Why Timely Home Repairs Matter

At one time or another, every home owner must do repairs to their property—and that’s a good thing. Because home repairs make living at home more pleasant and efficient while also keeping the structure safe for you and your family.

Home repairs can also have an effect on your home insurance premiums because they may result in the prevention of your home’s further deterioration and they may even result in your home being brought into current code guidelines. Since codes often change to accommodate new materials that are able to better withstand weather and environmental damage, this can make your home less risky to insurers which will result in lower insurance premiums. But saving money on insurance isn’t just about the repair itself; it’s also about the timeliness of the repairs that you do.

The Domino Effect

The little things that happen around your home may seem small at first, but eventually, when left unrepaired, they can turn into much larger problems. For example, a small leak in your roof, left unfixed, can create mold, mildew and rot that weakens your home's structure. With a weakened structure, you may find your house is unable to stand up to wind, hurricane or storm damage. Then, when you have damage--if it is covered by your policy--you will not only have to come up with the money to pay the deductible for the damage but you will also have to deal with the inconvenience and expense of being displaced while repairs are done and you may be facing higher insurance premiums at renewal since you are now a higher risk.

Instead, if you had fixed the leak when you first noticed it, you could have made your home stronger at minimal expense, made certain that your family was not exposed to quickly proliferating mold spores (the removal or remediation of which is generally not covered by home insurance) and that your home was better able to withstand storms and inclement weather.

Timely home repairs can save you money now in preventing extreme damage to your home, and they save you money later by helping to keep home insurance expenses low. When you are ready to get insurance for your home and you are curious about all the ways that you can help get a low premium quote, give us a call at Allstar Direct Insurance & Financial Services. We can figure out what discount you may be qualified for now and help you maintain a lower Miami Home Insurance premium through the years.

Understanding Your Policy’s Declaration Page

Insurance policies are made up of many pages that explain, in detail, what your policy covers, what is excluded from coverage, how your premiums break down, and the meaning of various insurance terms. This can seem like a cumbersome document if you just want to absorb the details of your policy at a glance, which is why your policy also includes the very convenient declaration page or set of pages.

What is the Declaration Page?

As its name implies, the declaration page (or dec page) declares what your policy covers in a simplified format. It lays out the basic information including your policy number, the address of the covered property, and the basics of the coverage limits and deductibles.

Reading Your Declaration Page

A home insurance policy is likely to have a 2-3 page declaration with the following information:

• The first page outlines the major categories of coverage provided. It will also disclose your mortgager and all your insured locations. Finally, it will break down the premium costs for each major section of coverage.
• The second page spells out any special endorsements your policy carries. This can include endorsements for computer coverage, jewelry coverage, endorsements for certain home business activities and more.
• The second page will also likely explain whether your personal property is covered as actual cash value or replacement costs and it spells out some of the surcharges and assessments on the policy, including any donations made to state catastrophe funds.
• The third page generally carries certain disclosures. These disclosures could discuss many different topics such as deductibles, suggestions for specialized insurance additions that are not covered by your policy including flood insurance and law and ordinance coverage, and information about inflation guard options.

Your declarations pages are a very handy way to glance and get information about your policy, but they are not built to offer the same complex information as the actual policy pages. If you have questions about what your policy does and doesn’t cover, feel free to give us a call. Not only can the agents at Allstar Direct Insurance help you better understand your Miami Home Insurance policy, we can also help you determine whether your coverage is sufficient.

Tips for Preventing Electrical Fires

Believe it or not, there’s a powerful source of fire right inside your home: electricity. From old defective wiring to overloaded outlets, there are electrical fire hazards everywhere we turn.

As a matter of fact, more than 40,000 residential fires are caused each year by faulty electrical wiring, according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Tragically, defective electrical wiring systems have claimed an average of 350 lives a year for the past decade.

