If A Tree Falls: Faq About Insurance
If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Well let the philosophers decide. Now, If a tree falls on your house, does home insurance cover it? Is it worth the claim? What if a neighbours tree fell on your house? If a tree falls on power lines, whos responsible? These questions arent philosophical. There are many questions, and we have answers or times when you should call your provider.
With a falling tree, your insurer wants details. Did the tree fall from a massive rainstorm, a hurricane ripping through the neighbourhood, or a lightning bolts blast? Before any insurance claim is paid out for a fallen tree and its repercussions, your provider will ask questions. Theyll want to know about the state of the tree before its fall and its resulting damage.
Were going to arm you with the knowledge on what to do after a tree falls.
Boat Insurance Coverage May Help You Pay For The Damage On An Agreed Value Or Actual Cash Value Basis
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Agreed value coverage helps you repair or replace damaged property without adjusting for depreciation. The agreed value amount typically reflects the value of the boat when you purchased your policy. It is the maximum amount your policy will pay toward a total loss.
Actual cash value coverage will determine the value to repair or replace your insured property, subject to the policy limit, and then apply depreciation based upon to the age of the property.
Ways To Prevent Frozen Pipes
Preventing frozen pipes is easier and cheaper than fixing the damage they cause. Protect your pipes before cold weather arrives with these five easy tips:
Protect Outdoor Water Sources
Remove garden hoses from outdoor water faucets. Faucets are unable to drain properly when a hose is attached, which can lead to faucets freezing and breaking. After hoses are removed, cover all exterior faucets. Faucet covers are inexpensive, easy to install, and can be reused year after year.
Some homes also have water shut-off values that allow you to turn off water to outside faucets. If your home has an exterior shut off valve, turn off the water and drain pipes prior to installing faucet covers.
Insulate Pipes
Insulate pipes near your crawlspace, attic, and the exterior walls of your home. This is where the chance of freezing is greatest. Pipes can be insulated in a number of ways, including using snap-on foam insulation or UL-approved heat tape. Be sure to follow manufacturers installation instructions.
Turn Up the Thermostat
Keep your home heated to 55°F or higher even when you are sleeping or out of town. Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warm air to circulate around undersink plumbing.
Leave Water Running
Turn on hot and cold faucets near the exterior walls of your home and allow a small trickle of water to run overnight. This keeps water moving through your pipes and will relieve pressure should they freeze. Stagnant water freezes easier than running water.
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Does Boat Insurance Cover Freeze Damage
Boat insurance wont generally cover the damages related to freezing in their normal or standard boat insurance policy you need to add freeze coverage as additional coverage to the insurance plan to cover your boats freeze damages.
In most cases, this insurance primarily covers the engine and may or may not offers protection for the crafts body. Ask your insurance agent what type of additional freeze coverage they offer and learn the terms of the coverage range before making your decision .
These types of additional insurance will offer protection from freezing temperatures. But to claim them, you need to do appropriate maintenance checks before storing them for the winter, like proper winterization before storing the boat, regular checks during winter, etc.
True Or False A Boats Internal Gas Tank Should Be Left Nearly Full Of Fuel Over The Winter
Answer: True. Before there was ethanol in our nations fuel supply, the best advice was to leave the tank as empty as possible, ensuring you could add plenty of fresh gas at the start of the next season. For built-in gas tanks today, however, the name of the winterization game is to prevent condensation from forming on the inside of the tank walls, typically a result of daily freeze/thaw cycles. Boat fuel systems are not closed and draw in humid air via the vent. Keeping the tank nearly full, with a little room for expansion, doesnt give water droplets the chance to form and mix with the fuel, which may contain up to 10% ethanol, potentially leading to phase separation. Phase separation is when water and ethanol separate out from the fuel and settle on the bottom of the tank. This phase-separated cocktail can stall out or even damage your engine. Also note, never plug a vent, as it can rupture the fuel system.
Portable gas tanks, on the other hand, are best removed and emptied, typically into a vehicle if the gas is unmixed or, if mixed, used in other two-stroke engines. One caveat for boats stored in racks be sure to check your marinas fuel-storage policy. Also, understand that once fuel becomes phase separated, no amount of additives or fuel stabilizers can help. The contaminated fuel and water mixture must be safely removed by a professional.
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Everything You Need To Know About Boat And Personal Watercraft Insurance And An Easy Guide On How To Find The Best Coverage And Rates
- Insurance Guide
- Personal Watercraft and Boat Insurance
Recreational boating is a popular activity enjoyed by approximately 87 million U.S. adults. Whether heading out on the water to travel, fish, water ski, or just enjoy the outdoors, its a great way to spend time with friends and family.
of boat owners dont have boat insurance
However, all that fun comes with a few risks. The U.S. Coast Guard reported 4,463 recreational boating accidents in 2016, which caused $49 million of property damage. Beyond that, the accidents involved 701 deaths and 2,903 injuries.
