any other kind of insurance, there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all policy. Home Insurance costs typically depend on the home’s location and age, the size of the deductible, and the coverage level. More important when buying a home in Florida is Mitigation features such as shutters, impact glass and roof straps that can reduce your premium by 50% or more. You’ll have to look at these and other variables to figure out what kind of home insurance is right for you.

Windstorm Insurance

A standard Homeowners policy typically covers your home and personal belongings from wind and hail damage. However, insurance companies in high-risk coastal communities are known to exclude windstorm damage from policies if your home is considered too high risk. As a solution to this potentially massive coverage gap, some insurance companies in coastal states offer separate windstorm insurance policies that specifically cover wind and hail-related damage and nothing else.

But if your homeowners insurance policy does include coverage for wind and hail, you may have to pay a special percentage deductible before you’ll be reimbursed for a windstorm-related loss.
If you live in close proximity to the coast and you haven’t been able to find wind and hail coverage on the private market, you may be able to get coverage through your state’s Beach and Windstorm Plan.

South Beach Insurance Agency represents several carriers that include Windstorm / Hurricane on its homeowners policies. I addition, we are appointed by the state insurance pool since 1996 to issue Wind only policies on coastal homes and buildings that do not qualify for a standard carrier.

When Buying an automobile

Car insurance is one of the necessary evils of modern life. You pay a substantial amount of money each month to the insurance company, and if you are like most people, you have not had an accident or made a claim in years. Yet when you do suddenly find yourself involved in a collision, the insurance premiums you’ve been forking over all these years will finally pay off.

First, let’s be clear about the fact that auto insurance is required by law in most states―it’s not optional. If you drive a car, you must have auto insurance. So you need to find out what the law requires in your jurisdiction when it comes to how much auto insurance coverage you need to maintain.

Because insurance prices are all based on statistics, the prices each of us pays varies wildly. Things like the driver’s age, years of driving experience, what neighborhood the car is usually parked in overnight, the make and model of the car, what kind of safety features the car has, and whether or not you have antitheft devices installed―all of these variables will factor into the price you’ll pay for the particular level of coverage you choose.

What Coverage Do You Need?

Florida sets forth the minimum liability coverage you must maintain, but these are just the legal minimums and might not give you the coverage you need. You’ll have to decide what you want to buy beyond these minimums. Keep in mind that you are looking to find the balance between having adequate coverage and overpaying.

According to Consumer Reports, a general guideline for adequate bodily injury liability limits is $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident, plus $100,000 for property damage. These amounts are what your insurer will pay to someone you are in an accident with. For uninsured motorist coverage, you should get the same amount as for bodily injury liability, as this covers your medical costs when someone who is not insured hits you or have your vehicle towed. Keep in mind that if you already have an auto club membership, you do not need this additional coverage.

Review Your Policy

South Beach Insurance Agency is here to review your current Automobile insurance policy and guide you through the various coverages to make sure it correctly meets your needs and budget. As an independent insurance agency, we represent A plus nationally known carriers and can handle All automobile insurance needs from basic coverage to exotics to classic car insurance policies. We are always available to handle your claims needs with the personal attention you can’t get calling a national phone number. E-mail us today for a free review of your policy.