Brush fire safety tips from O’Connor Insurance
100’s of Brush fires occurs every year across the Commonwealth. You do not have to live in dry, mountain regions of the West to be threatened by Brush Fires. A Brush Fire only needs the right conditions and fuel to become a wild fire. Dry weather, high winds, and trees or brush substantially increase the chances of an uncontrolled fire. Even areas like ours in Central Massachusetts can be at risk for Brush Fire, especially during dry, windy periods.
The time to protect your family from a brush fire is before a fire starts. O’Connor & Co. Insurance Agency from Dudley MA, offers some Brush Fire safety tips for residents of Massachusetts. These tips can help those with a house in or near wooded areas or brush to make their homes less susceptible to damage from a Brush Fire or wildfire.
Prevention Measures
Preventing a Brush Fire from reaching your home may not be foolproof, but it can dramatically reduce the chances that your home will be destroyed from a Brush Fire. These tips also help to keep home fires from becoming Brush or Wild Fires by creating a barrier between the woods and your home.
Remove large areas of brush, leaf piles, and woodpiles from a 30 to 100-foot radius around your home. Keep matches away from children and teach them about fire danger. Use only roofing and siding material on your home which is fire-resistant. Keep trees and bushes on your lot trimmed, and have dead trees removed immediately. Do not store flammable materials within 15 feet of chimneys, barbecue grills, or propane tanks.
Plan for a Brush Fire
A little bit of planning before you burn brush could help firefighters battle a Brush Fire near your home. It may never be needed, but you will be glad you took the time to put these measures into place if it is.
Make sure your driveway is free of impediments so that a firetruck can reach your property if necessary. Keep a shovel, rake, bucket, and an ax or saw on hand while you are burning.Have a ladder to reach the roof ready and accessible. Make sure your hose is long enough to reach the immediate area where you are burning. Only burn during the legal time period established by your local fire department and obtain all the necessary burning permits required in your town. Make sure you have smoke detectors in every bedroom and floor of your home, and test them prior to burning and monthly thereafter. Take photographs of all your valuables and keep a record of them in a fireproof safe to make filing a claim with your insurance company easier.
When a Brush Fire is in the Area
Sometimes, no matter how much planning you do, brush and wildfires may still appear in the area and threaten your home. If you are told to wait in place until an evacuation order is given, do it. If you try to evacuate too soon, you could get in the way of firetrucks on the road.
While waiting to be told to leave prepare your home. Wet the roof and landscape plants around your home to make them less likely to catch fire. Shut off the power and gas to your home and turn off any propane tanks outside. Push wood furniture inside your home to the center of each room, as far from exterior walls and windows as possible. Gather your family and pets together with a disaster kit into a single room to make finding everyone easier when the evacuation order is given. All your family members should know how to contact each other if you become separated.
Living near the tranquility of nature comes at the price of being in proximity to Brush and wild Fires, but if you prepare your home and family with these Massachusetts wild and brush fire tips, you can substantially reduce the potential for damage to your house or harm to your family members.
What you need to know about Long Term Care Insurance.
With medical advancements and more preventative treatments available, Americans’ life expectancy is longer than ever before. This increased life expectancy signifies that more people will need long term care insurance. This type of coverage is not provided by Medicaid or private health insurance; it is a separate insurance product. Additionally, with many individuals upside down in their mortgages and with depleted retirement savings, long term care insurance may be the only sure way that a person can have to pay for their later in life expenses. If you live in Webster or Dudley, Massachusetts, it is in your best interest to learn about long term care insurance now before you need it.
What It Covers
Long term care insurance is a completely separate product than normal health insurance or disability insurance. This insurance is intended for individuals who need long-term care at home or in a care facility. The idea behind the product is that you pay for the services that you may need later. If you need long-term care later in life, you have the arrangements already made. If you do not require long-term care, you simply will not use the product.
Governmental Programs
Medicaid provides medical insurance for destitute individuals, and it usually only covers disabled individuals or minors. Medicare will similarly not be available to assist individuals in most cases. Medicare may provide assistance to elderly individuals if they spend three days in a hospital and then subsequently go to a long-term care facility for the same reason that they went to the hospital. Medicare does not provide funding for at-home care or for an assisted-living facility.
When to Purchase Long Term Care Insurance
Like life insurance, the younger you are when you purchase long term care insurance, the cheaper that it will be. Additionally, if you wait too long until after you have developed medical conditions or conditions that will likely warrant the immediate need for long term care insurance, you may be denied coverage. The ideal time to purchase long term care insurance is when a person is relatively healthy and in their fifties. The denial of applications is lower at this point, and the premiums are more affordable than they would be if the customer purchased the insurance at a later point in time.
