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Steps to Take to Prevent an Ice Dam From Forming On Your Roof

As your trusted West Bloomfield, MI home insurance provider, Phil Klein Insurance Group is dedicated to helping you safeguard your home. Winter brings its own set of challenges, including the potential for ice dams on your roof. Here are steps you can take to prevent ice dams and protect your home:

1. Insulation Inspection: The Foundation of Protection

Ensure your attic is adequately insulated. Proper insulation prevents heat from escaping through the roof, reducing the risk of snow melting and forming ice dams. A well-insulated attic keeps the roof uniformly cool, preventing uneven melting.

2. Ventilation Vitality: Keep Air Circulating

Proper ventilation is critical to maintaining a consistent roof temperature. Make sure your attic is well-ventilated, allowing cold air to circulate and preventing warm air buildup. This helps keep the roof surface cooler, minimizing the chances of ice dams forming.

3. Gutter Maintenance: Clear the Path

Regularly clean your gutters and downspouts to remove leaves, debris, and ice buildup. This ensures proper drainage, preventing water from backing up and forming ice dams along the roof’s edge.

4. Roof Raking: Stay Ahead of Snow Accumulation

After heavy snowfall, use a roof rake to remove excess snow from the roof’s edge carefully. This proactive measure prevents the formation of thick ice dams, reducing the risk of water seeping into your home.

By taking these proactive measures, you protect your home and enhance its resilience to winter challenges. Remember, a well-maintained house is a well-protected one. If you have any questions or need further guidance in regard to home insurance in the greater West Bloomfield, MI area, we’re here to assist you. Call Phil Klein Insurance Group with any questions you may have. 

Is Home Insurance Required in Michigan?

Even though home insurance is not required in Michigan, the Phil Klein Insurance Group agents serving the West Bloomfield, MI area want you to know it is essential to have it anyway. Also, if you owe a mortgage on your home, your lender probably requires you to have a home insurance policy in place.

What is Home Insurance?

Regarding different types of insurance policies, home insurance is one of the most important ones to have. It is a policy designed to provide financial protection for you and your investment in the home you love.

What Does Home Insurance Cover?

We never know when disaster will strike or completely destroy or damage your home. Most home insurance policies only cover the structure of your house and its contents. The contents include your furniture, appliances, clothing, electronics, and other personal belongings. You can work with your insurance agent to include other structures on your property, such as privacy fences, decks, sheds, garages, and more. These things can all be covered if a tornado or another natural disaster occurs, a fire happens, or someone commits an act of vandalism at your home.

A home insurance policy can also cover items stolen in a burglary or theft incident. It can also help protect you from a lawsuit if someone falls and is injured on your property. This is because it will help pay the person’s medical bills and other expenses, which can keep you out of court.

Contact Phil Klein Insurance Group

To start your home insurance policy and get the peace of mind you deserve, contact the experienced home insurance agents at the Phil Klein Insurance Group serving the West Bloomfield, MI area today!

A Valuable Asset Needs Protection – Purchase Home Insurance

Are you a homeowner or thinking of becoming one? Phil Klein Insurance Group can provide insurance to protect your most valuable asset. We serve the West Bloomfield, MI area.

Home insurance, also referred to as homeowner’s insurance, covers a private residence. It combines personal insurance as well as liability coverage. It covers losses occurring to the home, loss of its contents, and loss of use, which means if you cannot continue living in the house during repairs, hotel expenses are covered. The liability insurance portion is for accidents in the home to guests while visiting. Dog bites are included in this coverage.

There are some events not covered by homeowners insurance.

  • Acts of war
  • Earthquakes
  • Floods
  • Infestations, including termites
  • Mold
  • Nuclear accidents
  • Sewer backup
  • Water damage

Homeowners’ insurance should be a major consideration for everyone who owns a home. This coverage protects you against theft, fire, wind damage, and other weather events. It also protects the contents inside.

This insurance provides coverage for the main part of your home if destroyed or damaged by specific events such as natural disasters or bad weather.

The most comprehensive homeowners insurance policies have coverage for higher valued items and would cover these valuables outside of the home, including abroad.

Do you know that if you have a mortgage on your property, your lender will require that you carry homeowner’s insurance? Even if your home is mortgage-free, you may want this coverage. In the event of a lawsuit, you risk losing your home and property. The liability portion of the homeowners’ insurance policy will prevent that from happening.

Please don’t risk it. Protect your home with insurance. The Phil Klein Insurance Group can provide a no-obligation quote or answer any questions you may have. Contact our team today. You will be glad you did.

What Is The Best Home Insurance Company?

There are many factors to consider when choosing a home insurance policy, including coverage amount, price, and provider. However, the most crucial consideration is whether the policy provides you with the coverage you need in case of a claim. 

