The city of Boston has been destroyed by large blazes multiple times. The first devastation of fire occurred in 1631; just one year after Boston was officially established.
Here are a few tips to keep you from having to file a fire damage claim on your home insurance.
The first thing you should cement in your mind is to never leave a flame burning where it cannot be seen. Enjoying an aromatherapy session with some scented candles? Even if you need to leave the room for just a moment, blow them out. You never know if something will delay or distract you from returning immediately.
Keep pets, especially agile cats, away from lit candles, scented oil burners, and other open flames. They could bump or knock over the materials, causing a fire that could have been avoided. On the same train of thought, teach your children proper fire safety. Flames and the resulting smoke can be very dangerous.
In case a fire does occur, despite your best efforts to handle flames safely, make sure you have up to date insurance in Boston, MA. Boston boasts median home values above $100,000.
Without coverage, how would you repair or rebuild your home after a fire ravaged your property? Avoid this potential financial burden by requesting a free insurance estimate today and putting your coverage in place.
With Vargas & Vargas Insurance, you can get the coverage you need for your home. Click here to contact us today for more information!
Stay safe and protect your home this winter by preventing your pipes from freezing.
Fall may be in full swing, but for Northeasterners, winter weather is already here. This puts homeowners on high alert as lengthy periods of sub-freezing temperatures means an increased risk of pipes freezing and bursting. Damaged pipes are not merely an inconvenience. They can cause serious damage to a home’s integrity. Fortunately, preparing your house for icy weather can prevent these unfortunate scenarios from occurring. Reducing the risk of frozen pipes is just one of the ways to keep your home ready for winter.
Why Are Frozen Pipes Dangerous?
Water expands when it freezes. This puts excess pressure on pipes and can cause them to crack or burst. Preventing pipes from freezing in the first place will keep your pipes intact and protect your home from damage.
How Can You Prevent Pipes From Freezing?
Prevention is the first step. Take these steps to reduce the risk of frozen pipes inside your house and frozen exterior pipes:
Turn off all outside water sources.
Keep your house warm. Program your thermostat and leave it at the same temperature day and night, even when you leave.
Open the cabinets in the bathroom and kitchen to allow warm air to circulate around the piping.
Keep your garage doors closed. Cold drafts and wind increase the likelihood of pipes freezing.
When the weather gets exceptionally cold, let water drip from the faucet. This can relieve pressure in the pipes and keep the water moving.
If you won’t be home for a long period of time, turn off the water supply line to your washing machine.
Cover pipes with insulation or other products meant to insulate them.
Have a friend walk through your home regularly if you will be away for an extended period of time.
Clearly label the water supply line so you can easily identify it later. This can help you turn it off quickly if an emergency ensues and it needs to be turned off.
What Should You Do If Your Pipes Freeze?
If your pipes freeze, there are several steps you can take to minimize the resulting damage. These steps include:
Keep the faucet open. As the ice starts to melt, the flowing water will help the rest of the ice melt.
With a space heater, heating pad, or heated towels, apply warmth to the frozen length of the pipe.
Never use an open flame, such as a blow torch or propane stove, in an attempt to warm the pipes.
If you do experience damage to your home due to a frozen or burst pipe, rest assured that our team at Vargas & Vargas Insurance will be on hand to assist you. Contact us today to learn more about our policies or for help protecting your home.
Our society has become enthralled with the concept of “do it yourself” or “DIY.” So much so that entire industries have grown up around the idea that anyone, anywhere, with access to tools, materials and knowledge, can do just about anything they set their mind to.
This DIY mentality extends to our home. Repairs, renovations and other home improvement projects abound in this mindset.
The traditional craft of repair and renovation has been upended with this modern consumer concept. Imagine you’re an electrician and you’ve entered a Big Box Home Hardware store. As you walk down the aisle filled from floor to ceiling with electrical supplies of all types, you see a person standing in front of a display of electrical outlets. This person clearly is not an electrician, and clearly is struggling with the selection of the appropriate outlet which you’re pretty sure they’re going to attempt to install themselves.
Imagine the horror in your mind as that electrician thinking of the potential visit to the Emergency Room for that person when the wrong wire gets crossed.
And, yet, these traditional industries still thrive. The reason? No amount of online videos, tutorials or DIY books can replace the wisdom that comes from specializing in a task and learning the “tricks of the trade from experienced professionals.
If you have trees on your property, it’s your responsibility to think about the maintenance of those trees to protect your home in the event of a severe storm that could topple in close proximity to your house.
If you’re thinking about trimming, or even taking down trees for that maintenance and protection. Should you do it yourself?
The best way to answer the question is to watch a professional tree-trimming crew in action. You’re likely to very quickly realize that such work…taking down or trimming a tree…is best left in the hands of the experienced professionals.