Benefit Period
The benefit period for long term care insurance can vary widely. Some periods are as short as two years while others last for ten years. Other options cover a lifetime option for debilitating diseases, such as Alzheimer?s or Parkinson?s. While a lifetime option is usually more expensive than a policy that offers coverage for a set duration, not having enough coverage can easily cost you tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in the event that you need a longer period of care. The average claim lasts between two and three years.
Long term care insurance is an important insurance product that can help many individuals. With two out of every five individuals needing long term care insurance, it makes a valuable investment in your future.
The importance of boat or watercraft insurance in Massachusetts
When you purchased your boat, you were probably thinking of open water, vacation time, and maybe a little fishing. You probably weren’t thinking about the insurance you’d need to cover it. However, it’s something worth looking into, and here are five reasons why.
- Accidents – Anything can happen on the water. It’s the very appeal of boats – the fun, the freedom – but also the danger. What happens if you go out and hurt yourself? What happens if you collide with something in the water or even another boat? What if they don’t have insurance? The possibilities are endless, which is why it’s important to find the right coverage for every scenario.
- Weather – Weather is not always stable or predictable, and you’re responsible for your boat even when blue skies turn into storms. Don’t wait for summertime to protect your property – fires, floods and high winds can damage your boat even during the off-season.
- Injuries – Injury insurance is a must, especially if you’re operating a high-risk watercraft like a jet ski. You never know when the tide will turn and leave you swimming against a storm of medical bills. Depending on your state of residence, you might even be responsible if someone else is using your boat hurts themselves, others aboard your boat or someone else.
- Damage – Accidents, fires, and even vandalism – all of these are threats against the safety of your property. You’ll want the right kind of insurance to guard yourself against not only damage done to you, but damage you might accidentally inflict on others. It’s called liability.
- Theft – Believe it or not, the biggest danger to your boat isn’t on the water – it’s in your garage. Most people don’t guard their watercrafts as closely as they guard, say, their cars, and as a result, they leave their possessions right open for the taking. Insurance will have you covered if you ever go home and find yourself the victim of thieves.
How to earn a discount on home and car insurance in Massachusetts.
Everyone wants to save money on insurance. But many people in Massachusetts don’t realize how easy it is to get a “second opinion”. Multi-line discounts (Home and Auto with the same company) are an excellent way to reduce both car and home insurance costs without sacrificing coverage. By securing several insurance policies through one company, customers can save 10, 15 as much as 20 percent on their total annual premiums. Customers don’t need to own a home either to get the multi-line discount. Policyholders can earn this discount with a renter’s insurance policy or condo insurance whenever both policies (renters or condo and auto) are with the same company, you qualify!
How Much Can You Save?
According to industry data from the Insurance Information Institute, policyholders can reduce premiums by 10 to 30 percent per policy. Some companies offer customers a 10 percent discount on car insurance premiums and 30 percent off Home Insurance, Renter’s or Condo Insurance policies. This can add up to discounts as high as several hundred dollars per year!
For example, homeowners who pay $500 for home insurance can lower their premiums by $100 to $150 per year. They’ll also enjoy a discount of $300 or more on their auto insurance policy with a premium of $2,000. With a multi-line discount this can save the consumer $450 or more each year, on the same exact coverage they have now!
Ways to Combine Coverage
Discount auto insurance and discount home insurance can be secured in several ways. Unlike multi-car coverage in which buyers receive insurance for multiple vehicles under one policy, multi-line incentives allow consumers to secure discounts on separate insurance policies. This means customers can mix and match their insurance coverage while earning sizable discounts.
Buyers can earn a discount quickly and easily when they purchase home insurance and auto insurance from one provider. This is also true for customers who purchase renter’s insurance or condo insurance through the same company that issues their auto insurance coverage. In some cases, insurance companies may also offer a multi-line discount on life insurance and other coverage options.
Avoid Coverage Lapses
Let us cancel your current insurance coverage thus making certain that your new policy is approved and in place prior to cancelling your old coverage. Most customers want to switch coverage immediately after they receive our quotes. So it’s imperative that the transition be coordinated perfectly so the switch avoids the risk of a lapse in coverage. That is where a licensed Independent Insurance Agent comes in, to make sure the new insurance company has approved the policy, received payment and issued a convenient start date. After everything is in order, that is when we contact your old agent, insurer and Registry to let them know about the change in company.
Comparison shopping is the best and easiest way to secure a “second opinion” competitive quote. In most cases, multi-line discounts are the best way to get the same level of coverage for a lower price.Everyone wants to save money on insurance. But many people in Massachusetts don’t realize how easy it is to get a “second opinion”. Multi-line discounts (Home and Auto with the same company) are an excellent way to reduce both car and home insurance costs without sacrificing coverage. By securing several insurance policies through one company, customers can save 10, 15 as much as 20 percent on their total annual premiums. Customers don’t need to own a home either to get the multi-line discount. Policyholders can earn this discount with a renter’s insurance policy or condo insurance whenever both policies(renters or condo and auto) are with the same company, you qualify!