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Is Mold Covered by Maine Homeowners Insurance?

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Mold is nasty. It’s hazardous to health, hard to eradicate, and may be undetected for a long time. Even worse,  Maine Homeowners Insurance policies provide very little protection against mold damage.

The standard homeowners policy excludes damage from mold, fungus and wet rot. Then, it gives back a small amount of coverage – often $5,000 – for mold damage in very limited cases. Even if the cause of the mold is covered, your policy excludes mold damage unless it was hidden. In other words, you shouldn’t expect much help from your home insurer. And, we know of no other insurance source either.

OUTLINE* OF MOLD COVERAGE UNDER
MAINE HOMEOWNERS POLICIES

Determining how an insurance policy responds – or doesn’t –  to mold is tricky, even for experienced local insurance agents. It’s impossible to tell whether you’ll have coverage until an adjuster sees the damage. If you discover mold in your home, contact your local Maine insurance agency to discuss it. They can help you report an insurance claim to your insurer. They can also help explain your policy coverage and exclusions. An agent can also advocate for you if your claim is unfairly denied.

For answers to questions about your home, condo, or Maine business property, contact your agent at Noyes Hall & Allen Insurance at 207-799-5541.

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*This outline is for discussion purposes only, and is not meant to imply or deny coverage. Refer to your policy for actual coverage wording.

Real Claims: Is Your Property Insurance Ready?

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In the last week of the year, everyone in the news, sports and entertainment world seems to present a “year in review”. We thought we would look at some of the claims our clients had in 2010. We’ll start with property insurance, in the hopes that it might help you manage risks and make decisions about your own Maine homeowners insurance or business property insurance.

When you report an insurance claim to Noyes Hall & Allen, we categorize them and engage your insurer for proper handling. Here’s a comparison of the property claims we initiated in the past 3 years. They give a good indication of the protection that your insurance provides.

Graph of property insurance claims for a Maine Insurance Agency

2010 – Four Strong Winds

If wind damaged your home, or tree limbs fell on your property last year, you were in good company. In a typical year, wind claims represent 10% of the total property claims reported to us. In 2010, it was 36%. From February to August to December, the coast of Maine was blasted by unusually strong winds.

2009 – The Water Was Wide

People usually think of fire insurance when they insure their property. But water damage is the most common property insurance claim in Maine. Normally, 35% of homeowners and business property claims report water damage. In 2009, it was almost double that amount. Frozen pipes, leaking pipes, ice dams, toilets, tubs and sinks overflowing – even burst washing machine hoses – are all covered by most Maine insurance policies. We saw them all in 2009. Fortunately, it was a quiet year for claims overall. The clear winter resulted in 15% fewer claims than usual.

2008 – Fire and Rain

Although 2008 brought a normal number of claims, we saw an unusual number of winter fires – typically the most expensive claims – and lightning damage from summer storms. Fire and lightning losses occurred at 3 times the usual rate.

What Deductible Should I Carry?

As these graphs show, property losses happen all too often. This means that you should choose a property deductible carefully. Pick the highest one that you can afford to pay out of pocket in case of a loss, in order to get the best insurance discounts available.

The table below shows the average cost of different types of insurance claims in our agency in 2010. Use this information to help you determine the best deductible for your budget.

Table of average property claims from Noyes Hall & Allen

For specific advice about your insurance situation, contact your Noyes Hall & Allen agent at 207-799-5541.

Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Jewelry?

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an engagement ringDuring the holidays, many people unwrap something small and sparkly.  Most think that their jewelry is covered by their Maine homeowners insurance, renters insurance or condo insurance. They’re partly right.

Automatic Jewelry Insurance on Your Homeowners Policy
“Off the shelf” homeowners policies do cover jewelry against perils such as fire, windstorm or vandalism.   But that stuff doesn’t happen very often. Theft of jewelry – the most common peril – is limited,  often to $1,000 total.

