Are you Covered in Case of a Fire? Review Your Home Insurance

How to Keep Your Home Safe From Fire

Have you checked to see if you’re covered from house fires in your homeowner’s policy? If so, are there any limitations on what you can claim in the event of a fire? If you’re not sure, then now is the perfect time to contact BJI and do a review. These are the most common forms of coverage for house fires.

  • Dwelling Coverage: This includes the structure of your home as well as any attached pieces, like a garage.
  • Personal Property: Most plans will cover a certain amount of property based on an estimate. This is most likely what you need to review so that you can be sure that everything you own is covered. In many cases, homeowners don’t update this part, and they are left with much less than they need to replace everything.
  • Detached Structures: Other buildings on your property (i.e., detached garages, sheds) are also usually covered.
  • Temporary Housing: If your home burns to the ground, or you can’t live in it while it’s being repaired, make sure that your policy will cover the cost of housing during the reconstruction period.

When looking at your insurance, it’s helpful to do an annual review to ensure that you have sufficient coverage for the price of your home and your belongings.

For example, if you got your policy when you first bought the house and it’s appreciated in value since then, you may come up short. Also, if you have more belongings than you did initially, you need to cover the difference.

Bottom Line

It’s never too soon to update your homeowner’s insurance with regards to fire coverage. Click here to contact BJI (or call 865-922-3111) today and set up an appointment. Don’t wait until it’s too late.


How to Keep Your Home Safe From Fire Series

What to Do in a Fire

How to Keep Your Home Safe From Fire

In our last post, we discussed how to keep your home safe from a fire. However, even if you’re extra careful and cautious, a fire may break out from unforeseen circumstances. Regardless of the cause, there are some things to remember when faced with this kind of situation so that you and your family can make it out unscathed.

For Small Fires

If things haven’t gotten out of control, then you may be able to extinguish it on your own. Here are some methods that can work.

Smother It: grease fires will only spread if you use water, so cover it with a pot lid or a large, heavy blanket. Make sure that it’s fully covered at once so that the blanket doesn’t ignite as well. Wool is ideal in this situation.

Fight It: if you have an extinguisher, then read the instructions and aim the foam or spray at the base of the flame. It will get messy, but that’s nothing compared to losing your belongings or your home.

Douse It: if you’re sure that the fire was not caused by electricity or oil, then you can throw water on it to put it out. However, if you’re not sure, use either of the previous two methods instead.

For Large Fires

If it looks like things are getting too intense, then evacuate the home as quickly as possible. Leave any and all belongings and focus on getting yourself and your family out first. Never run back into a burning building. Instead, call 911 and wait for them to arrive. Nothing is worth your safety or your life.

When evacuating your home, remember that smoke rises, so stay low to the ground. If necessary, practice a fire drill with your family so that they know where to go and what to do once they are outside.

If you have a multi-story home and the stairway is blocked, then try to climb out of a window or call for help. An escape ladder is always a good idea for this reason, and you should keep it somewhere accessible.

Safety Tip: Don’t Open Doors!

In some cases, the fire could be contained inside a room, which means that if you open the door, it could spread and engulf the rest of the house. Thus, be sure to test it first and see if the knob is warm. If it is, then leave the door closed.


How to Keep Your Home Safe From Fire Series

How to Keep Your Home Safe From Fire

How to Keep Your Home Safe From Fire

If your home burned down, what would you do? This is a horrible thing to consider, but the fact is that you never know when or how it could happen. If you’re not prepared, then it could cost you a lot more than you might think.

So, to alleviate your concerns and ensure that you and your family stay safe, we’re going to talk about fire safety in the home and what you can do to protect yourself. Also, it’s imperative that you double check your insurance policy to see if you’re covered and what may be missing from your plan.

Don’t wait until it’s too late, be proactive today with these tips.

House Fire Statistics

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) tracks and documents residential fires across the country by year. According to their data, it seems as if Americans are becoming safer overall, but there is still a lot of damage being done.

In 2016, there were 352,000 residential fires. These resulted in almost 3,000 deaths, 11,000 injuries, and over $6.5 billion in damages. Although these numbers have been getting lower over the last decade, they paint a harrowing picture.

The overwhelming cause of house fires is due to cooking accidents. Whether you left the stove on or something caught ablaze while you were making dinner, over half (50.8%) of fires are a direct result of these incidents.

As such, it’s imperative that you and your family understand the risk factors and work to correct any issues before they cause a serious problem. Although you may be able to put the fire out before it causes catastrophic damage, you don’t want to experience that kind of situation if you don’t have to.

Common Risk Factors in Your Home

Your house may be more vulnerable to a spark than you may think. Every year, people start fires on accident, because they aren’t aware of how easy it is for something to ignite. Thus, we want to make sure that you have a fundamental understanding of what could cause a blaze to erupt so that you can plan accordingly.

Outlets

For the most part, you shouldn’t have to worry about these if your house is newer and up to code, but problems can arise if you try to plug too many items in at once. Although many extension cords and power strips are designed to shut off if the circuit gets overloaded, the outlet may still act up and pose a fire hazard.

Old Light Bulbs

If you’ve ever touched an incandescent light after it’s been on for a while, then you know that they can get scalding. If you haven’t upgraded to LED yet, you could be putting yourself at risk if one of these old bulbs touches something flammable. Thankfully, newer models are not only safer, but they save you a ton of electricity as well.

