Now that the winds have died down, it is time to get the clean up underway on your Tampa or Fort Lauderdale, FL property. At Coastal Wealth Insurance, LLC, we are here to help you recover from the latest devastating weather. Like many of your neighbors, you may have damage to your roof, windows, trees, and landscaping.  Here’s a short checklist to help you on your road back to normal.

• Ensure Your Personal Safety: Before you start worrying about filing a claim on your home insurance, make sure that your home is safe. Water can damage electrical and gas connections and standing water is a breeding colony for bacteria. If you think there is an active hazard in your home, evacuate to a shelter until a contractor can declare it is safe.
• Secure Your Home: Board up any broken windows and fix your doors so that you are able to lock your home. Discourage looters from taking advantage and preserve your possessions.
• Call Your Coastal Wealth Insurance, LLC Agent: Don’t hesitate to place a call with your agent ASAP if you feel there is an emergency. Even if you don’t have a complete picture of all the damage, they can start the paperwork and can expedite emergency funds to help you defray the costs of hotels, meals, and other expenses. Now is definitely the time to take advantage of every service your insurance company has to offer.
• Start Snapping Pictures: Use your phone or your kid’s smartphone to document all the damage to your home and yard. You can email the images to your Fort Lauderdale, FL insurance company to speed along the claim process.
• File a Claim with FEMA: While your home insurance policy is going to help you rebuild, filing a claim with FEMA at a local community center can open up additional options and services available to everybody in the region.

It is important to make all the stops when it comes to flood recovery. We are proud of our community’s efforts to help each other rebuild and lend a helping hand. Reach out to us for more information on a flood insurance policy. 

You’ve probably seen the term replacement cost value on your homeowner’s insurance policy. But what does it really mean? Our team at Coastal Wealth Insurance LLC has put together this handy guide for you to review.

What is Replacement Cost Value?

To put it simply, replacement cost value is what it would cost to build your home from the ground up in the event of a major disaster or fire. If your property is older, this also means constructing it to include modern fixtures and building code standards, which often cost much more than what you might currently have. Furthermore, replacement cost value takes into consideration the cost of labor for workers and supplies to reconstruct the residence.

Why Does Having Replacement Cost Value Coverage Even Matter?

The reason why having replacement coverage even matters is that it protects you in the event of a claim. If something happens to your home, you will expect your insurance policy to help you rebuild it back to the same state it was in before the incident. Failure to have this type of coverage could mean only receiving a fraction of your actual monetary needs to get the home back into a livable state.

Should I Add Replacement Cost Value to My Fort Lauderdale, FL Policy If I Don’t Already Have It?

Most insurance carriers have latched onto this type of coverage in recent years and already automatically include replacement cost value in their homeowner’s policies. However, if your coverage contract is older, it might be time to discuss with your agent the benefits of adding replacement cost coverage.

Are you looking to review your homeowner’s insurance policy? Contact Coastal Wealth Insurance LLC now for a no-obligation review of your Fort Lauderdale, FL coverage needs.

Fort Lauderdale FL

While the winter is not especially taxing in Florida, spring is a great time to take a look at your yard and address some things that can be problematic if left unattended to. Here are a few spring home maintenance tips from Coastal Wealth Insurance, LLC for your yard in Fort Lauderdale, FL:

Look at the Slope of Your Yard

Rain can erode your yard over your time. This can cause your yard to have a slight slope in it. If it slopes away from your home, this is fine. But if it slopes towards your home, you have an issue. A yard that slopes towards your home can push water to sit against your home damaging the siding or foundation. Spring is a great time to look at this and grade your yard as needed so that it slopes away from your home.

Trim Your Trees

When you trim your trees, you will want to trim away any branches that sway against your roof. Swaying branches can damage the roofing material. Also, trim away any dead or damaged limbs. These can be hazardous and may fall on people or your property, causing injuries or damage.

Tend to Any Damaged Patios or Decks

The last home maintenance tip for your yard is to attend to any damaged decks or patios. If your decking is warped, spring is a great time to replace damaged boards. If your concrete patio has a hole or large crack, spring is a great time to lay a new concrete surface or make concrete repairs.

Tending to your yard can help protect your home from damage. In turn, this can minimize the number of home insurance claims you may need to file. If you are looking to obtain a new home insurance policy in the greater Fort Lauderdale, FL area, Coastal Wealth Insurance, LLC can help. Contact us today with any questions you may have or to schedule an appointment to talk about all of your home insurance needs. We also offer an online rating tool to find quotes for your home insurance, visit our site for more information on this tool.

 

Fort Lauderdale, FL is a prime contender for best weather in the world. It gets a little rough around hurricane season, sure, but that’s a fair trade for Winters that feel like Summer and never being more than a short drive away from the beach. All that sun and salty air is great for the skin, it’s great for your health, but… it’s not always so easy on your home. Here’s what you need to look out for in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

• Salty air. Salty air can do a lot of damage to the paint finish on a house, but it can also hurt the foundation. Salt tends to cling to the surface, creating a fuzzy layer that needs to be scrubbed away periodically. Protective finishes can help, but regular cleaning will help to keep the salt from chewing away at the wood in your home. You may also want to invest in vinyl siding rather than metal, which can rust very quickly.
• Heat. If you have an attic, install some vents and fans in it to keep it well ventilated. The sun can beat down on a roof and cause the roofing material to crack, and it can build heat up in the attic, which overheats the rest of the house and drives your power bill up by forcing the A/C to work overtime.
• Expansion and contraction. Florida tends to stay warm all year round, but there are some cold nights in December now and then (not many, but it gets below freezing a few times a year). Foam insulation can help to slow the expanding and contracting.

If you get a policy through Coastal Wealth Insurance LLC, you’ll be protected from the unforeseeable, but Coastal Wealth Insurance LLC can’t protect you from the foreseeable, that’s your job.