You may find that a policy that costs a little more but has better coverage is a better choice than a cheaper policy that doesn’t meet your needs. With the help of our detailed reviews, you can select a policy that best suits your needs and meets your financial goals. Are you living in the West Bloomfield, MI area? Reach out to Phil Klein Insurance Group. 

What You Need to Know 

There are many companies out there, and each one offers different types of plans with varying levels of coverage at various price points. Many people are unaware that rates can fluctuate up to ten percent depending on the company and your profile. 

There are many things to look for when shopping for home insurance — from rates and coverage options to reputation and customer service. Choosing a home insurance company can be a daunting task, with many different options. However, the most important thing to remember is that you want to find the company that best suits your needs. 

Finding reviews that are honest and unbiased is essential. Finding the best home insurance company for your needs can be daunting, but there are steps you can take to ensure you’re getting the coverage you need at a price you can afford. 

Start your search by assessing your needs and situation, such as how much coverage you need, how much risk of loss you’re willing to take, and how much you’re ready to spend on your premium. Next, do your research, and shop around for the best fit. Best homeowners insurance companies include: 

  • Lemonade
  • USAA
  • Amica
  • Allstate
  • State Farm
  • Nationwide
  • American Family
  • Erie Insurance

Contact Phil Klein Insurance Group for inquiries in West Bloomfield, MI.

Does Home Insurance Cover Pet Damage?

If you love pets, you know how exciting it is to have an animal friend around you. However, sometimes your best friend can go rogue, causing damage and injuries. But the question is, does home insurance cover damages caused by your pet? To find out, Phil Klein Insurance Group of West Bloomfield, MI is exploring instances when home insurance comes to your rescue when your pet does the unthinkable.

Pet damage not covered by home insurance

When your cat or dog eats away your expensive sofa, you can start looking at your bank balance because home insurance won’t cover this damage. Similarly, home insurance will still not cover it if your pet causes injuries to you or your loved ones. Why this? The insurer assumes that you are fully controlling any pet that lives with you. So, if your cat rips through your couch, this could be deemed as damage caused by the property owner’s behavior!

Pet damage covered by home insurance

Home insurance covers pets, but not in the way you think. Unlike how home insurance covers your couch or sofa, the same doesn’t apply to your pets. What does this mean? Your home insurance doesn’t cover your pet when they are injured or fall sick — this is the work of pet insurance.

However, when your pet causes damage to other people’s property, home liability coverage kicks in. Similarly, when your pet injures a third party, home insurance covers the medical bills, including legal costs, if you are sued. And this coverage extends even when the pet causes injuries outside your property. For instance, home insurance should cover all the related costs if your dog bites a passerby when you are walking it.

Home insurance in West Bloomfield, MI

Need to learn more about home insurance? Want to invest in home insurance? Please look no further than Phil Klein Insurance Group.

Home Insurance Coverage Options

You have recently purchased a house, and it is one of the largest investments that you will probably ever make in your lifetime which means you will want to protect it in any way you can. The home insurance agents at the Phil Klein Insurance Group in West Bloomfield, MI are touting the importance of home insurance and the different coverage options that are available for you to choose from to adequately insure your home.

Coverage Options for Home Insurance

When it comes to a homeowners insurance policy, there are many coverage options, but the basic policy will cover the structure of your home as well as any outbuildings which would include your deck or a garage. A home insurance policy will also cover your personal belongings, furnishings, appliances, and other items that you own inside your home.

A home insurance policy we’ll help repair or replace your home if it is damaged or demolished by an act of vandalism, and natural disaster, or a fire. It will also help you replace items that are stolen due to a theft or robbery incident.

Normally your home insurance policy will not cover your home or other items due to neglect to the home, flooding, or an earthquake. You can talk to your home insurance agent about adding on these additional types of policies that will cover floods and earthquakes.

If you have a mortgage on your home and borrowed the money from a bank or other lender to pay for your home, the lender will more than likely require that you have home insurance, but it is very important to have a policy in place even if you paid cash for your home, or it was given to you in some other way, such as through inheritance.

To obtain a quote for home insurance and to get your policy started, contact the trusted and experienced home insurance agents at the Phil Klein Insurance Group in West Bloomfield, MI today!

Protecting your Home Against Natural Disasters

In our beautiful state of Michigan, we could be prone to unfortunate natural disasters such as tornados, floods, and winter storms.  Severe weather is a common occurrence in this state.  Because of this, you must protect your home against these occurrences with adequate home insurance.  We at Phil Klein Insurance Group serving the West Bloomfield, MI area are here for you to find the right insurance for your home.

Prepare Before the Disaster

To prepare for a natural disaster, you must review your policy every year with your agent.  If you have a question or a concern about a specific thing your policy doesn’t cover, don’t hesitate to follow up with your agent.  Some other useful ways to protect your home before a disaster include:

  • Take photos of items in each room in your house.
  • Create a detailed inventory list of valuables not in your photos.
  • Keep a copy of all insurance cards and declaration pages.
  • Make a list of important telephone numbers to call.