Stovetop/Oven

We’ve already mentioned that cooking is the leading cause of house fires, so we would be remiss if we didn’t stress it again. Everything that gets hot in your kitchen can be a potential hazard, from the pots and pans to the stovetop itself. Pay extra attention when cooking with oils as they are hard to put out when they ignite.

Candles

Since these have an open flame, it’s imperative that you treat them with caution. A romantic evening can turn into a disaster if you’re not careful, so watch where you place your candles and make sure that they are completely out when you extinguish them. Candle smoke can ignite, so just because there isn’t a flame doesn’t mean you’re safe yet.

Fireplaces

Even though these are usually well contained, an errant spark or ember can become deadly. Not only that, but the chimney collects all kinds of residue and debris that can ignite and spread throughout your home.

Heaters

Whether it’s a furnace on the wall or a space heater, these units can get extremely hot and pose a threat to you and your family if you’re not careful. Modern ones will usually have built-in safety mechanisms, but they can’t prevent all accidents from occurring.

How to Stay Safe

Now that we know what to look for it’s easier for us to plan accordingly and protect ourselves and our families. Here are some tips to remember when fire-proofing your home.

  • Never leave cooking unattended. As soon as you walk away from your pot, pan, or stovetop, something could happen. It doesn’t take long for a fire to spread, so even a minute or two can be disastrous.
  • Have a fire escape plan. We’ll go over the specifics of what to do in a fire in our next post, but it’s essential that you and your family have a plan in place should the worst happen. Usually, serious injury or death occurs because people panicked and didn’t know what to do.
  • Have extinguishers handy. Places where fires happen naturally (i.e., stove, fireplace, etc.) should have an extinguisher nearby. Thankfully, you can buy small cans of foam or aerosol mixes that can stop a fire in its tracks.
  • Clean your chimney. If you go months without using your fireplace, it’s crucial that you clean it out before tossing a match inside. There can be a harmful buildup of flammable materials that need to be cleared first.
  • Keep combustible items away from heat. Drapes, clothes, paper products, and cooking oil can all ignite with little warning if they are exposed to enough heat. If there is a potential hazard in your home, clear the area around it as much as possible and keep it clear at all times.
  • Inspect your electrical system. If your house is old, it may not be up to code. Getting inspected can prevent something terrible from happening when you least expect it.
  • Check your smoke alarms. Although they can get annoying when they beep on low battery, these devices can be lifesavers. As such, don’t disrespect them or ignore them.

How to Keep Your Home Safe From Fire Series

Be Prepared for Common Winter Homeowners Insurance Claims

Preparing for Winter

As we mentioned, the winter is a busy season for insurance agents due to the spike in claims. But what kind of issues are homeowners experiencing the most this time of year? Here are some examples.

Roof Damage

Most of us don’t pay too much attention to our roofs until they are caving in on us. The added weight of ice and snow can lead to a collapse if you’re not careful. Even if the worst doesn’t happen, it is possible to have to replace some  roofing.  Make sure your roof is in good condition before winter storms occur.

Fallen Trees

Branches and tree trunks can drop onto your house with little warning or notice, and the results can be devastating. Although you can’t always prepare yourself for this kind of occurrence, you can remove any old or decaying branches before the first snow falls. Look for any trees that may be leaning toward or over your house.  Talk with a professional about possible solutions.

Burst Pipes

The pipes inside our homes are not always built to withstand such temperature variations, which means that they could crack or burst if you’re not careful. Improper insulation and installation is usually the culprit, and the results could be a flooded home. Be sure that all pipes all insulated properly, and you might consider using spigot covers during cold months.

Fire Damage

As we mentioned in Preparing Your Home for Winter, your chimney could be a hazard if you don’t get it cleaned. When burning wood in your fireplace, use a fender (a short and long piece of metal that sits on the hearth to protect the rug or floor from flying sparks) and a firescreen.  If you are using  a space heater, leave plenty of area around the heater and be sure there are no flammable objects near it.

Are You Covered?

Before winter hits, do an insurance review with your agent to ensure that you’re covered from things like falling branches, “acts of God,” as well as other potential damages. You don’t want to wait until a pipe bursts to find out that you’re not covered for such things. Even if you’ve gone years without such a claim, you never know what the future holds. An insurance review could save you thousands of dollars.

Call 265-922-3111 or use our contact form to schedule your insurance review.

 


Preparing For Winter Series

Protecting Contents of College Students Away From Home

Protecting Contents of College Students Away From Home

College is expensive enough without finding out too late that an accident or theft isn’t covered under parents’ current policies.

Coverage of personal property

Most homeowners policies provide 10 percent of Coverage C (Personal Property) for property owned by an insured while it is at a residence other than the insured residence.  That means if the contents of a policyholder’s home are insured for $100,000, a student’s property up to $10,000 would be covered if living in a dormitory – provided the damage is caused by a covered peril and the student meets the definition of a insured.  Certain items, such as jewelry or expensive electronics my require special coverage or insuring it as a “scheduled item”.

Liability coverage

There usually is an exclusion for damage to property rented to an insured, so generally damage to a dorm room or apartment would not be covered.

Renters insurance

If a student’s needs can’t be met under their parents’ current policy, don’t forget about the asking for a Renter’s Insurance quote.