Why You Should Waterproof Your Basement

Waterproofing your basement is one of the most effective methods to safeguard your home’s integrity. It’s common for restored older homes and new constructions to require a system that can guide excess water away from this area. If you’ve been contemplating waterproofing your basement, here are a few reasons why you should consider going ahead with it.

Decrease Mold in Your Home

Even if your basement doesn’t routinely experience flooding, implementing a waterproofing system to divert water can substantially reduce mold growth in your home. Basements are naturally colder and more isolated than other sections of a house, making them a prime location for mold propagation, especially when water lingers for extended periods. Mold undermines the home’s structural integrity and poses a significant health risk for family members and pets. Ensure your home remains a safe sanctuary by curbing mold growth.

Preserve the Foundation

Continuous exposure to water in the basement can compromise the home’s foundation. Water can gradually deteriorate wooden structures, leading to rot and the need for replacement. It can also erode stone and blocks in the foundation, particularly when water remains stagnant for long periods. Extensive water damage in the basement could escalate, influencing the main floors and causing foundational problems. In addition, continuous moisture will lead to rusting pipes throughout the house, and the replacement of various systems, leading to considerable expense and inconvenience.

For those seeking a personalized home insurance quote in the Lakewood, CO, area, contact our team at Premier Group Insurance today for more information.

Four priorities when you buy home insurance

The home insurance coverage you purchase can significantly impact your finances down the road. That’s why you need to research and choose the right policy for your home in Lakewood, CO. At Premier Group Insurance, we can help you find the right policy for your situation. 

Here are four priorities you should focus on when buying home insurance. 

Knowing what your policy does and doesn’t cover

Please read the fine print of your home insurance policy so that you know what its limitations are. You don’t want to end up unpleasantly surprised that a particular type of damage isn’t covered when it comes time to file a claim. 

Comparing offers from several insurance companies

Don’t make the mistake of buying a policy before you’ve compared your options. Getting quotes from numerous insurance companies is essential when you’re in the market for a policy. Comparing quotes ensures that your policy is competitively priced. 

Choosing the right deductible for your situation

The deductible you choose for your policy has a significant impact on the cost of filing a claim and the cost of your monthly premiums. Be sure to think carefully about which deductible option is best for your financial situation.

Understanding the most significant damage risks on your property

You need to be covered for the types of damage that you’re likely to experience in your area. Is your area susceptible to flood, earthquake, or hurricane damage? If so, you need to ensure that these types of coverage are included in your home insurance policy. 

Premier Group Insurance provides home insurance to homeowners in Lakewood, CO. We’re here to answer your questions about home insurance. Call us today to get a policy quote. 

I already have homeowner’s insurance. Why do I need flood insurance?

If you are a homeowner, you know the importance of having homeowner’s insurance from Premier Group Insurance. It protects against damage and loss caused by certain risks such as fire, theft, vandalism, etc. 

But what about flooding? Although flood damage is typically not included in typical homeowner’s insurance policies in the Lakewood, CO area, floods can still cause significant damage to your home and property. This is why homeowners need to consider purchasing flood insurance in addition to their existing policies.  

Flooding can occur at any time, often with little warning. Flood waters can rise quickly and cause substantial water damage to homes and belongings. In some cases, the damage may be so severe that it requires a complete rebuild of your home or property. That’s why it’s essential to have financial protection from unexpected flooding events. 

Flood insurance provides coverage for direct physical losses caused by flooding up to the limits of the policy you choose. It also offers coverage for additional living expenses if you are forced to evacuate due to rising water levels or other conditions related to a flood event. 

By investing in flood insurance in addition to your existing homeowner’s policy, you can protect yourself against significant financial losses should a flooding event occur on your property. Don’t wait until it’s too late – get coverage today! For more information about flood insurance, or if you want to explore getting a policy to protect your home, call us at Premier Group Insurance today. We proudly serve the Lakewood, CO area and would gladly help you find a policy that meets your needs.

You Don’t Have a Mortgage, Do You Still Need Home Insurance?

If you don’t have a Lakewood, CO mortgage, you might think you don’t need home insurance. But even with a home that’s free and clear of a loan, you still need to protect your investment with a good home insurance policy. Here’s why:

Protection From Natural Disasters

No matter where you live, your home is vulnerable to natural disasters. Even if you don’t have a mortgage, a fire, severe weather, or another disaster could destroy your home. Home insurance can help you rebuild after a covered catastrophe.