Its situations like these when boaters insurance comes in handy. The problem is, according to Allstate agent Brent Jablonski, 40% of boaters do not have boat insurance.
Not only are they vulnerable if they get into an accident, but they may also not be able to pay for damages that they cause to others. Its wise to have coverage that protects you and offers liability. But which boat insurance is best?
Heres everything you need to know, including a few of the best boat insurance companies of 2019.
What Does Boat Insurance Cover
Your boat insurance policy may include the following:
- Collision damage: Includes repair or replacement of your boat, but may or may not include clean-up of wreckage unless you purchase optional additional coverage.
- Property damage liability: Covers damage you might cause to someone elses boat, a dock, or other property or structures.
- Bodily injury liability: Covers injury you might cause someone while using your boat includes medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and legal expenses.
- Comprehensive: Provides compensation if your boat is vandalized, stolen, or damaged in an incident other than a collision.
- Additional coverage options: Coverage for medical payments, fishing equipment, oil spills, personal property and roadside assistance, as well as damage and injuries from accidents caused by boaters who are uninsured or underinsured.
The amount of compensation you receive for a claim depends on a few things, including your deductibles, limits, and whether your boaters insurance covers your boats actual cash value, replacement cost, or agreed-upon value.
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Where Can I Get Boat Insurance
There are several ways to buy boat insurance. You can easily get quotes online that will help you find a policy you can afford. You may have questions, special circumstances, or a highly customized or top-dollar boat to insure, and in this case you may opt to speak directly to an independent agent.
To find the best rates available, contact a local independent insurance agent who knows the local insurance regulations in your area. Your independent agent can shop around, compare options and rates from numerous insurance companies and help you to make the most informed decision.
Save on Boat Insurance
What Boat Insurance Policies Cover
How and where you boat determines the type of coverage you need. An “all risk” policy will offer the best protection. However, an all risk policy does not cover every type of loss. In insurance terms all risk just means that any risk not specifically omitted in the policy is covered. Typical exclusions include wear and tear, marring, denting, animal damage, manufacturers defects, design defects, ice and freezing.
You may also be able to add extra coverage. Available options may include: medical payments, personal effects, uninsured boaters liability, and towing and assistance. Most policies will cover permanently attached equipment, as well as items like anchors, oars, trolling motors, tools, seat cushions, and life jackets. Be sure to discuss these options with your agent.
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Will Insurance Cover A Leak In The Boat’s Hull
Typically, boat insurance can cover damages caused by a leak in the hull if you carry physical damage coverages. That also applies if the leak is a result of storm damage or another covered peril. Note that your boat policy wont cover the actual leak or any other issues due to wear and tear or lack of maintenance.
Will An Outboard Motor Freeze
An outboard motor that is not correctly drained before storing it for the winter will freeze. I read that it is suggested for you to store your engine in the down position. Another thing I learned that some people do before storing the motor is that they turn the kill switch to off and then turn the engine over using the key. This will help blow out any extra water left inside.
Of course, if you properly winterize your outboard before putting it away for the winter, you should be fine.
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Should You Add Ice And Freeze Coverage To Your Boat Policy Now
Date Posted: 2016-09-12: Boat US
Editor’s Note:This piece highlights the issue of boaters coping with freeze damage and how it affects those in temperate and southern zones much more often that we may realize. Therefore it is included in your news feeds, as well as in the general category so that all those potentially affected will be sure not to miss this information.
Many boat owners think they dont have to worry about freeze damage if they live in temperate states or if they keep their boat in heated indoor storage areas in Northern climates.
However, every year the Boat Owners Association of The United States Program gets freeze-damage insurance claims for boats in Southern states hit by a hard freeze, and claims for boats stored indoors in Northern states where storms took out the electrical power which usually means no heat.
So the first rule of winter storage for any boat is to winterize properly.
Even then, small winterizing mistakes like not draining all of the areas of the engine raw-water system, can easily destroy an engine.
For that reason, BoatUS says ice and freeze coverage may also be a smart option for do-it-yourselfers who want peace of mind, or for trailerboaters who store their boat in a heated garage or travel between warm and cold states.
Typically offered as a policy rider to boats stored in Northern climates, its inexpensive. BoatUS offers the add-on coverage for as low as $20.