Those “tricks of the trade” that come from the traditions and wisdom handed down in the craft become very quickly obvious as you watch the crew scale up a tree and easily slice away branches and limbs. And then when they have to take down an entire tree, the process seems at once intricate and yet elegantly simple.
Yes, sometimes it’s really best to not do it yourself and to leave it to the professional.
One of the most FAQs we receive is when a tree falls on your property but doesn’t hit your house or any physical structure, there is no insurance coverage to pay for the removal of the tree.
Call us for any recommendations you may need to help with your home improvement projects.
It’s Autumn; you know what that means! “Spring” towards those clocks and “fall back” an hour!
This year, Daylight Savings Time ends at 2 a.m. on November 3rd.
Turning back the clocks is a great reminder for some basic security measures to protect your home.
Smoke Detectors: Do a survey of your smoke detectors to ensure you have sufficient safety coverage around your house. Change the batteries. Generally speaking, smoke detectors should be placed inside bedrooms and in hallways near to sleeping areas. You should also have smoke detectors strategically placed in your basement within a reasonable distance to your furnace.
The more smoke detectors you have, and the better-placed they are, the chances of early warning and survival in the event of a fire increase dramatically.
You might also consider at this time installing carbon monoxide detectors, definitely in your basement near to the furnace area, but also near windows and doors that either lead to indoor garages or face onto close proximity driveways. Car idling can quickly lead to carbon monoxide buildup that seeps through windows and past doorways to cause lethal harm.
Password Review: In our modern technological age, we recommend adding a password review protocol to your “Turn Back Time” routine. In general, you should change passwords more frequently than once a year, but we’re often too busy to accomplish this. So, at least spend some time to update your password security this November 3rd. Check your security challenge questions on websites and definitely consider implementing a Two-Factor authentication.
Annual Insurance Review: We would be remiss if we didn’t mention that this is another great opportunity to consider calling your agent and scheduling an appointment for your annual insurance review. Things change each year with life and with the insurance carriers. It is your responsibility to know how your insurance portfolio is structured.
Once you’ve run around on November 3rd getting all that done, you’ll be exhausted for sure! Not to worry, you’ll get an extra hour of sleep this weekend!
Alarms, cameras, door and window locks, passwords.
That should cover everything you need to remember this Autumn as you perform your twice annual security review!
Alarms. Is your alarm system up to date with the latest equipment? Check with your alarm provider to be sure your technology is up to date. Then conduct a survey to be sure that all contact points for your alarm system are secure with no loose contact plates or wiring. What about power sources for your alarm system? Be sure that outlets that provide power to your alarm appliances aren’t overloaded with other appliances.
Cameras. When did you last update the firmware for your cameras? Even if you’ve set up devices for automatic updates, you should check to be sure that updates have occurred. Keep hackers out of your systems with the latest software/firmware updates. How are the sight lines for your cameras? Have storms or critters moved cameras out of alignment? Are those lenses clean and intact? Do a visual inspection up close of each camera to make sure there is no damage to the lenses our housing. Are the mounting screws secure?
Door and Window Locks. Check for loose strike plates, loose screws. Are the locks easy to close and open? A tiny dash of a lubricant might be necessary to ensure smooth lock operation. Do your window sashes line up to make the locking secure and firm? If you’re using electronic locks have you updated the passwords? Is the power to such locks secure?
Passwords. We cannot say enough about using very secure passwords and about changing passwords frequently. Thankfully many smartphone manufacturers and other third party providers are creating secure password storage apps for your phones. Be sure to back up your passwords in writing somewhere in your home, in a book where you won’t forget it and where it’s unlikely that an intruder would look there to find your passwords. Yes, written backup. You read that correctly.
When you conduct a home security review you should also have a conversation with your Independent Insurance Agent to ensure your insurance policy reflects new security measures you’ve installed in your home. This could help to save you money on your insurance premiums.
Please check out our other blogs on claim prevention tips. You can reach us by calling 617-298-0655 or text us at 617-409-0329 for a free, no-obligation annual review.
When there’s a chill in the air, is there anyone who doesn’t enjoy a blazing and crackling fire to warm their home? Whether it’s a fireplace, wood stove, or pellet stove, there’s something cozy and inviting about a fire.
However, to ensure a safe experience it’s important to have your chimney inspected and cleaned on an annual basis or after burning a cord of wood, whichever comes first.
Fires leave a gummy residue, called creosote, which can stick to the lining of your chimney. Creosote is a byproduct of burning wood, pellets, or coal and is created by soot, smoke, gases and other particles.
