Dear Brownstone customers,
October brings beautiful foliage, cool, crisp air, apple cider, pumpkins and Halloween. With Halloween comes responsibility as a property owner or tenant to make trick-or-treating safe for the children and families of your neighborhood. Take the tips in this newsletter into consideration to ensure a safe, happy event for everyone.
Fall is also a great time of year to clean out your condo or apartment and hold a yard sale. But before you launch your weekend yard sale, be sure that your property and assets are properly protected by your insurance policy should a visitor get hurt on your property. We'll explain the risks involved with holding a yard sale in this issue, as well as what you can do to plan for a successful, safe sale.
And lastly, we'll provide you with some tips to help you minimize your risk for the most common causes of water damage in your property.
|
 Follow our safety tips to ensure that your little monsters, as well as everyone else's, stay safe this Halloween.
As a property or unit owner, you have a responsibility to make sure that your property is safe.
For Your Property
- Make sure all paths to your front door are well-lit, as well as staircases.
- If you plan on passing out candy, be sure to leave the light closest to the front door on.
- Do not place any decorations in the immediate path to your front door that could cause trick-or-treaters to trip and fall.
- Use flashlights as alternatives to candles or torch lights when decorating walkways and yards. They are much safer for trick-or-treaters, who costumes may brush against the lighting.
*Important Fact*
Decorations are the first thing to ignite in more than 1,000 reported home fires each year.
|
What's the perfect way to declutter your home, condo or apartment and make some cash at the same time? A yard sale, of course.However, you could be bringing more trouble than you bargained for if a visitor gets hurt on your property and decides to sue, according to the Insurance Information Institute. "Somebody could slip and fall in your front yard and you could be legally liable," said Jeanne M. Salvatore, senior vice president for the Insurance Information Institute. "Check with your agent or company to be sure you have enough liability insurance to protect your assets in case you're sued." The Institute noted that many people do not realize they have no-fault medical coverage as part of the liability protection in their standard homeowners or renters policy. This allows someone who gets injured on the insured property to simply submit his or her medical bills to your insurance company without resorting to a lawsuit. Most policies include about $1,000 to $5,000 worth of this coverage. That coverage does not pay medical bills for the insured's family or pets. Article courtesy of The Standard magazine, volume 267, number 9.
|
Water Damage Ten Times More Likely Than Fire
|
While fire may be a common worry among property owners, claims data from Travelers suggests that your property could be as much as 10 times more likely to be damaged by water than by fire.
Fortunately, much of the risk associated with water-related damage can be prevented, and taking a few simple home maintenance steps can help increase the chances of keeping a property safe.
Travelers recently analyzed its homeowners insurance claims in North Carolina, excluding claims related to catastrophies, and found that damage caused by water accounted for 28% of its property claims, compared to 3% for fire. Furthermore, of those water damage claims, weather accounted for only 5%, meaning that proper maintenance within the property may help you avoid some of these problems.
Information courtesy of Insurance Journal.
|
|
|
Have a fun and safe Halloween, and don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or needs!
Sincerely,
Glenn Montgomery
Brownstone Insurance |
|
|
Know someone who would benefit from this information? Pass it along to them! Just forward this email and have them sign up to be on our list!
Did someone forward this email to you? Join our email list to continue receiving our newsletters!
|
19%
The amount pending home sales plunged in the month of September as compared to September of 2009, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. Read more here.
27%
The amount pending condo sales slipped between September 2009 and September 2010, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. Read more here.
8
The number of fires that occured within a span of 16 hours in Manchester, New Hampshire during the October 9-10 weekend. Officials have deemed the fires the result of arson. Read more here.
|
HAVE A QUESTION?
LET US HELP!
|
The staff of Brownstone Insurance is always here to answer any questions you may have.
Submit a question and hear from our experts in a future issue!
|
ARE YOU ENJOYING THIS NEWSLETTER?
|
HAVE YOU VISITED OUR WEBSITE LATELY?
|
|
ARE YOU PROUD OF YOUR BUILDING?
|
Do you own or manage a multi-unit building that you're especially proud of?
Many of our customers own beautiful pieces of property, and their pride shows in the maintenance of the building.
Brownstone Insurance invites you to submit digital photos of your property for possible use in future Brownstone Insurance marketing materials.
*By submitting photos of your property, you authorize Brownstone Insurance to use the image in any marketing materials without seeking additional consent. Larger, high-resolution images are best.
|
|
|
