Are You Prepared For a Storm?

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Preparing for a storm can be an undertaking that no one looks forward to, but being equipped when a storm hits can be invaluable. There is no better time than now to put a plan in place to protect you and your family. Below are some essential aspects to consider when storm is on the horizon.

Emergency Kit

Having an emergency kit prepared is vital. It’s a great idea to always have an emergency kit on hand stocked with batteries, flashlights, first aid kit, and other essential emergency items for unexpected disasters. When a storm is approaching, other necessities should be stocked for your emergency kit in case of power outages. Some of these items should include water, non-perishable food items, prescription medicines, cash, and any other items that may may be needed. When considering items to include in your family’s emergency kit, you should also consider any unique needs of your family. If you have small children, you may need to have extra formula and diapers; if you have pets, make sure you have plenty of pet food on hand.

Financial Preparedness

Preparing your finances ahead of a storm could be one of the best financial decisions you’ll make. The recovery process after a disaster will take much longer if you don’t have immediate access to personal financial, insurance, medical, and other household records. Below are a few tips to prepare your financial disaster plan.

  1. Store important documents in a safety deposit box or in a cloud based storage to have easy access during a disaster.
  2. Consider creating an emergency fund that could be used in any crisis.
  3. Make sure you’re fully covered. Obtain property, health and life insurance if you don’t already have it, and review the policies. During storms, such as hurricanes, there are certain damages that your insurance may not cover, so make sure you understand what’s covered and what’s not covered.
  4. Document your assets. It’s a good idea to take photos or do a quick video walk-through of your home. You may not ever need it, but if you do have to file a claim, it is much smoother to have everything documented.

Communication

storm prep

Download your Disaster Preparedness Plan

It sounds simple, but it’s important to communicate with your whole family about what to do in certain scenarios to reduce stress and confusion.  When a storm makes landfall, where will you shelter? Will you stay in place or evacuate? Do you know your evacuation route? How will you receive storm updates if there is no power or internet? These are just a few of the questions to consider when creating a plan for your family. Having a plan in place ahead of time can reduce anxiety for the whole family. Download our Disaster Preparedness Plan to help you prepare for a storm.

For more resources to create your storm preparedness plan visit https://www.ready.gov.

8 Safety Tips for Holiday Road Trips

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auto insurance

Between nasty weather, highway congestion, and general stress, road trips take their toll on family travel during the holidays. Every year, more than 500 fatal accidents occur between Christmas and New Year’s. Don’t be one of them. Follow these eight tips to prepare for a safe holiday road trip.  

Get a General Auto Inspection

If your car hasn’t visited the mechanic in a few months, it’s time for a general inspection before you go. They will make sure all your fluids are full, oil is changed, and catch issues before they turn into problems. Don’t let a preventable issue leave you stranded. Talk to you mechanic about your holiday plans so they can give you location-specific advice.

Replace Windshield Wipers

It’s easy and inexpensive to replace windshield wipers yourself and new wiper blades make a huge difference if caught in an unexpected rain, sleet, or snow storm.

Consider Snow Tires

If you’re traveling out of Florida to visit family or friends, check the weather forecasts through all the states you’ll be driving through. If you’re going through any mountain passes, know that snow tires are often required by state laws when there are impending winter storms.

Line Up Emergency Roadside Assistance

In case you need roadside assistance or a tow, make sure you’re covered. Check your plan and update your policy if need be.

Pack a Car Emergency First Aid Kit

A well-stocked first aid kit is of the utmost importance for any road trip. From bandages and antiseptic to aspirin and antihistamines, you cannot be too prepared. If headed north through colder weather, it’s recommended to pack a snow shovel and emergency blanket, extra water and snacks, batteries, and head lamps.

Keep Phones Charged

Keep your cell phone fully charged by bringing a car charger. Also, bring a rechargeable battery pack should your car break down and you need to stay in contact with emergency services, hotels, and relatives.

Coordinate Your Plans 

Email a copy of your holiday travel plans to relatives at your destination as well as with any family or friends behind at home. Make sure everyone in the car is on the same page and prepped for what to do in case of a detour or accident. Plan your routes in advance and download road apps to stay up-to-date with weather and traffic conditions.

Auto Insurance Coverageauto insuranceRoad Trip

Does your auto insurance  provide enough coverage? Is it good for out of state travel? For more information about getting the right car insurance for you, call Synergy Insurance Group to discuss policies that will protect your family during the holidays and new year.

Before hitting the road, consider a little extra protection in case of an emergency with our Auto Accident Workbook or our Road Trip Safety & Tips eBook. These printable guides are meant to give you peace of mind if an accident were to occur, or even if you need an extra travel planning companion. Click either image to get your copy!

Stock Up on Hurricane Supplies This Tax Free Holiday

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The 2020 Florida Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday is here, from May 29th – June 4th. Unlike previous years, there is only ONE tax holiday for disaster preparedness supplies in 2020.  So it’s time to stock up on those high demand hurricane supplies and general household items. Because, don’t forget hurricane season starts on June 1st (what a crazy coincidence!) and a lot of disaster preparedness items are sales tax exempt during this time.

Hurricane Prep Savings Galore

When a hurricane hits, you don’t want to be scrambling to find these important disaster preparedness items. You can avoid long lines and a lot of stress by planning to pick up these top disaster preparedness items during the sales tax holiday. Click the image below to see the high demand tax free items.

While there are price limits on what you can buy, the range of emergency supplies isn’t half bad:

2020 Disaster Prep Sales Tax Holiday

Planning Ahead

Remember that the most common emergency items are always exempt from taxes, including first-aid kits, basic foodstuffs (including baby formula), bottled water, and prescription medications.

There’s little worse than running smack dab into an emergency without the supplies you need! Now is the time to get the fuel, food, and lighting you need if worst comes to worst. Don’t stand in line with everyone else, only to find out the items you need most are sold out. Prep for hurricane season now (without those pesky taxes!) and rest easy when the storm hits. You can get all the details of Florida’s Tax Free Holiday here as well.

storm season

Download your free Disaster Preparedness Plan Ebook here!

Synergy Insurance has been helping Floridians improve family safety for years, and we want to help you too—whether you’re a client or not! For more information about disaster prep, download our Disaster Preparedness Plan to learn more about what to do when a storm touches down. If you have any questions about how homeowners insurance can help you get the coverage you need to stave off the worst of the storm, call Synergy Insurance today.

Get Smart – Save Money On Home Insurance

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Your homeowners insurance premium may seem like a relatively static bill in your life, especially if you’ve had your property for many years. But you probably have more control over it than you think. Home insurers want to see their clients are doing everything they can on their end to protect their property. And making just a few tweaks to your home security can leave you with some extra cash in your pockets. Here are 5 ways you can save money on your home insurance: Read more

Insurance Checkup Time

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Get storm smart for 2019

In the last three years, Florida got hit with three major weather events – Hurricanes Irma, Michael, and Matthew. After living through these catastrophic storms, many homeowners felt disappointed with their insurance coverage. Some were left with repair and rebuilding costs much higher than they anticipated, others were surprised by coverage they were missing. Now is the ideal time to check the fine-print details of your policy and reevaluate your coverage with a Synergy Insurance Group agent. There’s still time to make necessary changes to protect your home and financial future before the 2019 storm season arrives.

What You Need To Know About Your Deductible

Did you know that Hurricanes Irma, Michael, and Matthew produced over one million insurance claims from property owners in Florida? Sadly, many homeowners were shocked to find out how much out of pocket repair costs they had to pay. Factors including their hurricane deductible and amount of coverage both affected their claims. With high deductibles and not enough coverage to pay for all repairs, thousands of  Floridians got awarded a low or no settlement at all on their insurance claims.

Your deductible is the amount of money homeowners have to pay out of pocket before insurance coverage kicks in. For example, let’s say you own a $350,000 home. You have a 2% deductible. In this case, your hurricane deductible is $7000. Let’s say that your home sustains $6500 of damage to the roof. Since the costs don’t exceed the amount of your deductible, you don’t qualify to collect on your claim.

Understanding your coverage is vital to avoid misunderstandings later. If you have questions, scheduling an appointment with your insurance agent is a smart idea. They are there to help you review and understand your policy. They can advise whether you should make changes to your policy to get the best coverage for your home.

Protect Your Home With Flood Insurance

Flooding poses a significant risk to your home and belongings. Flood Insurance isn’t part of most standard homeowners insurance policies. You don’t want to find out you don’t have flood coverage when your living room is under a foot of water. When looking at photos from the wake of destruction left in Panama City by Hurricane Michael, you might assume that high winds are to blame. Actually, flooding caused much of the damages. Anyone who didn’t carry adequate flood insurance coverage was responsible for all costs incurred for flood remediation, repairs, and replacement. A one inch flood of water in your home can cause $25K in damages. Given this information, it’s easy to see how flood insurance from Synergy Insurance Group is a wise investment.  Flood damage is expensive and frustrating to have to fix on your own

Inventory Your Valuables

After the holidays, you might feel ‘cash poor.’ Especially if you splurged on new electronics, jewelry, art, or other expensive items that could make you exceed your coverage limit on possessions. You may want to be sure that the new Smartphone you got as a gift gets covered in case it gets stolen! Synergy offers a very helpful Home Inventory Checklist that will guide you through the process. While doing an inventory of your valuables, replacement costs should get considered. If you need to update your homeowner’s insurance to cover these items, you have the coverage you need. For instance, let’s say your home’s market value is $150,000.  Completing an updated replacement cost estimate with your agent helps assure you have enough coverage. This estimate typically includes the most up-to-date contracting costs. In case your home needs rebuilding following a fire, hurricane, or other natural disasters, then fortunately hikes to coverage are affordable. In Florida, you never know what to expect, so having a little extra coverage is better than not having enough.

Our Experts Are Here To Help

Synergy Insurance Group specializes in Florida Home Insurance. You can rely on our team of experts to help you. We’ll even do a free homeowner’s insurance policy evaluation! Chat With Us Now to get started or fill out the form to start a homeowners quote today.

The beginning of the new year is the best time review and make changes to your insurance policy. Start the new year right by planning for the future!

Now Is The Time For Flood Insurance

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Flood Insurance

Hurricane season is winding down, so it may seem like flood insurance should be the last thing on your mind. With the immediate danger in your rearview, it may even seem financially prudent to wait for another 10 months before you even consider it. But before you declare the discussion over, keep in mind that you may be selling yourself, your family, and your property short if you wait too long to act. Here are three big reasons to look into flood insurance today.

Binding Restrictions 

Florida homeowners insurance companies aren’t exactly itching to provide coverage to homeowners when there’s a major storm going on. The vast majority of insurers will impose what’s known as binding restrictions on new homeowner policies until the storm threat is well passed. This means that homeowners can’t get coverage once the storm starts to build or while there is lingering damage from continuing bad weather.

It’s why homeowners need to buy flood insurance early or risk facing the storm unprotected. Most flood policies take 30 days to go into effect from the time of payment unless the policy is condition of a home sale. If there are several big storms building off the coast of Florida, you can wind up being cut off from the market for longer than you realize.

It’s Cost-Effective 

When it comes to your personal ROI, few policies are as effective as flood insurance. It’s a relatively small investment for homeowners, costing just a little extra per month. And if you do sustain water damage to your home, you have a policy available that can put your home back in order. Considering flood damage can easily cause thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) to fix, flood policies maximize your spending in all the right ways.

Most insurance policies don’t cover flooding damage unless the homeowner specifically requests the clauses. But because policies are long and boring to read, many owners won’t even realize this until they call to file a claim. There is no worse feeling than to assume that your home can be fixed, only to find that you’ll need to pay out-of-pocket for the damages if you ever hope to return to your property.

Lesson From Past Storms 

When Panama City was hit, many outsiders looking in assumed it was the wind that caused all of the property destruction and massive devastation in the city. But those on the ground knew that much of the damage was really flooding. This is more than just a homeowner problem, it’s a city-wide problem. If people can’t get their homes fixed, then whole neighborhoods can descend into chaos.

It only takes an inch of water in a home to cause $25,000 in damages. And if you think you can rest easy because you’re located outside the designated flood zones, you may want to think again. One in five flood claims were filed by those who live outside the designated high-risk areas.

Flooding can be a scary prospect for any homeowner, but getting a flood quote doesn’t have to be. It only takes 5 minutes to fill out your information and receive a quote. We’ve made it even easier now! You can chat with an online agent to get your initial quote faster than ever. We’re here to protect you rain or shine, so let Synergy Insurance be YOUR insurance experts.

 

5 Tips for a Fright-Free Halloween at Your Home

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Halloween Safety

It’s that time of year again where little ghosts and goblins come out to play and neighborhoods take on a spooky glow. But the scariest part about Halloween can be gaps in your homeowner’s insurance that don’t cover hazardous Halloween mishaps! That’s not to say you should turn the lights out, crawl up inside, and forego the festivities. Here are five common household liability issues that arise on Halloween and how you can avoid them.

1. Trip or Treat?

The most common home insurance nightmare is a trick-or-treater taking a tumble on your property, cracking their head open, breaking a wrist, or twisting an ankle. Keep kids and parents safe by minimizing hazards that lead up to your door. This includes trimming back shrubs, evening out the lawn, fixing loose tiles, and clearing wood piles or other debris away. Walk along your entry path from the road all the way to your front door before the big night. Are there any trip hazards along the way? Is the path clear? Keep lights bright enough so everyone can see where they’re going. If you don’t plan to hand out candy, turn your porch light off. Most neighbors know to take that as a sign you’re closed for business.

2. Avoid Spooky Surprises

Go ahead, make your home spooky and give it the effect of a haunted house. But when it comes to actually scaring people, don’t even think about it. No jump scares. No popping out from behind bushes or chasing people with fake chainsaws. We hate to be a buzzkill, but homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover the blood pumping risks that come with extreme shock and awe, or fear. Did you know Haunted House Insurance is a real thing? It’s true, but only amusement parks, corn mazes, zombies runs, and similar events carry it—homeowners don’t.

3. Keep the Four Legged Furries Away

Between a steady flow of footsteps outside and your doorbell constantly ringing, your pet is sure to get excited, so it’s best to keep your pets away from the action. Scared cats and dogs could easily dart out the door. The chance for a scuffle with a neighborhood trick-or-treater is greatly increased during the festivities. Therefore keep your pets contained in a separate room, away from all the excitement.

4. Decoration Danger

Jack-o-lanterns are a tried and true way to celebrate Halloween, but they also lead to home fires every year. If you want to line your sidewalk with lanterns or line your porch with pumpkins, opt for little LED candles instead of real ones. Candlelit decorations are easily forgotten and left unattended during the festivities and can be a real danger. Don’t leave flames unattended and keep candles away from flammable objects, such as fake cobwebs and witches on straw brooms! Large lawn ornaments like inflatable pumpkins can also collapse unexpectedly, so keep them far away from sidewalks or anywhere people are walking.

5. Review Your Homeowners Insurance Policy

With the changing of the seasons and so many different visitors arriving at your home on Halloween, now is the perfect time to take a closer look at your Florida homeowner’s insurance coverage. Give yourself and your guests peace of mind this Halloween by making sure you’re covered in the event of an accident.

homeowners insuranceWith a little precaution, you’ll have the safest Halloween yet! However, if you’re looking for more protection against the proverbial ghosts and ghouls, call Synergy Insurance Group to see how we can fill in the gaps and keep your property, home, and family safe.

It’s always a good idea to review your homeowners insurance policy to get a better idea of your coverage. The holidays are a great time to go over any questions you may have with your agent. In the meantime, our Home Insurance Claims eBook goes over the ins-and-outs of your coverage, answering your holiday-related coverage questions. Just click the image to get started!

Careful Driving At Night

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car insurance

If you’re a fan of road trips, or driving at night in general, you understand the extra safety required to navigate dark roads. You might think you drive just as well at night, but consider this: Even though nighttime driving accounts for just 23% of vehicle miles traveled, more than 50% of fatalities for vehicle occupants 16 and older occur between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., according to the National Safety Commission (NSC).

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The Truth About Flood Insurance

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flood insurance

Flooding is the #1 ranked natural disaster in the country and yet, there are numerous common misconceptions about flood insurance that permeate in the United States, specifically in Florida. Make sure your home and property is protected in case of an emergency, as many residents live in coastal areas. Knowing the importance of flood insurance is the first step in preventing unexpected loss, and we’re here to help get you ready.

My Homeowners Policy Covers Flooding

Fact: Your homeowners policy more than likely does not cover flooding.  You may have optional coverage for back-up of sewers and drains, but flooding caused by natural disasters or similar events are provided by different agencies such as The National Flood Insurance Program to allow policyholders the maximum flexibility in coverage and to save them money with lower premiums.

I Don’t Live in a Flood Zone, So I Don’t Need Flood Insurance

Fact: Per the National Flood Insurance Program, flooding is a general and temporary condition where two or more acres of normally dry land or two or more properties are inundated by water or mudflow, caused by various conditions such as severe storms and sources of rapid water accumulation. Believe it or not, we all live in a flood zone, which has the potential to fill with water any time.  The difference is the severity or risk of flooding in your particular zone.  Industry wide, however, over 20% of all flood claims come from people who are NOT in high risk areas, and 1/3 of all disaster assistance goes to flooding victims according to FEMA – so we’re all at risk.

Flood Damage is Easy to Pay Back

storm seasonFact: If you don’t already have flood insurance, contact a Synergy agent to discuss options. Most federal disaster assistance comes in the form of low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and you have to pay them back. FEMA offers disaster grants that don’t need to be paid back, but this amount is often much less than what is needed to recover. One inch of flood water can cause up to $27,000 in damages alone, leaving you scrambling to pay for it. A claim against your flood insurance policy could, and often does, provide more funds for recovery than those you could qualify for from FEMA or the SBA — and you don’t have to pay it back.

Make sure your home, family and belongings are protected in case of a disaster with our Disaster Preparedness Plan! This resource is filled with tip sheets, evacuation routes, and safety information to help give you peace of mind during the worst. Click the image to get your copy!