• Stop thinking minimums: Some people buy insurance just to keep their state and lenders happy. Buying just the minimum amount of insurance necessary to comply with lenders and regulators can leave you and your family exposed to unnecessary financial risks.
• Think about the legacy you want to create: Life insurance is about more than replacing an income for your family, it’s about finding the means to create the legacy you want to leave behind. Before you can do that, you need to know what your ideal legacy is.
• Stay on the lookout for ‘soft” spots: While it’s a good idea to do an insurance review annually, it’s an even better idea to identify any areas where your coverage falls short throughout the year. By keeping your eyes peeled and thinking about risk, exposure and protection on a more frequent basis, you might identify these situations more often and prevent coverage shortfalls from causing you financial harm.
• Have your valuables assessed: If you chose limits by estimating the value of some of your higher-end antiques, art and jewellery, this year resolve to actually get these items assessed by a professional. Not only can this help your legacy planning efforts but it will also ensure that your home insurance limits are adequate.
• Read your policies: Reading your insurance policy document is the best way to get educated about what it does, and doesn’t, cover. Not only will this help you get the most out of your policy but it may also help you determine any shortfalls that could occur and plan for them before they do.
• Work with your agent on an insurance review: If you haven’t already planned to do an in-depth insurance review with your agent, your first resolution can be to do so.

Text Disablers

Texting is one of the most dangerous activities that can be done behind the wheel, but fortunately there are many apps out there that can disable your teen’s ability to read or send texts while they are in a moving car. These include: Key2SafeDriving  and TextArrest. Other apps, like Drivesafe.ly Pro, read texts aloud and allow your teen to create an auto response that the device sends on its own. Think of it as hands free responding.

Phone Inhibitors

Sometimes answering a cell phone, calling out on a cell phone, or even just talking on a cell phone can be enough to distract your teen from practicing safe driving methods. The apps ZoomSafer  and Key2SafeDriving can lock and restrict your teen’s access to their phone’s call feature while they are driving.

Ride Shotgun—through an App

You can’t be in the car with your teen driver every time they leave the house—or can you? With the Safe Driver app, you can get a text message every time your teen surpasses the speed limit in any given area. While this certainly helps you keep an eye on your teen, it might also be just the push they need to remain alert about staying within the speed limit and avoiding accidents when they drive.

Learning Road Safety with Apps

Some apps can actually help educate your teen on how to drive safely and react appropriately to different situations. The Dangers of Distracted Driving app shows teens how easy it is to get into an accident after being distracted. The Steer Clear Mobile app gives kids an interactive lesson in safe driving practices that they can apply when they drive.

There are many new apps coming out every day and some can help your teen be a safer, more accountable driver. Just be sure that as you choose cell phones and apps that you don’t end up selecting something that actually helps to distract your teen even more than they might normally be. After all, the purpose of the apps should be to serve—and protect.

Let us answer any more questions you may have about safe driving or contact us today at  305-270-2100 for a free Miami car insurance quote.

Your home insurance policy may offer you a wide range of covered events, but it is not a comprehensive policy and, like anything, has its own set of exemptions. In order to understand the specific events that are not considered insurable incidents by your insurer, be sure to take a look at your policy. Following is a general list.

1. Flood damage: Believe it or not, the damage caused by a flood is not covered in your home insurance policy. Even if the flood comes on the heels of a hurricane, if the damage is due to flood waters, your home insurance policy will not cover your claims. Instead, you must make sure that you have a flood insurance policy in place.
2. Bed bugs: Unfortunately, those creepy creatures, the damage they cause and the expenses related to getting rid of them are not covered in your home insurance policy.
3. Mold: While this isn’t the case in every single home insurance policy, many of them do not cover the damage associated with mold nor the expenses of treating it.
4. Intentional damages: if you damage your home while completing home renovations, or If you intentionally damage your home in the hopes of getting paid an insurance claim, then you will find that the damage is not covered. Remember, insurance is meant to make you whole after an unexpected insurable incident that was not your fault.
5. War: Acts of war that cause damage to your home (including nuclear war or damage from wars fought on home territory) are not covered under home insurance policies.
6. Neglect: As a homeowner, you have an obligation to perform upkeep and preventative maintenance on your home. If you neglect these responsibilities and your home falls into disrepair, your home insurance policy will provide no protection.
7. Government action: If your home is seized or confiscated by a government entity, it may not be a covered loss under your home insurance policy.
8. Mandatory building code upgrades: If you suffer a complete loss and the cost to rebuild exceeds your limits due to mandatory building code upgrades, the higher costs will not be covered (this can be avoided with special riders added to your home insurance policy that complement your limits in the event of code changes).
9. Policyholder injury: A liability portion of your home insurance policy will cover the medical and other expenses for a person who is injured on your property under the right circumstances, but it will not cover your injuries or anyone else who lives in the home if they are injured on the premises.

Every policy has its own exclusions; therefore, you should read yours to find out what particular risks are not covered. Some policies, depending on the class, may exclude natural incidents like earthquakes and sinkholes, while others won’t cover things like water damage—which includes sewer problems and foundation issues due to water leakage. Home insurance policies have many different classes (noted as HO-1, HO-2, etc.) and each of these classes has its own subset of covered and uncovered risks. Ask your agent or insurance company if you need help understanding your policy or homeowners insurance class.

To learn more about Miami home insurance contact us 305-270-2100 or get a free home insurance quote.