Can You Use Home Insurance If Your Boat Is Damaged
A home insurance policy provides limited coverage for your boat or watercraft should it be damaged or vandalized. In most policies, you would only be reimbursed up to $1,000 worth of coverage if your boat, Jet Ski or miscellaneous watercraft is broken or damaged by the following:
- Fire
- Vandalism
- Falling objects
Surprisingly, your home insurance will cover you if your watercraft is stolen, but of course only up to $1,000.
When it comes to hail damage, there is a peculiar provision in which the watercraft must be in an enclosed building for the damage to qualify. For example, if a hailstorm happened and your boat or PWC was outside and was damaged, you wouldn’t be able to file a homeowners claim in that case. But if the building or storage enclosure had glass that was shattered, letting hail enter that damaged your boat, then you would be covered.
Be aware though that you will likely still need to pay a deductible if you file a claim. Since homeowners policies can have deductibles either greater than or close to $1,000, most claims would not make sense to file in the first place.
Personal property
If you have items on your boat that are stolen or destroyed, you can likely use your homeowners insurance to file a claim and recoup those losses. For example, if you brought an expensive portable speaker for an outing and it was stolen, your home insurance policy would cover that.
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Electric Heaters Are No Substitute For Winterizing
Numerous freeze claims over the years have proven the point again and again: If you’re tempted to leave your boat with a heater running this winter rather than winterizing, consider these examples:
An unattended heat lamp totally destroyed this boat. Photo: GEICO | BoatUS Marine Insurance
Failure to winterize caused this engine block to crack. Photo: GEICO | BoatUS Marine Insurance
Heaters are poor substitutes for proper winterizing and can start a fire. Photo: GEICO | BoatUS Marine Insurance
The owner of a 24-foot Bayliner in Portland, Oregon, never got around to winterizing his twin gas engines and instead put a heater in the engine compartment. Like a lot of other people, the owner probably didn’t think about the fact that power outages most often occur right when you need electricity most when the worst winter weather hits. An ice storm came through just before Christmas, downing power lines and cutting off power to the heater long enough to freeze the water in the blocks.
A 27-foot Rinker was “winterized” by placing a space heater in the engine room. The boat, which was afloat in her slip in Alabama, caught fire when the extension cord used to power the heater shorted where it had old damage. The boat was destroyed, and it damaged another boat as well as the dock.
Can I Make Repairs To My Property Immediately
Its generally OK to make temporary repairs. You should turn off your water and cover holes in your roof to protect your house from more damage. Dont make permanent repairs until youve talked to your insurance company.
Your policy should pay for the materials and labor you used to make repairs. But take pictures of the damage before doing any work.
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How Much Boat Insurance Do I Need
The amount of boat insurance you need depends on a number of factors, including the boats value, motor size, age, and how you use it. If you have a brand-new high-performance speed boat, you will need more coverage for bodily injury and property damage liability than if you buy a pleasure cruiser.
Insurance professionals recommend buying at least $1,000,000 in liability insurance, and even more if you have a fast, powerful boat that is both riskier and can cause more damage.
For uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, a typical minimum is $10,000. However, the amount you purchase should reflect the potential injuries and damage you may need to cover if you or one of your passengers is seriously hurt, or your vessel is damaged.
Your other coverage amounts, including collision coverage and comprehensive coverage, should be based specifically on the value of your boat.
Best Time To Winterize A Boat
The best time to winterize your boat is when you’ve decided your boating season is over. For locations that have timely seasons it may be easy to figure out what time of year that is. In the Great Lakes region, for example, many boaters target Labor Day weekend as the right time to take their boat out of the water before the cold weather hits. For states like Texas, California or Florida that don’t have a typical winter season, deciding when to winterize your boat can be a little harder. In fact, it’s in these states that damage due to lack of winterization occurs the most.
How can you winterize if there is no winter? Winterization is really nothing more that following proper storage procedures. Whether a location has a typical winter or not, you should know how to properly store your boat because even a state like Texas can be hit with cold weather.
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Pro Tips For Protecting Your Property From Severe Weather:
- Check your policy: Be aware of any exclusions and coverage limitations. If your home is in an area prone to severe weather, make sure you have the right protection in place. If you’re unsure about what’s covered, speak to your agent or insurance company. In rare situations, you might be able to exclude wind insurance coverage for a substantial discount.
- Be proactive: Don’t wait to purchase the proper protection. If there’s a hurricane watch in your area, it will be too late to buy homeowners insurance, as most insurers won’t offer policies if there’s a hurricane in range.
- Make sure your deductible is within your budget: As mentioned above, storm and wind deductibles can be expensive. Be prepared to pay thousands out of pocket in situations where your deductible is a percentage of your home’s worth. If you have the option for a flat deductible amount, you may want to choose the lowest deductible in exchange for paying a bit more on your monthly premium.
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