Also, it helps you and your family stay in temporary housing if your home becomes uninhabitable after a disaster. You’ll have a place to live during the rebuilding process, and you won’t have to bear the entire cost of a hotel stay.

Liability Protection

Home insurance also provides liability protection. This can be especially important for a house that’s paid off. Liability coverage can help pay for medical bills and other damages if there’s an injury on your property or if you accidentally injure someone else. Your Premier Group Insurance representative can help you choose the right amount of coverage for your needs.

Peace of Mind

Finally, home insurance gives you peace of mind knowing that it protects your home. This benefit can help you relax and enjoy your Lakewood, CO, home. You don’t want to worry about what would happen if your home gets damaged or destroyed. Home insurance can help you relax and feel confident that you’re protected.

Talk to your Premier Group Insurance agent if you’re unsure whether you need home insurance. We can help you understand your risks and choose the right coverage for your needs.

4 Ways in Which Home Insurance Protects You

When you purchase home insurance from Premier Group Insurance, it protects you from incurring out-of-pocket expenses when disasters strike. This means that home insurance won’t prevent risks from occurring, but it lessens your financial burden when perils occur. Unfortunately, some Lakewood, CO homeowners don’t carry home insurance because they are unaware of what it covers or think it’s a waste of money. 

Whichever the reason, they miss on a couple of benefits of home insurance. Here are four ways in which homeowner’s insurance protects you.

Dwelling protection

While you can keep off some perils by locking your doors and investing in home security systems, these measures can only stretch as far. For disasters like hail, falling objects, fire, and others, you need home insurance to protect your home. This way, your home can be rebuilt or repaired when damaged without you using your finances. 

Personal property

Home insurance isn’t all about your building only. It extends to cover personal belongings such as clothing, electronics, furniture, and other assets when lost or damaged. This prevents you from starting from scratch when perils strike the valuables you have spent years accumulating.

Liability protection

Assume the following instances happen. Your son throws a ball and injures your neighbor’s kid. Or perhaps, a guest slips and sustains head injuries while on your premises. While both incidences could be unintentional, you could be held responsible. Thankfully, when you have home insurance, you don’t have to worry about third-party expenses.

Home insurance covers bodily injury, property damage, and legal costs when you are accused of causing harm to other people. 

Additional living expenses coverage

Home insurance ensures that you don’t have to call your friends to look for accommodation when your home is damaged. Instead, home insurance covers costs like hotel food and accommodation as your home undergoes repairs caused by a covered peril.

Buy home insurance today! 

Are you shopping for home insurance in Lakewood, CO? Please contact Premier Group Insurance today for an affordable quote. 

3 Ways Home Liability Insurance Protects You

Insuring your Lakewood, CO home is the smartest, most effective way of protecting your valuable investment. Home insurance from Premier Group Insurance not only protects your home but your belongings and your financial assets by protecting you against liability claims and lawsuits. Home liability is the coverage that protects you against accidents people may have when they visit your property. Without insurance protection, you could wind up paying for medical bills, damaged goods, or even legal expenses, if an accident leads to a lawsuit, out of your own pocket. Here are a few ways liability insurance protects you.    

Injuries

There’s nothing unusual about home accidents. Most are just minor incidents that don’t require medical care. If, however, one of your visitors has a serious accident that sends him to the hospital, you could be held accountable for his medical costs. Liability insurance protects you financially by covering these costs. Liability insurance covers accidental injuries that can occur from slip and falls, tripping down the stairs, dog bites, sports play in the yard, pool mishaps, and more.

Property Damage

Liability also covers damage to a visitor’s property such as a cellphone, laptop or car. If your son hits a baseball that smashes into your friend’s windshield while his car is sitting in your driveway, liability insurance will cover repair costs. This saves you from having to dip into your savings account to cover these costs.   

Lawsuit

In the event that an accident leads to a lawsuit, liability insurance will help cover your legal costs. If you lose the lawsuit, your liability insurance will cover the cost of settlement, up to the limits of your policy. Serious liability claims can be extremely costly. For this reason, you should have sufficient liability coverage to safeguard your assets against these risks.