When you burn wood to produce heat, gasses are produced that do not efficiently burn away. These gases now condense into liquid form. The liquid sticks to the inside of your chimney walls and/or liner. Over time it dries in the form of creosote.
Insidiously, it continues to build up, layering on like a stalagmite, on the surface of your chimney liner or your flue tile every single time you and your family enjoy a fire.
This is a highly flammable substance that can quickly erupt into a blazing chimney fire if subjected to a high enough temperature. That is why it must be removed periodically.
Hiring a chimney sweep is the traditional way to clean the inner surface and restore safety to the home. Chimney sweeps are trained to determine whether chimneys are structurally sound and whether they need to be cleaned. They will make sure the chimney is up to code, especially important in older houses, and make sure there are any birds or animals in the chimney, or anything that would block the flow of smoke. They also check that there’s no water coming into your home.
How Do I Prevent Creosote Build-up?
There are steps you can take at home to reduce creosote buildup and the risk of a chimney fire. Foremost is picking dry wood to burn. Dry wood will appear gray on the surface and have cracks on the end.
Don’t throw pizza boxes or other trash in the fireplace because it causes a thicker smoke, which lowers the temperature in the chimney. While many people use a newspaper to start a fire, it is recommended that a fire log or fire starter should be used instead. This reduces the risk of sparks flying out of the fireplace. Use a screen and stay in the room while the fire is burning.
Don’t forget to check your existing smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers to ensure all are in working order. If your home does not have the prevention devices, please install immediately.
Chimney maintenance is a priority for your property since harmful gases can build up inside the flue. Lethal carbon monoxide also builds up inside the flue, and if there’s damage to the inside of your chimney, this can seep in to your home. Have you chimney checked by a qualified tradesman regularly to ensure your family’s safety.
For information on ensuring your home is covered in case of a chimney fire, contact Vargas & Vargas at 877.550.0025
Leaves are falling all around … or they will be. Yes, i’m getting sidetracked with Led Zeppelin’s Ramble On lyrics.
It’s time to maintain your home during the Fall in order to prep your house for winter. Here are several basic maintenance items to attend to as the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer.
The cost of maintenance is always less than the cost of a claim.
Gutters and Downspouts. The build up of leaves and other debris makes for a constant battle during the fall. Climb the ladder and clean those gutters! Grab your hose and run it through the downspout to clear blockages. Accumulated detritus in your gutters creates a water condition at the edge of your roof. This means that water may cascade directly down from the soffit deep below your foundation. Next thing you’ll have water seeping up and into your basement.
Windows and Doors. Remove the window air conditioners, replace window screens with storm windows. Same for screen doors. Check doorways for loose or broken edging and insulation.
Heating Systems: Autumn is a great time to replace the filter for your furnace! The smallest of details could be the cause of the biggest of problems.
Landscaping around the base exterior of your house. Be sure that dirt hasn’t built up at a reverse angle down towards your foundation: rake the dirt so that it angles downward and away from your foundation. This helps to prevent water buildup against the foundation which then seeps down and into your basement.
Please call to inquire how water accumulation in your home may or may not be covered under your homeowner’s insurance policy. If your house “floods”, you will want to know how it affects your wallet.
Please check out our other blogs on claim prevention tips. You can reach us by calling 617-298-0655 or text us at 617-409-0329 for a free, no-obligation annual review.
Fire hazards are everywhere. Yet, we often ignore the danger, or, worse, we’re completely unaware of the lurking, imminent threat of fire breaking out. Fire is a devastating event, inflicting tremendous damage, sever injury and death! Fire can wreak havoc in a fierce, fast, moment.
Smoke detectors are your primary line of defense to protect your life when a fire breaks out.
But you should take the time to carefully inspect your home for hazards that could easily become a threatening event.
Extension Cords Overloaded electrical extension cords cause fire by overheating and exploding in flame. Additionally, they are often near to furniture or draperies that burn rapidly.
Take time to unburden your electrical outlets from overloaded extension cords. If you absolutely must increase utilization of a particular outlet in your house, consider hiring an electrician to upgrade the wiring and quality of that outlet. Install of an outlet with a “Ground Fault Interrupt” (GFI) breaker that shuts the outlet off in the event of overloading.
Consider purchasing a high-quality surge protection power strip with built-in circuit breaker.
Coffee Machines Does your coffee maker have an “Auto-Off” feature? We forget to turn off coffee machines; they continue warming the near-empty carafe, ultimately burning off any remaining liquid, thus creating a fire hazard while you’re away from home.
Circuit Breaker Panel Upgrade When is the last time you asked a Licensed Electrician to inspect the circuit breaker panel in your house to determine its viability for your current needs? A simple inspection and potential upgrade of worn or insufficient breakers can go a long way to presenting a first line of defense against fire hazards.
