Is Your Condo Homeowners Insurance Ready For Christmas?
The clock's ticking, winding down to the Christmas holidays.
That visit from ol' Saint Nick is right around the corner-and so is the general insanity that always goes along with the holiday season! The question is, is your condo's homeowners insurance policy ready for it? You'd be amazed at how many people recommend you raise the levels on your homeowners insurance over the holidays.
On one hand, it makes perfect sense.
There's a good chance that if you're going to have to file a homeowners insurance claim this year courtesy of theft (or a flammable turkey with a mind of its own) it's going to be now! On the other hand, why raise your limits now and leave yourself underinsured the other ten months of the year? Theft The Christmas season always sends the thieves crawling out of the woodwork looking for jewelry, electronics and empty houses.
Between people being on vacation and the fact that there's never enough money to get through the holidays this is the perfect time for a "Home Alone" experience (1,2 or 3).
In light of that fact, it's a good idea to get ahold of whichever of the 50+ nationwide homeowners insurance companies you're working with and make sure your home inventory is up to date.
It doesn't do you any good to spend a small fortune on a 72" TV only to find out after it's been stolen that it wasn't covered by your homeowners insurance policy, does it? Christmas is also a great time to make sure your home security is on target.
If your condo doesn't have a deadbolt on the door, now's the time to do it.
Thanks to YouTube even the newest rookie can use a bump key and be in your house in a matter of minutes without tipping off the neighbors.
That gives them no-holds barred, full access to your house.
You don't walk around handing out your house key, so why would you write an open invitation to anyone with a key mold and a hammer? Kitchen Fires Did you know that Thanksgiving is the number one day of the year for kitchen fires? Numbers aren't available for Christmas (that I could find) but I do know that in 2007 there were so many pre-Christmas fires courtesy of people making Christmas cookies and prepping for Christmas dinner that fire departments actually had to pass around a warning about cooking during the holidays.
And you wonder why there are so many restaurants open on Christmas...
Your homeowners insurance company has probably already talked to you about this, but if they haven't now is the time to go through and make sure you have a working fire extinguisher and smoke alarm to stop kitchen fires before they blaze out of control.
The last thing you want to do spend your Christmas filling out the massive piles of paperwork that go along with filing homeowners insurance claims.
Nothing sours a good pumpkin pie like trying to convince an insurance inspector that you really didn't deliberately burn down your drywall just to get a free home makeover.
Your pie doesn't deserve that, and neither do you.
An ounce of prevention will go a long way.
That visit from ol' Saint Nick is right around the corner-and so is the general insanity that always goes along with the holiday season! The question is, is your condo's homeowners insurance policy ready for it? You'd be amazed at how many people recommend you raise the levels on your homeowners insurance over the holidays.
On one hand, it makes perfect sense.
There's a good chance that if you're going to have to file a homeowners insurance claim this year courtesy of theft (or a flammable turkey with a mind of its own) it's going to be now! On the other hand, why raise your limits now and leave yourself underinsured the other ten months of the year? Theft The Christmas season always sends the thieves crawling out of the woodwork looking for jewelry, electronics and empty houses.
Between people being on vacation and the fact that there's never enough money to get through the holidays this is the perfect time for a "Home Alone" experience (1,2 or 3).
In light of that fact, it's a good idea to get ahold of whichever of the 50+ nationwide homeowners insurance companies you're working with and make sure your home inventory is up to date.
It doesn't do you any good to spend a small fortune on a 72" TV only to find out after it's been stolen that it wasn't covered by your homeowners insurance policy, does it? Christmas is also a great time to make sure your home security is on target.
If your condo doesn't have a deadbolt on the door, now's the time to do it.
Thanks to YouTube even the newest rookie can use a bump key and be in your house in a matter of minutes without tipping off the neighbors.
That gives them no-holds barred, full access to your house.
You don't walk around handing out your house key, so why would you write an open invitation to anyone with a key mold and a hammer? Kitchen Fires Did you know that Thanksgiving is the number one day of the year for kitchen fires? Numbers aren't available for Christmas (that I could find) but I do know that in 2007 there were so many pre-Christmas fires courtesy of people making Christmas cookies and prepping for Christmas dinner that fire departments actually had to pass around a warning about cooking during the holidays.
And you wonder why there are so many restaurants open on Christmas...
Your homeowners insurance company has probably already talked to you about this, but if they haven't now is the time to go through and make sure you have a working fire extinguisher and smoke alarm to stop kitchen fires before they blaze out of control.
The last thing you want to do spend your Christmas filling out the massive piles of paperwork that go along with filing homeowners insurance claims.
Nothing sours a good pumpkin pie like trying to convince an insurance inspector that you really didn't deliberately burn down your drywall just to get a free home makeover.
Your pie doesn't deserve that, and neither do you.
An ounce of prevention will go a long way.