To learn more about liability coverage for your Lakewood, CO home, contact Premier Group Insurance.

How to Prepare Your Home For an Emergency

Having the right home insurance policy in place can help you if your home is ever involved in an emergency situation. However, having the right insurance is not the only step you should take to prepare your home for an emergency. Here at Premier Group Insurance, serving the Lakewood, CO area, we know that no one wants to find themselves in an emergency situation, but here are a few tips that can help minimize the damage in the event that you do. 

Equip Your Home With Detectors and Alarms

One of the best ways to prepare your home for an emergency is by utilizing detectors and alarms. This includes items such as sump pump alarms, fire detectors, carbon monoxide alarms, and leak detectors. Each of these detectors or alarms can sense a potential problem in your home and alert you to the issue. This can help you to mitigate the problem before it becomes an emergency or can help you to get your family out of the home safely. 

Have a Fire Extinguisher on Hand

Another way to prepare your home for an emergency is to ensure that you have a fire extinguisher on hand. A small fire can grow rapidly. Having a fire extinguisher on hand can help you to put out small fires that may otherwise grow to larger ones if not quickly contained. 

Prepare An Escape Plan

The final way to prepare your home for an emergency is to prepare an escape plan and then test that plan out. Ensure all of your windows open and close and get window ladders if needed. This ensures everyone can safely exit the home in an emergency situation. 

The right home insurance policy can help protect you against financial losses in the event your home sustains an emergency. If you are looking to update your home insurance policy or purchase a new one in the greater Lakewood, CO area, Premier Group Insurance can help. Contact us now to get started. 

Updating your policy for additions to your home

When you change your home, you need to change your home policy. This goes for everything from basic remodeling, adding new fixtures, and so on to additions and other extensive work. Whenever you make a significant change to your home in Lakewood, CO, you’ll want to give Premier Group Insurance a call to update your policy so that it reflects those changes.

It primarily comes down to what you want to be covered. Maybe that new sink only cost fifty bucks, and there’s not much of a point covering it. But what about that six hundred dollar bathtub, or the new room addition? Those are going to add significant value to your home, and the problem is that your insurer doesn’t know it until you let them know. This means that if something happens, you’re going to be out whatever it cost you to remodel your home, as it won’t be covered by your policy.

Following an extensive remodeling project or addition, the best way to make sure you’re covered is to bring in an appraiser. They can help you to get a proper assessment of your home’s current value so that you can take that price to your insurer and get covered.

Premier Group Insurance in Lakewood, CO can provide you with a plan that’s flexible enough to cover new additions and remodeling whenever you need it. Maybe not every remodeling project demands a new policy, but any time you sink serious effort and money into your home, you’ll want your insurance coverage to reflect that. So don’t slack on it, bring in an appraiser and make sure that your policy reflects your home’s value.

Will home insurance cover mold in my basement?

Basements are pretty creepy places, to begin with. There are dark corners, spiders, and that awful basement smell. But what if that smell we so commonly associated with basements is mold? 

When left untreated, mold can have severe consequences for your home and your health. Many types of mold can cause allergies, respiratory infections, and if left untreated long enough, can potentially be fatal. It makes sense that if mold is in your home, your home insurance will cover the cost to fix the damage right? It turns out that might not always be the case. Luckily, the experts at Premier Group Insurance, serving those in Lakewood, CO, have the details on what may and may not be covered.

The determining factor for whether or not home insurance will cover mold is the source of the mold. If the mold in your basement is a result of a home catastrophe, such as a broken pipe, then yes, home insurance would cover the expense to remediate the mold. If however, the mold in your basement is a result of a flood, chances are the mold remediation will not be covered. This is because, in most home insurance policies, flood damage is not covered unless a person has additional flood insurance. One other way that mold remediation would not be covered is if it is deemed the mold is a result of neglect or negligence. In this case, the fault and the cost are solely on the homeowner’s shoulders.

Knowing the ins and outs of home insurance can be complicated, but luckily the professionals at Premier Group Insurance can help. If you are a resident of Lakewood, CO and have questions concerning your existing home insurance policy, or if you need help starting a new home insurance policy, feel free to reach out to our office. Our expert staff is eager to assist you with any questions you may have.