Can I buy short-term boat insurance?

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Suppose that you own a boat, and you only like to take it out a few weeks each Summer, leaving it in the garage the rest of the year. Is it possible to buy short-term insurance, or do you need to keep it protected all year long? What are your options in Overland Park, KS?

Unfortunately, you’re not likely to find an insurer that offers month to month insurance. State, local and federal law surrounding insurance typically mean that even if an insurer wanted to offer such a policy, they wouldn’t be allowed to.

This means that, unless you can afford to insure the boat yourself, or you’re willing to run the risks of piloting it uninsured (which is difficult to recommend for a range of legal reasons), your options are relatively limited here.

You can buy a six month policy from many insurers. This will keep you covered through all of the Summer and a few extra months on top of that, which may be incentive to get out there and do a little more fishing next year. But if you really can’t find time to spend more than a few weekends a year out on the water, this is still a big commitment for a part-time hobby.

You can simply cancel your insurance after a month, but this presents a number of difficulties. You’re generally going to be required to pay a large portion of your insurance policy up front, and it can be hard to say goodbye to that money when you’re not actually completing the policy. Some states require a sixty day cancellation period before you can stop payments.

Ultimately if six months is too much of a commitment, the smartest choice may be to sell the boat, and simply rent one with a short term policy when you’re ready to hit the water. Or, get a 12 month policy from HighPointe Insurance in Overland Park, KS and make the most of it.

 

Am I covered if I damage my boat on land?

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Being able to take your boat out on the open water is a great way to spend a weekend.  Whether you like to fish, swim, or participate in water sports, boating is a wonderful way to spend time with family and friends.  Just like a car, a boat must be insured to help cover any damage that may happen to your boat or as a result of your boat.  But what happens if you damage your boat while it is out of the water?  Luckily, the experts at HighPointe Insurance Services LLC, serving residents in Overland Park, KS, are here to help answer this question.

Typically, boat insurance covers damage that happens to the boat while it is in the water.  This can include damage to your boat or damage to other property or boats in the water.  If your boat is damaged while you are moving it to the water it will be covered solely by your auto insurance.  This is because the boat is attached to your car at the time damage occurs.  If your boat is damaged while it is in your house or driveway, certain home insurance policies will cover the damage.  Depending on your home insurance you may be able to add additional coverage to make sure your boat will be protected.

While owning a boat is certainly fun, there are some tricky questions that can arise when it comes to coverage.  If you have any additional questions regarding your boat insurance reach out to the professionals at HighPointe Insurance Services LLC.  Our team, serving the residents of Overland Park, KS, are more than happy to help.  We are available to answer any questions you might have or help you set up a new insurance policy for your boat. 

 

Why You Need to Consider Personal Umbrella Insurance

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Given our litigious society, there’s always the risk of being sued. If you’re held to be legally liable for injuries or property damage in an amount in excess of your liability insurance policy limits, anything above those limits might have to be paid out-of-pocket. Not only does that impact your present financial situation, but it can also negatively affect your future earnings. With personal umbrella coverage, you’re giving yourself an extra tier of insurance coverage over and above your standard policy limits that protects your personal assets. Umbrella insurance doesn’t just cover your car either. It operates as an extra layer of protection on your homeowner’s insurance too. 

Don’t Ignore the Protection

Your umbrella insurance would be triggered when you reach your limits on your underlying insurance coverage. That’s when your umbrella coverage starts working for you. You’ll have that extra coverage shielding everything that you own. There’s no reason for you and your family not to have it.

Protection Against Unforeseeable Events

All it takes is for the pizza delivery kid to fall from a loose step at your home or a few seconds of inattentive driving. Those are potentially catastrophic risks that you want to be insured for.  They might be unforeseeable to you, but they happen every day. A jury’s award could be staggering and financially devastating. HighPointe Insurance Services LLC is available to help families in the entire Overland Park, KS area. Email us, call us, or stop in for a cup of coffee. We’re pleased to discuss your individual situation and provide you with your options for an additional line of defense. 

 

 

How Renters Insurance Protects Your Home In Overland Park, KS

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If you’ve ever carried out any research on insurance, or simply seen an insurance ad, then you probably have heard about renter’s insurance. But what is renter’s insurance and how can it protect your Overland Park, KS home?

If you’re living in a rented apartment, chances are you barely think about insurance, after all, your landlord has insurance on the building. Well, what most people don’t know is that the landlord’s policy does not cover any one of your personal property and that’s where renter’s insurance comes in.