So, how can you ensure that your home's electrical system is fire-proof? Follow these priceless fire prevention tips from the National Electrical Safety Foundation:

• Check your electrical cords periodically. If you find any cords that are frayed or damaged, replace them. Do not place cords under rugs or carpet.
• Make sure that your outlets and/or extension cords are not overloaded. If you notice that your lights are dimming, your heater or kitchen appliances are not working properly or your television picture is poor, this could be a sign of an overloaded circuit. Add up the wattage of all the electrical devices plugged into each circuit and keep the total load well below the circuit’s maximum capacity.
• Do not use high wattage bulbs in light fixtures and lamps that cannot handle them. Always choose the proper wattage bulb for each light.
• If you have children in your home, install child-proof electrical outlets. This will ensure that a child cannot insert something into an outlet.
• If your home is more than 40 years old, you should consider updating the entire electrical system. Because older homes often contain aluminum wiring, they are more vulnerable to electrical fires. You should replace the old wires with copper wiring, which is more resistant to electrical fires.
• Consider installing ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) in your kitchen, bathrooms and utility rooms. A GFCI will shut down the electrical system if it detects an imbalance in electricity, which can help protect your family against electrocution.
• Install power surge protection devices for large electrical appliances and computers. A power surge, which is a sudden rush of voltage in an electrical circuit, can damage electrical devices plugged into the circuit.
• Avoid arc faults by installing arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCI). Often caused by improper electrical connections, overheated wires or pinched wire insulation, an arc fault is a discharge of electrical currents across a gap that can lead to an electrical fire.

What to do if a fire breaks out

If an electrical fire starts at a wall outlet, pull the plug by the cord if you can get to it safely or turn off the main switch. If the fire is small, use your home CO2 fire extinguisher. NEVER douse an electrical fire with water.

If the electrical fire is large, evacuate your home immediately and call the fire department. Be sure to notify them that it is an electrical fire. They may be able to turn off the main power source, which could keep the fire from spreading.


Make sure you're covered with Miami Home Insurance from Allstar Direct Insurance today!

Miami Home and Auto Insurance: Umbrella Liability Insurance

Your Miami home and Miami auto insurance policies do not have unlimited benefits. In order to control the amount of risk these policies are exposed to, and in order to determine a meaningful premium, insurance companies must place limits on your coverage. These limits put a cap on the amount of benefits that can be paid out to you or anyone you are liable to through an insurable incident.

But just because an insurance company has declared a limit to your benefits doesn’t mean there is a limit placed on the amount of money you could be liable for if someone is injured at your home or in an auto accident in which you are determined to be at fault. It also doesn’t put a cap on the amount of personal property damage you may be liable for. So what happens to any amount that exceeds the insurance company’s limits? The insured must pay for that out of his or her own pocket.

Naturally, this strikes fear in the hearts of many who realize that there could be no upside limitation on the amount of money they may need to pay to another party in liability damages. But there is another resource that could help protect the wallets of many: umbrella liability insurance. 

Umbrella liability insurance is a supplemental insurance policy that can add an additional $1 million or more in coverage above and beyond your home or auto policy limits. In essence, umbrella policies fill the gap that’s left by traditional home and auto policy limits. 

With up to $5 million in additional coverage available, umbrella policies create a very generous cushion between your insurance policy limits and your wallet in the event that you are ordered to pay an expensive claim. These policies can prevent the liquidation of your personal assets in an effort to comply with a judgment to pay and best of all, umbrella policies are affordable. Because they aren’t responsible for the first $1 million or so in damages, they do not have high risk of claims, so they can be priced competitively.

Whether a liability claim comes from an accident or preventable oversight, you may be found liable for a great deal of money that your insurance policy won’t cover. An umbrella liability insurance policy can provide the additional layer of protection you need at a price you can afford.

Make sure you have the best rate for your Miami auto insurance with Allstar Direct Insurance & Financial Services today!

Homeowners Insurance Declaration Page? What Is It?

A Declarations Page is the section of a policy that itemizes your pertinent information.  In detail, a homeowners declaration page will keep record of your name, your house address, your policy number, the effective and expiration date of your policy, the premium for the coverages you have obtained and the limits of each of those coverages.

Language you may discover on your Declarations Page:

Named Insured - this is the person or company that is recognized as the insured.

Additional Insured - sometimes you can add an extra person to your policy because particular coverages on the policy can be provided to them.  For example, if you lease a car, the leasing entity may need to be recorded as an additional insured.  The leasing entity is the titleholder of the car, as a result, they can be responsible for damages caused by the car.  Being made as an additional insured on your policy will cause your policy to provide some coverages to the leasing entity in the occurrence they are sued.

Endorsements - There can be times where standard policy language needs to altered. Rather than creating a new policy, the insurance company adds endorsements.  They are basically amendments added to the insurance contract that can modify the coverage or terms of the policy.  Your Declarations Page will detail which endorsements are relevant to your policy.

Make sure you have the best rate for your Miami FL Home Insurance with Allstar Direct Insurance & Financial Services today!