Do I need to buy separate insurance for the water pipes outside my home?

You may have recently received a mailer from your water utility company offering this protection for as little as $4.00 a month and are wondering if this shouldn't already be covered under your Homeowners Insurance policy.

At this time, we are unaware of any Homeowners Insurance Policy that will cover water pipes inside or outside of your home.

Therefore, this may be a coverage worth purchasing. Here are a few things to consider first:

HOW BIG IS YOUR RISK?

A good baseline to begin assessing your risk is the age of your home. Homes more than 20 years old may have metal or copper piping that is much more susceptible to erosion than the newer home developments which probably have PVC pipes that may be less likely to corrode in your lifetime.

Next, you will want to find out from your utility provider the average cost in your area to repair or replace pipes.

Finally, you will want to weigh your risks versus the cost and your ability to pay those costs upon demand.

WHAT IS COVERED AND WHAT IS EXCLUDED?

You may want to ask for a copy of the policy wording or explanation of coverages PRIOR to purchasing. If at all possible you will want to contact the insurance or service plan provider directly. If this is not possible, your personal lines agent here at Buckley Insurance will be happy to review the policy wording with you.

IS THERE A DEDUCTIBLE OR "OUT OF POCKET" EXPENSE? 

This question is self explanatory.  You will want to ask it of the provider so that you will better understand your financial responsibility in the event of a loss.

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We hope this article has been helpful to you. If you have any questions or would like to make a comment, we would love to hear from you!

House on Fire!

In our agency management system we have an icon that looks like a house on fire. This item is located on each client's file. When we click on this icon it allows us to add claim information for all kinds of losses including fire. Fortunately, we have not had to click this icon very often to log a fire claim.

The good news is that fires have decreased over the past decade, according to Firesafety.gov.  However, we shouldn't get complacent about safety. As you will see in the video below, it doesn't take long for a fire to get out of control.

Fire Safety video courtesy of You Tube

Devastating fires have had a long reported history. As people started to move from rural areas to cities and fire spread easily from house to house, building to building, the need for fire safety, fire fighting, and fire insurance increased.

The first Roman fire fighting brigade on record was around 115 BC. Unfortunately, we are informed by Wikipedia that even though the 500 man strong brigade responded to the fire, they often stood by and did nothing, allowing the properties to burn to the ground while their employer haggled over the price to put out the fire with the property owners.

If you think this couldn't happen today, think again. Here is a modern day story of similar circumstance. MSNBC.com reported 10.6.2010 that Firefighters in rural Tennessee let a home burn to the ground a week prior because the homeowner hadn't paid a $75 fee. For the complete article visit Tennessee Fire. The video is courtesy of you tube. 



1808 rendering of The Great Fire of London

 Another horrible fire in history was The Great Fire of London. This fire started in 1666 and destroyed thousands of  homes and displaced the residents. It wasn't  long after this fire that the first fire insurance polices were drafted. Today,  fire insurance is standard on all homeowners policies.

In U.S. history, probably the most well known fire is The Great Chicago Fire. Wikipidea reports that this fire burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871. It killed hundreds and destroyed about 4 square miles in Chicago, Illinois. It was one of the largest U.S. disasters of the 19th century, prompting fire safety reform and resulting in Chicago emerging as one of the country's leading fire fighting forces.


Fire Truck used by Chicago 1930-1941



As fire fighting technology and safety standards have improved the risk and damage of fires has decreased.

Although the risk of fire damage has diminished, it should not be dismissed. According to the statistics reported on Firesafety.gov there were 377,000 fires in the US in 2009 resulting in 2,565 deaths, 13,050 injuries and $7,796,000 in dollars lost.



At Buckley & Company, Inc. your safety and the safety of your property are our concern.  Please visit Firesafety.gov for useful information on what to do before, during, and after a fire. You will also find helpful information regarding smoke alarms, fire sprinklers, and carbon monoxide poisoning. Hopefully, we will never have to click the "house on fire" icon in your file.