If you’re a resident of Overland Park KS and you’re interested in protecting your home, then one way you can do that is to get a renter’s insurance policy. An agency that can assist you in getting renters insurance is the HighPointe Insurance Services LLC.

Before we get carried away even further, let’s see what renter’s insurance is. Renter insurance is an insurance policy that provides coverage for your damaged, stolen, or lost personal properties. It also covers injuries in your home that may occur to another person, say your guest.

So in a nutshell, renters insurance ensures that you have a backup plan if your personal belongings were ever to get lost, stolen, or damaged. But how does it work?

Let’s say your home got burgled. Renters insurance helps to pay your cost if you suffered a loss. It also allows for financial reimbursement in case your belongings get stolen or damaged. The compensation you receive depends on two factors, the type of loss, and the amount of coverage you had.

One thing to note is that certain items such as jewelry and collectibles may have a value limit or they may require additional insurance before the full cost of the lost or theft gets covered.

Thinking of getting a renter’s insurance for your home in Overland Park, KS, then why not check out HighPointe Insurance Services LLC and allow them to assist you in getting the right renters coverage you need for your home.

 

5 Tips For Home Safety

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You should always focus on home safety in Overland Park, KS. At HighPointe Insurance Services LLC, we offer some tips to help you improve the safety in and around your home.

Purchase Fire Extinguishers

Fire extinguishers should be readily available throughout your home. You should have one in the kitchen as well as at least one on every level of your home. Additionally, you should make sure that everyone inside your home knows how to operate them.

Talk with Children

Take the time to talk with all of your children about home safety. Make sure that they know what to do in the event of a fire, tornado, and various other natural disasters. They should all know how to call emergency services as well.

Handle DIY Projects

The various DIY projects that you have on your to-do list should be done in a timely fashion. Especially when it comes to fixing front steps or anything that person could get injured on, you want to put at the top of your list. Otherwise, you could end up with someone suing you for a liability claim.

Install a Security System

It’s a good idea to install a security system in your home, regardless of how safe your neighborhood might be. A security system should provide notifications of when windows and doors are open. The system should also be monitored so that if you are out of town, emergency personnel will be notified of a potential break-in.

Pick Up the Yard

It’s important to pick up your yard from time to time. If you have various items that can be moved around by the wind in Overland Park K,S, they become missiles when there is a storm. Additionally, they could be a trip hazard if you have someone come over.

When you want to get a customized home insurance policy, contact us at HighPointe Insurance Services LLC to speak with an independent insurance agent.

 

Why Commercial Insurance is Important to Your Business

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Commercial insurance can be extremely important to your business. But have you ever wondered why? Let HighPointe Insurance Services LLC, serving the greater Overland Park, KS area, tell you why.

Commercial insurance is an important part of any business because it protects against so many elements of the business. The exact types of coverage you will need vary based on the type of business you own. If you own the building you are doing business in, you need commercial building insurance. If you own vehicles for your employees or yourself to use during the course of business, you need commercial auto insurance. And if you own property, such as supplies or items to sell, you need commercial belongings insurance.

If you did not have commercial insurance, your business could be shelling out hundreds or thousands of dollars when something unexpected happens. If your building is damaged by wind, you may have to pay for that. If an employee crashes a car, you may have to pay for that. If your belongings are stolen, you may have to pay for that. When you have the right insurance policy in place, you do not have to pay anything but your deductible for all of these expenses, helping to save your business from costly, unexpected expenses.

Do you currently not have a commercial insurance policy in place? Or are you unsure if your coverage levels are set appropriately? Give HighPointe Insurance Services LLC, serving the greater Overland Park, KS area, a ring today. We would love to help you determine what coverage levels you need and then present you with the best plans for your needs.

How To Properly Insure a Truck

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Did you just buy your first truck? If you did, there are some things to consider about your latest purchase that you probably didn’t have to think about with your vehicles of the past, namely insurance, namely insurance. Truck have a lot of uses that cars don’t have, the primary reason that insuring them is a little bit trickier. The follow are some aspects you should consider before purchasing insurance for your truck. 

It’s use – Is this a personal vehicle, or a bigger truck like a box truck you are using for business? Work vehicles should have commercial insurance because of their increased use and safety concerns. You should be fully covered in the event that there is an accident that causes harm to another person. You should consider increased coverage if you have a pickup truck. You probably bought it for a reason, and that’s to transport stuff. Otherwise, why get a truck? 

Cost – Many car shoppers make the mistake of purchasing a vehicle without first considering the cost of the car note plus the added insurance costs. Trucks can have higher premiums, making it vital that you check the total monthly cost of the vehicle before taking it off of the lot. If you don’t, you could severely hamper your budget in the future, making your truck a constant reminder of your financial difficulties. 