What About After a Disaster?

There are also a few things you must do after a disaster occurs.  One of the first things you must do is to contact your insurance agent or your insurance company’s toll-free number as soon as possible.  Be sure to take lots of pictures of the damage and to make a list of personal property damaged.  Some of the other vital things you must do after experiencing damage to your home include:

  • While you are obligated to make temporary repairs, you must not make any permanent ones until your insurance company has inspected the damage.
  • Ask your insurance agent if your policy covers temporary lodging until repairs are made to your home.

Contact Us for Home Insurance Coverage

You must take serious measures to protect your home against natural disasters.  If you live in the West Bloomfield, MI area, contact our office to set an appointment with one of our agents to find the right home insurance coverage for you.

Will Home Insurance Inspect My Home?

When buying home insurance in West Bloomfield, MI, your insurer might, or might not, choose to send an inspector to your home to check it out. There is no legal requirement for them to do this, and you have no obligation to consent to a home inspection if you’d rather go with an insurance provider that does not put you through an inspection. It comes down to how each individual insurance provider chooses to do business.

There are two specific circumstances where your insurance provider is more likely to conduct an inspection:

  • When you are renewing your policy. Your home insurance provider might want to make sure there are no damages left unchecked, and that the home is not being neglected. So it’s not uncommon for insurers to send inspectors when you choose to renew a policy.
  • If your home is more than 25 years old and hasn’t been inspected in a few years. The older the home, the closer attention you’re going to need to pay to it to determine its value and any potential problems. So don’t be surprised if your insurer wants to run an inspection on your antique home.

Home insurers manage a lot of policies, and they might not have the time and resources to send an inspector for every new customer. So while some insurance companies do inspect homes for new policies, most don’t.

If you are looking to get your home in West Bloomfield, MI insured, or if you have any questions about getting covered, get in touch with the folks at Phil Klein Insurance Group. Phil Klein Insurance Group can get you the insurance policy you need to provide you with peace of mind.

Weather events covered by home insurance

When the weather outside is frightful your thoughts may be anything but delightful. You may actually be wondering if your home insurance will cover you for damages caused by weather events. The simple answer is yes it does but not every weather event. If you have a good insurance agent they will recommend that you add on to your policy any deficiencies that it may have for the area where you live. The Phil Klein Insurance Group in West Bloomfield, MI partners with more than 90 top carriers to provide our customers with the best possible choice. 

These are some of the weather events that are covered by home insurance:

Tornados

A tornado is a column of air that rotates at up to 250 miles an hour. It is caused by thunderstorms and some severe thunderstorms spawn multiple tornados. The results are devastating. In the United States, more than a thousand tornadoes occur yearly causing billions of dollars in damage. Damage from less severe wind storms is also covered.

Ice Storm

Ice storms happen when the air on the ground is cold enough to freeze the rain as soon as it hits an exposed surface. The National Weather Service defines an ice storm as a coating of more than a quarter of an inch of ice. The weight of the ice collapses tree branches and they can cause a lot of damage. Electric wires also come down and cause power outages. If a tree branch damages your home or outbuilding it will be covered and the cost of removing the branch will also be included. If the branch falls but doesn’t hit anything, you must remove it yourself. 

Snow

Snow damage is covered in most cases by your home insurance. 

These are some of the weather events covered by typical home insurance. Always check your policy to be sure about any coverage. In West Bloomfield, MI the Phil Klein Insurance Group will be happy to talk to you about home insurance coverage on the telephone or in our office. 

Will Home Insurance Cover Building Materials?

If you’re doing some renovations in your home, your home insurance policy may offer some limited protection for lost building materials, but it’s unlikely that you’re going to take the time to add every 2×4 and box of screws to your inventory for small projects, and even less likely that you’re going to be willing to file a home insurance claim on thirty dollars worth of lumber you were using to rebuild a window frame.

What you’re going to want to consider instead is asking your home insurer about renovation insurance, or "dwelling under construction insurance." This is an additional policy that you can buy from the insurance provider that will protect you against many of the risks you’re going to face as a homeowner while remodeling your home. That’s going to include common hazards that can take place during construction, as well as any building materials and tools that may be lost or damaged over the course of the project.

Of course, insurance always comes down to what you’re comfortable replacing yourself. If you’re doing small renovations, it might be wiser to simply not worry about it. It’s not hard for most homeowners to replace a single window and some hand tools out of pocket. When you have a much larger project though, adding a whole new bedroom, completely remodeling the bathroom, that’s when you’re going to be glad that you invested in renovation insurance.

If you’re looking to get covered in West Bloomfield, MI, get in touch with Phil Klein Insurance Group. At Phil Klein Insurance Group we can compare quotes from several insurance companies to get West Bloomfield, MI homeowners the protection they need.

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