“That Stinks!” – Why Do Insurance Companies Limit Theft of Jewelry?
Theft of jewelry (and firearms, furs, fine art, money, and other “special classes” of property) is limited for 2 reasons:

  1. Everyone’s Maine homeowners insurance rates would go up to pay for these losses if coverage was automatic.
  2. Not everyone collects those things. You don’t want to pay more so that I can have automatic jewelry coverage, and I don’t want to pay to insure your hunting rifles.

So, everyone has to insure their own jewelry, guns, etc. In insurance jargon, that’s called “scheduling jewelry”, because each piece is listed and valued separately. That list is known as a “schedule”.

4 More Reasons to Separately Insure Your Jewelry

  • Jewelry Insurance Is Cheap – How much does jewelry insurance cost? A common annual rate is $7.50 per $1,000 of value. That means insuring a new $2,000 piece would cost you about $15.00 a year.
  • It covers other perils – Homeowners insurance doesn’t covers losing a gemstone from a ring, or losing the entire ring, but it is covered when you buy jewelry insurance. This is actually the most common kind of jewelry insurance claim – even more common than theft.
  • It establishes the value of your jewelry before a loss occurs.  This protects you as well as the insurance company, and streamlines claim settlement. On larger pieces (usually over $5,000 in value), insurers will require an appraisal to add it to the schedule.
  • There’s no deductible on jewelry insurance.

Jewelry insurance can be added to your Maine renters insurance, homeowners policy or condo unit owners insurance. For more information, contact your Noyes Hall & Allen agent at 799-5541.

Noyes Hall & Allen Insurance Facebook Fall Photo Contest Winners

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To celebrate New England’s signature season, our Maine independent insurance agency held a Fall Facebook Photo Contest, which drew 29 beautiful photos. Noyes Hall & Allen’s 350 Facebook fans decided the winner by “liking” their favorites. First prize was a $100 U.S. Savings Bond; second prize was a $50 U.S. Savings Bond; and third prize was $10 cash.

First Place: Denis Hartley

Our contest winner, with an impressive 70 “likes” was Denis Hartley of South Portland. Denis actually had two photos with the same number of votes, so we’ve published both here. The first shows two ducks in a pond amid fall colors. The second features a view from Loon Mountain of foliage and a mountain lake.

two ducks in a fall pond. Photo by Denis Hartley Loon Mountain in fall by Denis Hartley

Second Place – Jessica Lang

The second-highest vote getting photo was taken by Jessica Lang. Jessica lives in New Hampshire, and her winning photo was taken in Penacook, NH. It captures the pure childhood joy of playing in fallen leaves, and features Jessica’s niece. Jessica says “she was trying to throw the leaves over her head, but she just couldn’t do it. She had a blast playing in the park and getting her picture taken.”

Playing in leaves Penacook NH by Jessica Lang

Third Place – Shawna Hall

Third place photographer was Shawna Hall of Durham, Maine. Shawna captured this beautiful foliate scene in Auburn, Maine. To see more of her work, visit Shawna Hall’s web site. Coincidentally, Shawna is a licensed insurance agent – just proving that insurance people can have a creative streak, too!

fall lake scene in Auburn, ME

Thanks again to the photographers who captured and shared such beautiful fall images, and to our Facebook fans who voted for them. We hope you enjoyed the contest as much as we did!

Is Tree Damage Covered by a Maine Homeowners Policy?

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Last night’s powerful windstorm has made this the most popular question of the day. Our clients seem to be most concerned with three questions:

Is Wind Damage to Trees Covered?

Generally, no. Most Maine homeowners insurance policies do not cover replacement of the trees themselves. Trees are usually covered (up to $500 per tree) for other named perils such as vehicle damage, fire, theft, and vandalism – but not wind.

Electric meter ripped from house by wind
Electric meter pulled from house by falling limbs

Is Tree Removal Covered?

Your  homeowners policy does cover the removal cost of a fallen tree if it damages a covered strucure (such as your house), subject to a limit (often $500 per tree, $1,000 per incident). Your policy may have coverage for tree removal if it does not damage your property, but blocks your driveway. Very few policies cover tree removal if no structure is damaged, and your driveway is not blocked. Contact your agent to find out how your policy responds.