Those with questions about insuring their truck should contact an insurance representative at HighPointe Insurance Services LLC, an insurance provider in Overland Park, KS. They can help you make the right decision going forward about how to insure your truck. The key is to finding the right level of coverage at a price that fits your budget and this is something that should be factored before you make the purchase. 

Spring Cleaning Tips

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One of the most common things to do during the spring is to take some time to do some spring cleaning. If you have gotten the fever or simply want some tips on how to make the most of the spring cleaning in Overland Park, KS, you have come to the right place. Use these tips from HighPointe Insurance Services LLC to get started. 

  • Dust everything. The first place you want to start is by dusting all around your home. If you have not dusted in a while, you may be surprised by how much has built up over the past few months. Get that out and you will start to breathe better inside. 
  • Decide on your spring cleaning project. While you may want to tackle everything inside your home, you need to be reasonable with your time and figure out what needs to happen the most. Decide what spring cleaning project you want to take on and if you find that you have more time later, then you can always take on more. 
  • Get some help. You do not have to do this all on your own. Get some friends or family to help you with some of the bigger projects. Not only will it take less time but you will also have more fun during the process. Spring cleaning doesn’t have to be a chore unless you make it one. Make it more of a get together by inviting people you trust over to help you and offer to do the same for them in return. 

Even after you have a clean and organized house, you still need a great home insurance policy to protect it. If you do not already have one, be sure to reach out to HighPointe Insurance Services LLC, serving Overland Park, KS, to get a quote for a home insurance policy that meets your needs and your budget. 

3 Things Home Insurance Does Not Cover

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When you have a home in Overland Park, KS, it’s important to have the protection in place. That’s why you buy a home insurance policy. However, you want to know what home insurance might not cover so you can get the coverage elsewhere.

Our insurance agents at HighPointe Insurance Services LLC can recommend policies that will provide you with the missing coverage and even explore insurance companies that offer add-ons. This way, you have protection for everything that might happen.

DIY Gone Wrong

Unfortunately, there are dangers with the DIY approach. Even though you may think you are saving money doing it yourself, you may not be pulling the necessary permits. Additionally, you don’t know what you are doing; you could end up causing more damage. A flood that occurs because you didn’t handle plumbing repair properly won’t be covered by home insurance.

Flood Coverage

All it takes is one storm, and your neighborhood may experience a significant amount of flooding. FEMA will determine if you are in a flood zone. If you are, flood insurance may be required, and this is above and beyond the home insurance that is required by your mortgage company.

Various Liability Issues

An array of liability issues may not be covered as well. All home insurance policies will cover at least the basics, such as damage your family would do to other people’s property as well as any injuries that may occur on your property. However, there are always “scenarios” that are within the fine print of what’s not covered – and knowing what these are is critical.

By knowing more about what is and isn’t included in home insurance, you can better protect your home in Overland Park, KS. For more information about policies and to get quotes, contact HighPointe Insurance Services LLC today.

 

What You Need to Know About Tornadoes and Homeowner’s Insurance

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The last thing that you need to discover after a terrible tornado is that you do not have the right stipulations in your homeowner’s insurance policy. Overland Park, KS is known for natural disasters, and you need to prepare for the inevitable. Here are three things that you should be aware of concerning property coverage before tragedy strikes. 

Property Coverage insures Certain, Not All, Perils

A peril is an event that causes severe damage to property. Such occurrences can be destruction caused by anything from wildfires to windstorms. In these instances, payment is made for damaged property and medical expenses for personal injuries incurred as a result of the disaster. There is also an option of personal liability coverage that pays for bodily injury and property damage that inferred on others by your negligence. 

Either one of these policies can provide financial stability when tragedy strikes. It is, however, important to make sure that natural disasters such as tornadoes are included in the plan as some insurance agencies exclude earthquakes and other calamities caused by the elements. 

Additional Expenses May Not Be Covered

You may have a policy that pays to rebuild the structure of your home but does not provide coverage for debris removal and damaged trees. Such incentives are essential after a tornado sweeps through town since rubbish is a given and some trees present hazards. Rebuilding efforts will be impossible without first removing chaff and making the area safe. Ask your local insurance agent if additional expenses are included with replacement coverage to ensure security.

Exclusions Apply

Many homeowners insurance plans in Overland Park, KS include property coverage with several exclusions. Injured animals and damaged motor vehicles, for instance, are not typically financially secured through a homeowners policy. Only an experienced agent who is familiar with the area can ensure that you have the right insurance for a tornado or other natural disaster.