Lightning Do you have a lightning rod installed on your home? The lightning rod is a simple metal bar that captures a lightning strike and sends the resulting electrical burst harmlessly away from your roof.
Inspect all electrical outlets Be sure there’s no furniture, clothing, newspapers or other flammable objects too close to, or obstructing the electrical outlets around your home. A flimsy fabric accidentally falling on the electrical cord to a lamp can potentially overheat and create an immediate fire situation.
Call us so we can help you with other claim prevention tips. You can reach us by calling 617-298-0655 or text us at 617-409-0329 for a free, no-obligation annual review.
Getting children prepped and off to school is often a hectic time.
The last thing you want to think about is insurance. So, don’t. That’s right, don’t think about insurance!
You’ve got too much on your plate, between clothing decisions, book-buying, book-bag purchases and packing. So, no, there’s no time for insurance.
What you can do, on the other hand, as your crazy, zany, busy early school days proceed is be mindful of things happening that could become an insurance event. Putting your insurance into a “zen-like” part of your busy day can only help you avoid the dreaded-of-all-insurance-situations: a claim!
Let’s start with young drivers. They grow up so fast. When they pass their driver’s test, it’s a bittersweet. You have more freedom and they have more independence with getting from point A to point B.
You forgot to remember that she’d be asking to use the car to hang out with friends, attend school events, go shopping. Back to school time is a great time to be mindful, thinking of your young new-driver’s desires, and prepare yourself, and them, for that driving experience.
It’s important to carefully remind them about safe driving techniques in order to avoid accidents and claims!
Rushing out the door on those first insane days of school can lead to other potentially dangerous situations, the kind that lead to insurance claims.
How about discussing safety measures before they even leave the house to get on the road? Such as, the coffee machine? Does it have an Auto-Off feature?
Too many household fires are caused by coffee machines burning through empty coffee carafes for hours on end.
There are other potentially dangerous events you can avoid when you add a small dose of “insurance mindfulness” into your crazy Back-To-School Days.
Call your Independent Insurance Agent and ask her to help you become a Zen-Master of avoiding calamitous insurance claim events. We promise that it’ll be better to enjoy watching your children run off to school in the mornings while you sip your coffee in peace.
Call us for a no-obligation, FREE insurance quote to help you determine that you, your family and your business are protected! You can reach us by calling 617-298-0655 or text us at 617-409-0329 for a free, no-obligation annual review. Click here to Visit our Contact Us page.
Hopefully you will never need this advice to come to fruition. Hopefully you’ll never have a claim.
But this is what insurance is all about: preparation. When you prepare for a catastrophe, an accident, a fire or a theft when you buy the right insurance coverage, you’re creating an opportunity to recover. The money your insurance pays out in the event of a claim is paramount to that recovery.
There’s one other step to take in your preparation. When you make a claim, often the insurance company sends out a representative to review the damage or the loss and to assess the amount of coverage that should be paid out. This person is the claims adjustor.
Never assume the adjustor is looking to provide you with an equitable settlement on your loss or damage. The best way to get the best financial recovery is to prepare in advance.
Let’s look at your homeowner’s insurance to prepare for a claim that, hopefully, will never happen. Walk through your house like a Claims Adjustor would. Pretend you’re the claims adjuster but with the interest in protecting YOU, the homeowner.
In the event of a theft, you want to show the adjustor the precautions you’ve taken to prevent break-ins to your home. Is your alarm system properly installed? Does it have independent power backup? Are all locks, including those on windows, secure and adequate?
For the lost valuables, did you prepare with a high-quality inventory of your precious items? Of all your items that would need to be replaced in the event of a fire?
Do you have photographic evidence to show to a Claims Adjustor? For very valuable items, did you get a professional appraisal and is that appraisal recent and current?
For damage to the home due to weather including flood*, can you clearly demonstrate that you, the homeowner, took all necessary precautions to protect your home?
For example, have you diligently cleared large trees or tree limbs that could easily fall on your home? Have you created storage solutions in the basement of your home to minimize damage to belongings in the event of a water-intrusion event?
Take an hour and do a complete walk-through of your home. If you ever have to file a claim, you’ll dramatically improve your payout. That will go a long way to the peace of mind you need to recover.
Call us today to learn about your homeowners insurance and how to protect yourself in the event of an unforeseen claim. Now is the time: before you need your policy to go to work for you.
Your health and financial health depend on it. Call us at 617-298-0655 or text us at 617-409-0329 for a free, no-obligation annual review. Click here to Visit our Contact Us page.
*Flood insurance is always specifically excluded from homeowners. Please consult with your agent if you are interested in flood insurance.
