Protect Your Home from Unexpected Smoke Damage

Take a few hours out of your busy schedule to visit local sites in Pembroke Pines, FL. Living in the 33024 area of Pembroke Pines gives your family many opportunities to go on outings together. Take home a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables offered at Stile’s Farmers Market. From bananas and pineapples to avocados and limes, you’ll find many interesting choices for reasonable prices.

Spend an entire day at the Young At Art Museum where your kids can learn more about art in a fun and relaxing environment. When visiting the Young At Art Museum, you won’t experience boredom because you can enjoy drinking a craft beer or listening to live music. Enrich your palate when you visit the posh Capriccio’s Ristorante. You’ll have a chance to eat delicious Italian fare while enjoying musical entertainment.

While reviewing the fine print in your homeowners insurance policy, you may want to contact our office in Pembroke Pines and speak with our agent about smoke damage coverage. Your policy may not cover smoke damage that occurs because of a faulty chimney. Your standard homeowners insurance policy may not cover smoke damage that occurs because someone in your family leaves a burning cigarette on your sofa or bed. However, if smoke damage is caused by an accident that is not your fault, your homeowners policy can protect your finances.

When in doubt about whether you have sufficient coverage for an accidental fire that results in smoke damage to your home in Pembroke Pines, FL, the best thing to do is to visit our website, get a free quote, and then contact our insurance agency. Once you speak with our agent about smoke damage protection covered by your current homeowners insurance policy, you’ll have a better perspective.

Pembroke Pines Auto Liability Insurance

If you’re going to operate a motor vehicle on a Florida roadway, you’re required to maintain minimum insurance coverage on your vehicle. In order to get your license plates and registration, you’re required to have $10,000 in personal injury protection coverage and another $10,000 in property damage. Although it’s perfectly legal to drive anywhere in the state with those policy limits, minimum coverage is woefully insufficient.

$10,000 of personal injury protection covers maybe an ambulance trip to the hospital, an emergency room visit and an overnight admission. If you’re liable for an accident with $40,000 in personal injury damages, you’re going to be on the hook for the excess $30,000. If you caused in excess of $10,000 in property damage, you’re responsible for that overage too. Knowing all that while driving around on minimum mandated insurance probably makes you want to boost your auto insurance coverage.

We’re independent insurance agents, and we offer you choices in increasing your insurance coverage that agents for the "big three" aren’t permitted to give you. Since we’re agents for several very reputable insurance companies, you have choices of who will insure you, the type of coverage that you want, and how much your premium payments will be. Other agents will only give you one alternative from one single insurer. That’s no choice at all.

We’re trusted providers for the community in and around Pembroke Pines and FL Zip Code 33024. It’s likely that some of your friends and neighbors already do business with us. If you’re putting a new car on the road or just want to get an independent, objective and unbiased evaluation of your coverage, give us a call. We also offer other policy endorsements you might want know about. We’ll be pleased to talk with you.

Marriage and Car Insurance: Should You Bundle Policies?

You just said “I do,” and you and your spouse have now entered the state of wedded bliss. As part of setting up house, a review of your individual car insurance policies, as well as other types of coverage, may save you a significant amount on insurance premiums. As your independent insurance agent serving the Pembroke Pines, FL area, we would enjoy the opportunity to meet with you and review your policies. In fact, by bundling car insurance for both spouses, we may be able to find you greater coverage at a better price.

Many of the major insurance underwriters price their premiums to target a specific sector of the market. For example, they will price homeowner’s insurance to attract clients who need car insurance, life insurance or other types of policies. While you may find significant savings on premiums with direct comparisons on single-line insurance policies, the large underwriters want you to carry multiple lines of insurance with them for many years to come. This allows them to keep prices competitive while giving you the assurance that you will not have to shop around every six months.

To do this, insurance companies frequently offer greater coverage and better premium prices to clients who bundle all of their insurance together rather that purchasing separate lines for just a car or house.

Give us a call today, and we will assist you with clear comparisons between multi-line policies from the top insurance companies. We offer a handy online tool for comparison shopping with real-time quotes, and we offer personalized service that helps you find the appropriate coverage for your individual needs. If you are in the 33024 zip code, we serve the Pembroke Pines, FL  and the surrounding areas. So contact us today!

Types of Auto Insurance Available in Lake Lucerne, FL

Drivers in Lake Lucerne, FL who are also smart consumers, should always try to buy the right type and right amount of auto insurance. You do not want to be under-insured, but you also do not want to be over-insured. Finding the happy medium between too little and too much insurance is the best way to get the coverage you need and not pay more than you need to pay.

In the state of Florida, you are required to carry a minimum of $10,000 in bodily injury liability (BIL) insurance and $10,000 in personal injury protection (PIP). Other types of insurance that you might want, but that are not mandatory, include comprehensive, collision, uninsured motorist, roadside service, towing, and rental car reimbursement.

While there may be a small number of instances when all you really need is the state minimum coverage, it is normally prudent to have a more robust auto policy. If you have a 1995 car worth $500 and almost no other assets, the bare minimum coverage may be all that you need. Most people have cars worth substantially more money and other assets, like a house or money in the bank, that they need to protect.

If you are financing a new car, your lender will insist that you have an auto insurance policy that includes comprehensive and collision. They probably will also want you to choose a reasonable deductible like $250 or $500. If you paid cash for your car and it is worth a substantial amount of money, buying a policy with collision and comprehensive coverage is a no-brainer.

Of course you will pay more when you buy a policy that has higher coverage limits and protects you against more risks. However, if you use an independent agent from McCormick Insurance who can get and compare quotes from a number of different insurance companies, it is quite possible to get very affordable rates on the type of car insurance you need.

Does Home Insurance Cover Roof Damage from Wind in Miramar, FL?

When you pick up home insurance, you need to understand exactly what type of coverage that you have. You typically need to pick up home insurance during the home financing process, as the bank wants to cover their interest in the property that you’re buying. If you end up getting into a situation where the damage to the house is enough to cause a total loss, and you don’t have insurance, the bank ends up losing out on an asset.

Whether wind based roof damage is covered in Miramar, FL depends on the details in the policy. Many common nature related issues are covered in homeowners insurance, but you always run the risk of the insurance company refusing to cover a specific incident. This is particularly true in Florida, where you have to see if the wind damage is caused by high winds or hurricane winds. Hurricane prone areas need hurricane specific coverage, and if the insurance company thinks that you’re making a claim based on hurricane winds instead of standard storm winds, you may end up having a major issue with your claim.

A roof is incredibly expensive to replace, and putting off repairs can end up causing irreparable damage to the rest of the house as the water drips in and the humidity causes mold in the house.

Talk to us to find out whether your existing or future homeowners insurance covers wind damage to your roof in Miramar, FL. It’s the last thing you want to figure out after the damage has occurred, so make sure that you’re on the same page with your insurance company.

Compare Homeowners Insurance Rates in Florida

Have you ever wondered why you are paying more for your homeowners insurance than your neighbor who has the exact same model house? It could be that he does not have the same amount of coverage as you, or it might be because he has installed a burglar alarm system. In all probability, your neighbor may be receiving lower homeowners rates than you because he chose a different insurance carrier.

We are here to help you get the most affordable coverage for your home. While we can not guarantee that we will be able to get you lower rates than your neighbor, we can guarantee to work hard to find the best rates for you. How do we do that?

Homeowners insurance rates are regulated, but not set by the Florida Insurance Commission and specific Florida laws. Legislation has been written and bills have been enacted into law to protect consumers from big insurance companies. Without regulation, Florida home insurance rates could skyrocket. While insurance statutes do set boundaries on how much an insurer can charge, there is still a great deal of room for insurers to set their own rates.

We make it possible for you to find the lowest rates by running live comparative quotes right here on our website. Unlike some insurance companies that offer free quotes, you don’t have to fill out a long form and then wait for someone to contact you and tell you what your rate will be. You will see the actual dollar amount in real-time. When you get your quotes through our website, it is a snap to do side-by-side comparisons of two competing insurance companies. When you can compare all of the different homeowners insurance rates, in an easy-to-understand format, it is not hard to pick-out the lowest-priced policy.

Affordable Car Insurance Rates Miramar, FL

Before you get in your car and head to the beach, you better be sure that you have the right type and amount of insurance for your car. While there is less traffic in Miramar Florida, than in nearby Miami, accidents, vandalism, and car thefts still occur in this Southwest Broward County city.

Florida is a no-fault state and you are required to carry a minimum of $10,000 in property damage liability coverage and $10,000 in personal injury protection. Most people carry more than the minimum so that they will be better covered if they suffer a more extensive loss. If you get a bare-bones policy with minimum coverage, it may help pay your medical bills, but it will not pay for damage to your car.

If you want or need auto insurance that includes comprehensive and collision coverage, the cost of such a policy can be more than you want to spend. Depending upon many factors such as your age, driving record, and type of car you drive, your car insurance rates can range from less than several hundreds of dollars per year to several thousands of dollars per year.

Finding affordable car insurance rates is always a goal, but it is especially important in an economy where so many people are living paycheck-to-paycheck. Why pay more than you have to pay?

While your personal driving risk profile plays a key role in determining the rates you will have to pay, it is equally important to get quotes from a number of different insurance companies. You may get lucky and find the most affordable rates by just picking out and calling an auto insurance company that has a prominent display ad in the Yellow Pages. A more reliable way to get the most affordable rates is to visit our local independent agency, have us get quotes, and find you the lowest rates in town.

About McCormick Insurance Agency in Miramar, FL

Insurance is an essential part of your life, from your health to your final expenses. However, it's not always easy to understand the benefits of insurance. You keep health and auto insurance because these are required, or you get fines and penalties. But when you understand the basic concepts that all types of insurance share, it makes it easier to figure out exactly what you're getting out of your existing insurance and new insurance.

The basic concept of insurance is pooling together financial risk for a particularly activity. For example, with car insurance the insurance agency puts together risk pools based on how likely it is that accidents are going to occur, how much it would cost to repair the damage, and the amount of medical claims. Each person buying insurance pays a premium, as well as a deductible, which goes into the insurance claim pool. The insurance company wants to have more money coming in than they have to put out for payments.

Health insurance operates on the same principle, although it deals with many more variables. There are high risk pools that people who have preexisting conditions and other high costing medical issues go into, while healthier people balance out this pool to bring down the costs for everyone.

The deductible is the amount you end up paying for your part of the insurance costs. Once you've ended up paying the deductible, your insurance company pays the costs up to a particular maximum. The full amount they pay depends on the type of insurance you have, and the lifetime limits available. Insurance in Miramar, FL is subject to any regulation changes that may affect the coverage level.

Inland Marine Insurance Coverage in Pembroke Pines, FL

If you’ve got a lot of particularly valuable items to protect and insure, from art to jewelry or high-end electronic equipment, you might just need an inland marine policy. And that doesn’t mean you have to live close to the water.

What is Inland Marine Insurance?

The term "inland marine" coverage is a bit of a misnomer, born during the earlier days of the country when individuals needed to insure transportable goods and cargo (which were most often shipped by sea). Today, it’s more an independent category of property insurance, though it still goes by the old-school "inland marine" name.

What exactly does it cover?

According to the National Marine Definition, which was created in 1933 and updated in 1976, an inland marine policy includes primary the following:

  • shipments of domestic goods
  • bridges, tunnels, and other transportation devices
  • personal and/or commercial property floater risks

What does that mean FL homeowners?

As a resident of Pembroke Pines, FL (or just about anywhere else), you can purchase an inland marine policy as an extension of your home property insurance. It covers particular items you own, whether they’re valuable collections of art, jewelry, or something else, against all risks, including theft, weather damage, vandalism, and just about anything else that could damage those items.

To find out more about whether an inland marine policy might be a smart choice to protect your investment, take the time to call or stop by. We’ll be able to talk to you about your questions and your specific situation to help make sure those items are covered, whether that means adding additional coverage to your home insurance or purchasing an add-on inland marine insurance policy separately.