28 Nov Getting Your Home Ready for the Holidays

The winter holidays are supposed to be a time of fun, family, and friendship. But what happens when something goes wrong? For example, you’re holding a large dinner party and the oven catches fire, due to an overcooked turkey, or your first-floor floods and takes out all of your wrapped presents and decor? What if a guest has a bit too much eggnog and falls down the steps, breaking their leg in the process? Let’s hope not, but these things do happen.

In order to make your holidays go smoothly, you need to be prepared for every catastrophe, and that means checking on your insurance policies before you start decorating the tree or tinseling the mantle.

Check Your Main Dwelling Coverage

A standard homeowner’s insurance policy should cover your home and other buildings on your property, like the garage. With one in place, you won’t have to worry too much about storm damage, fire damage, or even lightning strikes. Your insurance company will cover all of those weird winter shenanigans that mother nature (or simply bad luck) might send your way.

Make Sure to Purchase a Personal Liability Policy

If you’re worried about Great Aunt Suzie slipping and falling after drinking your “special” punch or you’re afraid that one of your young nephews might take a tumble on the icy front sidewalk, then call up your insurance agent to inquire about personal liability policy. This way, if someone is injured on your property, and it turns out to be your fault, your insurance will kick in and cover their medical bills.

Get Personal Property Coverage

While your dwelling coverage will take care of the structures themselves, you’ll need a helping hand (in this case, an additional policy) to ensure that your belongings are insured. A party-related kitchen fire, or worse, a live, lit-up Christmas tree that gets dried out, can make your holiday less than merry, so make sure that your insurance will take care of anything that gets destroyed thanks to those accidents.

Make Sure That Other Structures are Insured

Sometimes, other items in your yard end up getting damaged due to the winter weather. A large snowfall can make the roof of your pergola or shed collapse, ruining the structure and anything in it. Since these things aren’t usually covered in your standard homeowner’s policy, take the time to check that they are, or purchase an additional policy.

Additional Coverages

On top of the other types of insurance listed here, there are many others than can help turn a holiday-related disaster into something a little less painful. For example, if you live in a flood-prone region, or an area that tends to have hurricanes, you might need a special policy to cover damage wrought by those natural disasters. Other options include special insurance riders for expensive items that your personal property coverage just doesn’t cover.

Do You Need to Increase Your Coverage?

If you’re worried that you don’t have enough insurance coverage for those holiday catastrophes, then contact Spivey Insurance. We’ll get you set up with the right policies, just in time for that cheerful family gathering.