Tom's Tuesday tip:

Vic asked: We have so much wind lately and some of my roof shingles on my home have come off, is that covered?

A: In this part of the country, Vic, yes wind is included in a homeowner policy, not so much in coastal area's like Florida. But here in Buffalo, yes. Just make sure the damage is more than your $1,000 deductible before we make a claim.

We had a Lockport homeowner who did have lots of wind damage a few years back but his shingles were also curling and there was no membrane in the roof valley. He wanted a full roof replacement due to his 21 year old roof still had 4 years left on a 25 year shingle guarantee (I pointed out the pictures and the pre-existing condition, regardless of a 25 year guarantee shingle). So when the insurance company offered to pay 40% of the new roof due to the damage, he wasn't happy. We got involved and they ended up paying 75% for the new roof, even though there was lots of wear-n-tear.

Wear-n-tear is never covered by insurance, as insurance is for sudden and accidental events. Insurance is not to be confused on maintaining your home. But when we have to get involved in claim situation, we do.
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Homeowners and landlords make sure you add on or have underground utility coverage also called service line coverage. For $20-$60 a year added onto your policy, it covers $10,000 of repairs for a $500 deductible - even if your main deductible is $1,000 or $2,500! With our aging water and sewer systems, it is well worth this small added cost to have this coverage.

For landlords, it is only available for 1-4 family rentals, as those type of properties are still considered a personal lines policy and not commercial property. Anything with 5+ units is considered commercial and underground utility is not available.

​Get underground utility coverage TODAY!

One often overlooked, very important item for commercial building owners is the additional insured use on their tenants policies. When you have your tenant add your entity on to their policy as an additional insured, that gives you 1st defense for liability when they are negligent.

Any good attorney will be suing the tenant but also the building owner too, let the liability be determined by the court. However, if you are an additional insured on that Subway shops insurance on the slip & fall on their wet floor, your 1st defense is their insurance policy.

Additional insured gives you liability protection on your tenants policy when they are negligent. So a co-defendant lawsuit, their (the tenants) policy would respond 1st before it ever got to your own insurance policy.

Get that additional insured status on your tenants policies!

But not it's contents! You have 10% of your home's insurance for "other structures", garage, shed. pool house, so $300,000 home = $30,000 on the garage. But the contents of the garage probably should be insured separately! Things like dirt bikes, Quads, boats, skidoo's, snomobiles, pop-up trailer's, that classic car you've been working on, they all need it's own insurance policy.

We once had a homeowner client, who stored an camper in his garage and the weight of ice/snow collapsed the garage roof and damaged the camper. Insured called with a claim and guess what? Found out he wasn't covered on his camper - he had assumed what was in the garage was covered, when it is not. Just because it is in the garage, doesn't mean that coverage on your homeowner policy extends to the contents, it does not.

​Make sure the things in your garage have insurance coverage.

I Think many consumers THINK that homeowners insurance provides coverage for an E-Bike! That would be incorrect - E-Bikes need their own insurance policy! They are treated just like a motorcycle,  a motorized vehicle that can maintain certain speeds and are also pricey in cost.

So don't assume that the e-bike you store in your garage is covered by homeowners insurance - it is NOT! You need a separate policy for an E-Bike if you want it covered!

A quick video explaining what Cyber Liability covers.

Call us at 716-684-3203 to get covered for Cyber Liability!

Many people want to compare their auto insurance rates with their co-worker, neighbor brother or sister. It just cannot be done! Their are too many factors used in auto rates and the "tiers" of rates insurance companies use are dependent on how they weigh those factors. They are:
*Age of drivers
*Driving records
*Claims history
*Homeowner or renter
*Credit score
*Kinds of cars driven
*How many miles driven a year
*What town or city do you live in

All these factors make are used in the insurance companies "algorithm" which then slots them in the correct tier of rates. So your neighbor doesn't have the same claim history as you or drive similar cars or have the same credit as you do. That is why any comparison with the neighbor can't be done, nearly impossible. And if they "bundle' homeowners with the auto insurance, then get a further discount that maybe you don't!

Just be a smart insurance consumer and do your own auto insurance comparison shopping. It definitely won't be like your sister's, brothers or co-workers auto insurance policy.

I did a post on LinkedIn about CARING - It went like this:

CARE!

That's the difference.

Huge difference.

When you call an 1-800-number for your insurance do you think they care?

When you go online to shop for insurance, do you think they care?

When you have an insurance claim, do you think they care?

Being transactional vs. caring - big difference.

"You'll know how much we know, when you know how much we care!"

Simple.

CARE - it's what we do.

Insuring your very beautiful antique auto is something we love to help with. These classic cars are your pride & joy, something we don't take lightly when insuring them. Classic cars coverage is very unique and several insurance companies provide this coverage. We can help cover your investment in these beautiful cars, with classic car coverage.

If a business's experience modification factor (often referred to as an experience mod or Ex-Mod or EMR) is over 1.0, it indicates that the business has had a higher-than-average number of claims or more severe losses compared to other businesses in its industry. This can lead to higher workers' compensation insurance premiums. Here's what a business should do in this situation: