An ice dam can be identified as a bulge of ice attached to the eaves or overhang of your roof. You may notice icicles hanging from the roof edge or stains on your siding. Your rain gutters may also be overflowing with ice if you have a dam. Often, you may not be able to see the bulge, because it is covered with several inches of snow. This snow can even act as an insulator, further exacerbating the problem.

There are several steps you can take to prevent ice dams. In principle, all you have to do is keep the entire roof the same temperature as the eaves. This can be done by increasing ventilation to the roof, adding insulation, and sealing off any air leaks that may be warming the underside of the roof.

• Add insulation – By adding insulation to your attic, your home’s heat will remain in the lower floors or main portion of the home and not be lost through the roof. You can tell if your home is properly insulated by looking at the roof after a snowstorm. If your neighbor’s house has snow on it, but the snow on your roof has melted, you don’t have enough insulation and are losing heat through your roof.
• Ventilate the eaves and roof ridge – Adding ridge vents and soffit vents will circulate cold air evenly under your entire roof. Both vents should have the same size openings and provide at least one square foot of opening for every 300 square feet of attic floor. Placing baffles on the eaves will maintain a clear path for the airflow from the soffit vents.
• Cap your hatches and install sealed can lights – Seal off your attic hatch or whole-house fan opening. These holes allow heat to escape. Cover them with caps and weather stripping constructed from foil-faced foam board and aluminum tape. Old fashioned recessed lighting fixtures give off a lot of heat and cannot be insulated because they would pose a fire hazard. Replace them with sealed “IC” fixtures.
• Check your exhaust ducts and chimney flashing – The exhaust ducts connected to the kitchen and bathroom, as well as the dryer vent should all lead to the exterior of the home via the roof or walls, never through the soffit. Spread fiber-reinforced mastic on the joints of your HVAC ducts or exhaust ducts and cover them entirely with R-5 or R-6 foil-faced fiberglass. Seal the gap between the chimney and the house framing with flashing, holding it in place with beads of fire-stop sealant.
• Do some caulking – Seal the holes or gaps around any electrical cables, phone wires, cable TV wiring, or vent pipes protruding from your home with fire-stop sealant. Also seal up any other holes or cracks you find.

Click here if you want more information about how to properly insure your home or to get a free Louisville Home Insurance Quote.

1. Drop Coverage You Don’t Need: There are a lot of different options and things that could tack on extra dollars to your auto premium, take off what you don’t need
2. Search for Discounts: There are always new discounts coming up in a competitive market like auto insurance, do a search for discounts every 6 months to see what you can get
3. Improve Your Credit Score: A good/improving credit score might get you lower interest rates on loans, you should see if you can get extra savings off your insurance too
4. Pay Your Premiums With a Credit Card: Pay your car insurance with your credit card with cash back, it could save you anywhere from 1-5% of your insurance
5. Tell Your Kids to Keep Their Grades Up: Most companies offer some kind of good student discount, keep the grades up, keep the premium low
6. Take a Driving Course: Some driving courses are recognized by some policies, check and see what savings you can get (for a lifetime)
7. See If Your Occupation Can Save You Money: Each occupation has a different risk assessed to it, which could hike up your insurance or lower it, see if your occupation qualifies for savings

There are quite a few comments made in the comment section that provide some quality advice from other readers. If you want more information regarding your auto insurance or get a free Louisville KY Auto Insurance quote, click here.

Article: 7 Ways to Save Money on Car Insurance

Some business owners may forget about carrying commercial coverage because they use their automobile for both work and personal business. What many of these business owners may not realize, however, is that their claim may be denied if they lack commercial auto insurance and they have an accident while doing business with their automobile. To maintain proper coverage on a vehicle that is used for business, you must have commercial auto insurance and should have your vehicle listed under the business name as a principal insured entity on your policy. This way, if a claim is filed by you or against you, the insurance company will be able to process your claim without any confusion.

Determining which type of business auto insurance policy you need will of course depends on several factors, such as the number of employees who will drive the vehicle and the type of driving they will do for the job. It also matters whether you drive the vehicle personally or if your employees drive the vehicle, or whether you will have your employees drive their own vehicles for business purposes. While similar to a personal auto insurance policy, there are differences in liability and other types of coverage that you will need with a commercial policy.

The policy itself will outline exactly what constitutes commercial use of an insured vehicle. How exactly this definition fits your company’s vehicle use will determine if you actually need a commercial policy. As with all insurance coverage, your agent can help you to investigate your needs and plan accordingly.

Your monthly premiums for a commercial account will be influenced by several factors, such as business location (whether you are in a bad neighborhood or not), the driving records for yourself and your employees, the type of vehicles you are insuring (how safe they are), which size deductible you choose, and which safety or anti-theft devices are installed on the vehicle.

There are also some special considerations which can affect your commercial auto insurance rates. If you run a trucking business, for example, you may have certain insurance requirements you must meet for the state and federal government or department of transportation. Commercial policies also differ from personal ones in regards to who is covered in the event of a claim. It could be the driver, owner, or corporation, for example. As with other business insurance, the type of business you run and specific uses for your vehicles are the largest determining factor in how much commercial auto insurance coverage you will need.

If you want to know more about Louisville Commercial Auto Insurance or to get a free quote, please visit our website.

The group health plan at your workplace should cover your student until they are out of school, and you can continue to cover them on your automobile insurance as well. But what about all of their personal belongings? In this age of modern technology, students are packing quite a bit of expensive hardware when they move into an apartment or dorm room. Laptop or desktop computers, MP3 players, video game consoles, smart phones, blue ray players, plasma screen televisions, and high end stereo systems are desirable targets for thieves. These items are also expensive to replace in the event of fire, water, or other accidental damage.

Parents cannot rely on the insurance coverage of the college for a student dormitory or the insurance that a landlord carries to cover their child’s possessions. In most cases, these policies are minimal, and at best will cover the dwelling your student lives in and none of their personal belongings and valuables. There are a couple of ways to make sure that your student is properly covered. Several insurance companies offer college student property insurance. This insurance is generally very inexpensive and will offer protection for items such as laptops, cameras, mp3 players, cell phones, musical instruments, furniture and many other expensive or irreplaceable items.

Click here for more information on Kentucky Renter’s Insurance or visit the website for free quotes.

If your student rents an apartment, condo, townhouse, or a room in a home with a group of other students, you should purchase some type of renter’s insurance to assure that he or she is completely covered against theft or damage. Some landlords even require that their tenants purchase renter’s insurance as a stipulation of their lease. Renter’s insurance will assure that a student can replace their belongings if they are damaged or stolen, giving them and their parents the peace of mind that they are completely protected. Coverage is usually inexpensive — the amount of coverage your student requires will dictate the monthly cost. In many cases, as little as $15-$20 per month will provide all of the coverage needed.

One other option (which is the most affordable) is to add your child to your existing homeowner’s policy. This will cover them while they are away for college as long as your home remains their primary residence. Adding a rider to your policy for your college student will generally give them up to 10% of the coverage you carry. For example, a $300,000 policy would extend $30,000 in coverage to your child. With homeowner’s insurance coverage, as with other types of coverage, you will still be subject to paying the deductible, so make yourself familiar with what that dollar amount is. If a $1,000 laptop is stolen and the deductible is $1,000, for example, you’ll be out of luck.

Flood insurance is available to homeowners, condo/co-op owners, and renters of homes, apartments or condos/co-ops. Policies provide coverage for buildings and their contents, and are available in a number of different plans with different costs and coverage levels. If your home is in a high-risk flood area and you obtained your mortgage through a federally regulated or insured lender, you’re required to purchase a flood insurance policy.

Most homeowners living in moderate-to-low risk areas for floods are eligible for coverage at a preferred rate. The lowest premiums are called Preferred Risk Policies which bundle home and contents coverage and are available through the National Flood Insurance Program, starting at just $119 per year. This is a small price to pay if you are faced with a flood damage repair bill of $30,000 or more. Even if you don’t qualify for a Preferred Risk Policy, a standard rate policy can still be purchased. You may think that just because you don’t live in a high risk are, you don’t need flood insurance, but statistics show that nearly 25% of all NFIP flood claims occur in moderate-to-low risk areas.

If you do live in a high risk area, you still have options. There are separate policies which will cover damage to your home and for its contents. The Dwelling Form provides insurance for buildings with one to four units, including single-family condominium units and townhouses. The General Property Form provides insurance for other types of residential and commercial buildings. Both forms provide flood insurance on contents, but you must purchase it as optional coverage.

Flood insurance premiums are calculated based on several factors:

• Year of building construction
• Number of floors
• The location of its contents
• Flood risk (Is it in a flood zone?)
• The location of the lowest floor in relation to the elevation requirement on the flood map
• The deductible you choose and the amount of building and contents coverage you choose

Renters can obtain flood insurance as well. Like home or condo/co-op owners, the amount of coverage and deductible you choose will determine your premiums. And like people who own their home most renters in moderate-to-low risk flood areas are eligible for coverage at a preferred rate. Preferred Risk Policy premiums available through the NFIP offer coverage for one low price starting at $39 per year for Contents Only coverage. High risk coverage is also available for those who don’t qualify, just as in homeowner’s coverage. The premiums are influenced by the same factors listed above. Whether you are a renter or an owner, if there’s a possibility that your home may flood, it’s good to know that affordable insurance is available to you. Not only does flood insurance make good financial sense in the long run, it will give you the peace of mind that you are covered in the event that disaster strikes in the form of rising water.

Find out more about protecting  your home and contents  by calling our office, or visiting  our  website for a free Louisville Home Insurance quote.

From mid-April to mid-August, this group of Colorado residents can count on three or four catastrophic hailstorms every year. A catastrophic hailstorm is defined as one which causes at least $25 million in insured damage. Even after this amount of damage is spread across everyone in the region, it can still add up to an expensive individual repair bill for each resident to fix their homes, automobiles and businesses. And the repairs are needed year after year. In fact, over the last 10 years, hailstorms have caused more than $1 billion in insured damage in the state of Colorado. Up to one-half of a homeowner’s insurance premium for residents of that state go toward hail and wind damage costs as a result.

New Mexico is another state which is prone to hail storms and hail damage. For example, tornadoes and hail resulted in $16.5 million dollars in insured damage around Clovis, Roswell and Logan in just one day in March of 2007. The good news for residents of Colorado, New Mexico and other regions, is that hail damage is covered by almost all insurance companies if you carry comprehensive coverage on your auto insurance policy. Practically all home insurance policies cover hail damage as well.

In the event you are the victim of a hailstorm, stay indoors (obviously) until the storm has subsided before venturing out to check damage. If trees, shrubs and plants around your house are stripped of their foliage, there’s a good possibility that your roof has become damaged. Windows, vents, and awnings could also be damaged, as well as your automobile’s body and windows or windshield. If there is a possibility of additional storms coming through your area, cover broken windows on your home or car and holes in the roof to protect against further damage from rain, wind, or more hail.

You may wish to make a record of the work you do and take photos to show to your insurance agent as well. Keep receipts of any repairs you make to submit along with your insurance claim. An adjuster will be sent to your property to assess the damage done by hail to your car or home and will recommend repairs. If your roof is damaged, you may want to use a company which is an expert in hail damage to assure that the job is done properly and also to have hail resistant roofing materials installed to protect you from damage done by future hail storms. Finally, if your insurance didn’t cover enough of your hail damage to either your home or your car, speak to your agent about adjusting your policy to increase your coverage, lower your deductible, or add more comprehensive coverage.

Find out more about protecting  your home and motor vehicles by calling our office, or visiting  Your Louisville Insurance for a free quote online today.

1.    Make sure your gutters are properly secured. So many times there are weak gutters and many homeowners are unaware of this. Because of this, water can seep in between the gutters and your home, ultimately causing water to leak into the house and cause damage before you may even know it. You may want to have someone to come out and check the gutters on your home, whether or not your roof is new or old. Make sure your gutters are cleaned out of debris, such as limbs and leaves. This can also cause leaking and wear down your gutters- Be Proactive!

2.    Is your roof aging? If your roof is 20 years or older, you may want to have your roof inspected. Yes, this can cost some money, but much less money if your roof begins to leak due to your roof being old and weak. Roof claims can cost anywhere between $2,000 and $20,000, these figures of course depend on how much damage is done. No one ever wants to file a claim, so taking these preventative measures can cause you less stress and headache in the long run!

3.    Check your windows! Many of us may have cracked, rotted and leaking windows and not even know it. This goes for your Home and Motor Vehicles! Make sure that your windows don’t have cracks in them of any sorts. Also if your windows are older, this could be a great time to replace those windows! Again, being proactive in this area can save you a lot of money in the long run! This same preventative measure goes for your Motor Vehicles. Make sure that you don’t have any cracks in your windows on your car.  Another preventative measure you can take is to make sure the rubber sealing around your windows is not aging or cracked in any way.

What happens if we have you have taken these preventative measures and something still happens? No worries! We have one of the top rated Claims Team in the nation. If you have any leaking of any kind, make sure to stop the leaking as best as possible. If there is major or even some minor damage already done and you cannot stop the leaking yourself, you can call a company to come out to help you with this. Most policies have a clause that requires you to prevent any additional damage after any claim. This would mean to secure any property or tarp the roof if it is leaking.  All you need to do is call your agent and ask them for a company name and number that will be able to help you with this. If this is the case, make sure to keep all receipts from any work that is done. Your claims adjuster will want to keep this in mind with your claims information. The best thing that you can do is stop the leaking before it causes more damage than necessary.

Find out more about protecting  your home and motor vehicles by calling our office, or visiting  Your Louisville Insurance for a free quote online today.

We know how much people are trying to cut costs out of their budgets- but nothing is more important than having adequate coverage in your Auto Insurance. Comprehensive coverage can be added to your policy without having collision on your Auto Insurance. It is important to have an in depth conversation with your insurance agent regarding your policy.

Comprehensive Coverage pays for your vehicle if it is ever stolen or damaged by causes other than collision. That means that if you walk out of your front door to head to work and your car is gone, you will have coverage for your vehicle. For example, with Comprehensive Coverage on your policy you are protected against damages caused by fire, wind, hail, flood, theft vandalism, or hitting a deer are all covered. Comprehensive Coverage will also pay for a substitute vehicle expense of up to $25/day or $750/total, if your car is stolen. Almost all policies have deductibles that will apply to the loss. The most common deductible is $500, but you can have almost any deductible you want, ranging from $0 to $5000.

Filing the claim:

If you are a victim of a stolen vehicle, call the police immediately to have a theft report filed. The police need to be able to put your vehicle identification number (VIN) in their data base as a stolen vehicle. Next call your insurance company to file the claim. On most policies there is a waiting period for filing your stolen vehicle claim. The standard wait is 48 hours from the time of theft. Many cars have additional damage if recovered. This damage is covered but subject to your comprehensive deductible. If the car is found and the damage is under your deductible the insurance will close the claim. You will have to pay for the damage under your deductible amount. Theft claims are typically not chargeable claims, and have little or no effect on your premium. If your vehicle has caused damage to anyone else’s property, the property damage section of your liability would cover this part of the claim. Property damage rarely has a deductible associated with it. You will need to consult with your agent to verify your policy.

Most cars that are retrieved by the police are found within the first 3 days. Joy riding is the most common reason for car theft. Many cars are found in different states abandoned on the side of the road. The laws change for the assailant if they are caught after crossing state lines.

If you have liability cover now and would like to know what it would cost to add Comprehensive Coverage on to your policy then contact our office, or get a free Louisville Auto Insurance quote online today.

• · Option 1: Determining Expenses (-) Assets: Figure a rough estimate of your annual family budget. This would include your mortgage, child care, insurance, food, basic living expenses, as well as extra expenses including vacations, and future education plans such as private school and college. Next, estimate a figure for your assets such as savings, social security benefits, or any other income that will be there such as the income of a surviving spouse. Remember, stay-at-home spouses contribute a lot to the family income by by-passing child care, travel, cleaning, cooking and associated costs, therefore would need to be insured also.
• · Option 2: Salary Estimate: Another quick, but more general way, would be to take your current annual salary and multiply that by 7. For example, if you make 60,000/per year then I would recommend buying a minimum of $420,000($60,000 X 7= $420,000).

If your estimate is high, good, it’s probably right. If you are worried about the premium cost, I would recommend choosing term life insurance. You can get a policy for the time you would need it (the amount of time your kids would depend on you) for a lower premium than other insurance options.

When do I Need Life Insurance?

1. Considering starting a family: If you are considering starting a family you should consider purchasing life insurance. Your rates will be cheaper now than when you get older and your future children will be depending on your income.

3. Established Families: You need life insurance now if you have a family that depends on you.

I am a stay-at-home-mom and I don’t bring any income into our household, so why would we need life insurance on me? The cost of replacing someone to do domestic chores, home budgeting, and childcare should always be considered if you die, it can cause significant financial problems for the surviving family.  Funeral expenses can also be very costly if they are not already budgeted.

4. Young Single Adults: The reason a single adult would typically need life insurance would be to pay for their own funeral costs or if they help support an elderly parent or other person they may care for financially.

5. Couples without Children: Both persons in this situation would need to decide if they would want life insurance. If both persons are bringing in an income that they feel comfortable living on alone if their partner should pass away, then life insurance would not be necessary except if they wanted to cover their funeral costs. But, maybe in some instances one working spouse contributes more to the income or would want to leave their significant other in a better financial position, then as long as purchasing a life insurance policy would not be a financial burden, it could be an option.

6. Elderly: As long as you do not have people depending on your income for support, life insurance at this stage in your life would not be necessary, unless again, you do not have any other means to pay for your funeral expenses. But, be aware that purchasing a life insurance policy at this age can be very expensive. Before doing so, first talk to a financial advisor or accountant about looking into other saving options to pay for your funeral costs before considering life insurance.

Find out more about life insurance by calling our office, or get a free Louisville Life Insurance quote online today.

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What doesn’t my home insurance policy cover?

Most home insurance policies do not provide much coverage for expensive jewelry, antiques, collectibles or art. You may have to purchase a “floater” or “endorsement” to achieve adequate protection for your valuable possessions. There may also be a limit on reimbursement for stolen or destroyed computers.

Standard home insurance policies provide coverage for loss or damage due to theft, fire, lightning, hail, and explosions; they do not cover damage from floods or earthquakes, or damage caused by lack of routine maintenance.

Flood insurance is available from the federal government (Visit Federal Emergency Management Agency web site). If you live in a flood zone you should discuss the need for an additional flood insurance policy. Earthquake coverage is available as a separate policy which you will also need to discuss with your agent.

You may have difficulty finding coverage for certain other disasters, such as hurricanes and wildfires.

How do I know if I need federal flood insurance?

If you are located in a flood zone, your lender will most likely require you to carry flood insurance. Both the U.S. Geological Survey and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offer maps showing earthquake and flood risks.  To find out how much flood insurance costs in your area, click here to obtain a free flood insurance quote.

How can I reduce my home insurance premium?

There are numerous ways to reduce your home insurance premium:

• install smoke detectors
• install and give proof of an alarm system
• install fire extinguishers
• increase your deductible

Keep in mind when you increase your deductible you will pay more of the amount of any claim out of your own pocket. For instance, if you have a $500 deductible, you would have to pay the first $500 of damages. Your insurance coverage would not kick in unless your loss was greater than $500.

If you currently have a low deductible of $100 or $250, and you increase it to, say, $500, $1,000, or $2,500, be sure you can handle the increased risk. In other words, only increase your deductible if you set aside that amount of money so it will be available if you need it.  If you want to know how much you’ll have to pay for home insurance, fill out one of our Louisville  Home Insurance Quotes online.