Am I Covered if My Neighbor’s Tree Falls on My Property?

If your property is damaged, Maine homeowners policies cover you the same whether the tree was yours or your neighbor’s. Usually, there is no legal liability for damage to others from trees that showed no prior signs of being unhealthy.  If the tree was known to be dead, the property owner might be deemed negligent and liable for damages. In that case, the personal liability insurance section of your homeowners or Maine umbrella liability insurance policy may respond. For more information about this, see our July 23 blog post: Does Your Maine Insurance Policy Cover Wind Damage?

For answers to your property insurance questions, contact Noyes Hall & Allen Insurance at 207-799-5541.

10 Quick Tips to Protect Your Halloween Visitors and Your Property

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Jack-o-lanternSunday is Halloween: the spookiest – and maybe most dangerous – night of the year.  Every year, we hear reports of accidents, injury, or property damage that occur on October 31. Here are 10 quick tips to keep your family and property safe.

Keep Visitors Safe

Kids’ costumes often reduce visibilty, and are bulky. In their rush for the goodies, trick-or-treaters also like to cut across yards instead of using the sidewalk.  Plan accordingly.

1) Remove the glass from your storm door, so the kids don’t have to back away as you open the door to pass out treats.

2) Keep your stairs and sidewalks free of loose or broken pieces and other irregularities.

3) Secure  electrical cords for your outdoor displays so they are not a tripping hazard.

4) Replace any burned-out outdoor bulbs before Halloween night.

5) Keep pets inside, and away from the door. Halloween is one of the most stressful nights of the year for dogs. Between the repeatedly ringing doorbell and the strange costumes, even the best-tempered dog can be on edge.

6) Drive more slowly and carefully than usual. Be extra alert for dashing children, who may be wearing dark costumes. And – of course – drive sober!

Protect Your Property

7) Park vehicles in the garage, if you have one.

8 ) Sit outside to give out candy. This allows you to keep an eye out for any trouble.

9) Turn on floodlights to illuminate your yard.

10) Keep jack-o-lanterns away from flammable material (especially childrens’ costumes)!

We wish you a safe and happy Halloween! But, if you need to report a claim on your auto insurance, homeowners insurance or business property insurance, contact Noyes Hall & Allen at 799-5541.

Maine Snowmobile Insurance – The Top 5 Insurance Questions

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It’s that time of year again, when clients’ questions turn away from boat and recreational vehicle insurance to snowmobile insurance. Here are some of the most common questions we hear:

How much does is cost to insure a snowmobile in Maine?

It depends. Some snowmobile insurance costs less than $80 a year (liability only on an older 500 cc sled with no young operators). Other clients pay almost $900 a year (3 newer 800 cc machines with collision coverage, and younger operators).

What Snowmobile Insurance Discounts are Available?

Depending on the insurance company (as an independent insurance agent,we represent several), you may earn

Maine snowmobile insurance discounts

for:
  • A good driving record
  • No claims in the last 3 years
  • Completing an approved safety course
  • Owning a home
  • Insuring your autos and snowmobiles with the same company
  • Paying your premium on time.
  • Belonging to a snowmobile club.

How Do I Insure My Snowmobile Accessories?

If you buy physical damage (collision and “other than collision”) coverage on your machine, you can usually insure accessories such as electronics and radios, trailers, custom paint, exhaust, seats, backrests and windshields – even plow blades and winches. If you tell your agent about these items, they will be able to include them in your snowmobile insurance quote.

Which Company Has the Lowest Snowmobile Insurance Rates in Maine?

No insurer is consistently under-prices all the others. Some companies are better on fast sleds. Some prefer touring models. Still others have a great price if they insure your home, auto and other assets. It’s a good idea to compare. Even better, find a Maine independent insurance agent who represents several insurance companies. They can do the shopping for you!

For answers to your insurance questions, or for a Maine snowmobile insurance quote, contact Noyes Hall & Allen Insurance at 207-799-5541.