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Extra Protection With American Integrity

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During October, we’ve introduced you to one of our trusted partners, American Integrity. Not only does American Integrity offer programs for small boat owners and owners of high value homes, they also write coverage for more modest homes, condos, manufactured homes, renters insurance, and more, including:

Coverage for rental properties. If you own rental property, American Integrity writes DP-1 and DP-3 policies.

Umbrella policies.

Cyber attack coverage. In conjunction with a homeowners or renters policy.

Golf cart coverage.

Home Systems Protection. This policy covers repairs or replacement when certain home systems, such as your central air conditioning or conventionally installed water heater, break down and cause physical damage. Most standard homeowners policies don’t cover this kind of damage. Home Systems Protection is included in their Silver, Gold, and Diamond Reserve endorsements for your homeowners or condo insurance, or can be purchased as stand-alone coverage under certain programs.

Identity theft insurance. This coverage includes identity restoration case management as well as reimbursement for the expenses you face when restoring your identity. This coverage is also included in American Integrity’s Silver, Gold, and Diamond endorsement bundles, or as stand-alone coverage for a $25 fee in conjunction with a standard homeowners insurance policy.

Don’t forget the discounts!

American Integrity also offers many different types of discounts, including discounts for newly-built homes (within the past five years), alarm systems, secured communities, recent updates to your roof and/or other major systems like electrical or plumbing—even a discount if the policyholder is 55 or older. Be sure to consult with your L & M Insurance Group agent to see if you’re receiving all the discounts you’re entitled to.

If you have any questions about American Integrity, or any of our other carriers, please call L & M Insurance Group at 813-672-4100 (or click here to email us). As your local independent insurance agency, we want to help you find the insurance coverage that will give you financial peace of mind. 

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Just Married? Time to Review Your Insurance Coverage

by Posted in Auto Insurance, Health Insurance, Homeowners Insurance, Life Insurance, Renters Insurance Tagged , , , Leave a comment

Now that you’ve opened the presents and returned from your honeymoon, it’s time to consider some of the changes getting married will bring to your financial life. For instance, if you haven’t done so already, you should review, compare and consolidate your insurance policies. Good news—you may get a discount just for being married, because many insurance companies consider married people a better risk than single people.

Review your existing coverage

Car insurance

Compare your car insurance policy limits and coverage. It may be less expensive to combine all your vehicles onto one policy because you will be eligible for a multi-car discount. Get a quote from each of your car insurance companies to see which is the better deal. If you change policies, make sure new coverage goes into effect before the old coverage is cancelled so you don’t have a lapse in coverage.

Homeowners or renters insurance

If you’ve been living separately, you may have both been carrying homeowners or renters insurance. You should be able to cancel one policy if you no longer own or rent that second home, but make sure the policy you’re left with is appropriate for your needs. 

For example, you may need to increase your personal property limits now that all your belongings are under one roof. You may also need special coverage for high value items like your wedding and engagement rings, high-end electronics, or expensive wedding gifts.

And remember to officially add your spouse to your policy!

Health insurance

Now that you’re married, you have a limited time to enroll in a new health plan or join a spouse’s plan—usually 60 days. If either or both of you have employer-based plans offering spousal benefits, you’ll want to compare these three scenarios: you each keep your current plan; you join your spouse’s plan; your spouse joins your plan. Ask questions about monthly premiums, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket costs. If you don’t have health insurance through work, you can buy or change your coverage through your state or federal exchange. See healthcare.gov for more details.

Life Insurance

Consider buying life insurance—even if neither of you have children. The death of one partner could lead to financial difficulties for the surviving spouse if you have bills or a mortgage one person can’t afford on their own.

One more thing: be sure to update your beneficiaries and emergency contacts.

Need help? We’ve got you covered!

Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t be! Your friendly L & M Insurance Group agent can help you make sense of it all. Whether you’re an existing client or a new one, we will be happy to help you sort through your options. As an independent agency, we represent many financially sound insurance companies and will help you make the best choices for your financial situation. Call us today at 813-672-4100, or email us for a car, home, renters, health, or life insurance quote.

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Think You Don’t Need Renters Insurance? Think Again!

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Renters Insurance in Brandon, Riverview, Tampa, and Florida

Renters Insurance Brandon, Tampa, Riverview Florida

Renting a place rather than buying can make good financial sense for many reasons. But what if a fire destroys your apartment, or a leaky roof saturates your furniture? Who would pay for your damaged belongings? If you think it’s your landlord, think again.

A 2016 survey indicated that while 95 percent of homeowners carry homeowners insurance, only 41 percent of renters carry renters insurance. This could be a big financial mistake. Here are four reasons renters insurance is a good idea for most people.

Renters insurance covers your belongings

To make sure your policy limits are adequate to replace your belongings, create a home inventory and add up the cost of replacing your major items, then double it. We recommend that you carry replacement cost rather than actual cash value. (Replacement Cost: what it would cost to replace your item with a comparable brand new item. Actual Cash Value: the value of your item, less depreciation.)

Renters insurance protects your liability

What if one of your friends trips and falls and breaks her arm? Or maybe your friend’s iPhone is stolen while he’s at your house for a party? Renters insurance has you covered. Most renters insurance policies come with $100,000 liability coverage. You may want to discuss with your L & M Insurance Group agent whether this is enough. Most of the time, it only costs a little more to raise your limits.

Renters insurance is cost effective

Since a renters insurance policy doesn’t cover the structure itself, the actual cost is fairly low. In fact, the average cost of a renters insurance policy is about the same per month as the cost of having a pizza delivered! This is just a fraction of the cost of replacing all your belongings if they’re damaged or stolen, or defending yourself against a lawsuit if someone is injured at your home. Check with your agent about discounts for safety features like a burglar alarm or sprinkler system to further lower your cost.

Renters insurance helps with additional living expenses

If you can’t live in your rental after a covered loss, your policy may help pay reasonable costs of temporary lodging while it is being repaired. Check your policy for financial and duration limits. We specialize in rental insurance in Brandon, Riverview, and Tampa but serve all of Florida.

Please give us a call at 813-672-4100 if you have any questions about renters insurance, or if you’d like a quote. We’re here to serve you.