Damage to your home can be catastrophic. Griffith Insurance LLP in West Chester, PA offers homeowners insurance to provide peace of mind and financial protection, but some items that hold sentimental value can never be replaced. Here, we share the most common causes of damage to your home and the steps you can take to prevent loss. 

#1 Wind and Hail

Wind and hail can cause significant damage to your property, interrupting your life while you await repairs. You can’t control the weather, but you can protect yourself. Secure outdoor furniture and yard decor. Make sure your gutters and downspouts are secured and in good condition. Check the caulking around your doors and windows for breakdown and replace when needed. 

#2 Fire

Fire can be especially tragic, destroying sentimental items in the best cases and loss of life in the worst cases. Although fire is perhaps the most devastating loss a homeowner can face, it’s also preventable. 

To reduce your probability of experiencing a house fire, 

• install smoke alarms on each floor of your home
• replace batteries every six months
• replace smoke alarms every ten years
• keep flammable items and substances away from sources of heat

#3 Water Damage

Frozen pipes, broken pipes, or unnoticed leaks can cause water damage. There’s nothing you can do to guarantee you never suffer water damage, but you can take steps to reduce your risk. Please cover your outside faucets, winterize your home before the first freeze each year, and fix leaks as soon as you notice them. 

To protect your home, contact the Griffith Insurance LLP team in West Chester, PA today. We’re here to help!

One of the most common reasons homeowners file home insurance claims during the winter months is that an ice dam damaged their roof. At Griffith Insurance LLP, serving the greater West Chester, PA region, we want to help prevent this problem from happening to you. Read on to learn more about this topic.  

Why You Should Prevent Ice Dams From Forming On Your Roof

As a homeowner, it is important to prevent ice dams from forming on your roof. Ice dams can be heavy, putting a lot of weight and strain on your roof. This can damage your roofing materials, including your exterior roofing materials and your roof support beams and trusses. If the ice dam gets heavy enough, or if your roof is not structurally sound, an ice dam can cause your roof to cave in. 

How to Prevent Ice Dams From Forming On Your Roof

There are different ways to prevent ice dams from forming. The first is to rake snow off of your roof. The next is to ensure your gutter systems are clean and fully functional. Lastly, you can use roofing products, such as heating coils, roof insulation, or roof salt, to help prevent ice dams from forming on your roof. 

Preventing ice dams is one of the best ways to protect your roof from damage during the winter months. However, if your roof gets damaged, you need to ensure that you have a reliable home insurance provider to help you and cover your losses. At Griffith Insurance LLP, serving the greater West Chester, PA area, we can help you find that perfect home insurance policy. Call us now to obtain an estimate. 

Your homeowners’ insurance policy from Griffith Insurance LLP protects much more than just the structure of your home. The liability coverage extends to your trailer, recreational equipment like a trampoline, your swimming pool, boat, etc.

The liability coverage your home insurance provides for your home in West Chester, PA protects you from financial loss if someone has an accident at your home. Let’s say a visitor to your home slips on icy stairs. They break their arm. The liability component of your home policy pays for their medical costs as well as paying a settlement if they take you to court.

Your home insurance does the same thing if you take your boat to the lake and collide with another boat, causing injuries to another person. The same coverage applies if you have a pool party, and someone falls and hurts themselves. In fact, any recreational equipment you own gets the same coverage.

Your recreational equipment also gets damage coverage from your home insurance. That means that if the collision damaged your boat, then the home insurance pays for the damages up to the amount provided in your policy. This means actual cash value, replacement cost, or guaranteed replacement cost. Your policy will also contain a cap or maximum payout for your reimbursement on your West Chester, PA home.

Call or email Griffith Insurance LLP serving West Chester, PA for more information on home insurance and how to obtain this coverage. We can help you determine which value for your items to choose. While replacement and guaranteed values are most likely to pay for the full purchase of a new item, they cost more than the actual value coverage.

People that live in the West Chester, PA area often choose to purchase their own home as it offers many different short and long-term benefits. For those who do live in this area of the state, investing in a home insurance policy is a great option if you choose to purchase a home. There are several reasons that the typical owner will need to have a quality home insurance policy in place. 

Insurance Offers Liability Coverage

One reason that you will want home insurance is that it will give you liability protection. As a property owner, you are going to take on some level of liability risk regularly. You could be found liable if someone is hurt while on your property or if you or your home causes damages to another home. If you get a proper home insurance policy, you will receive the coverage needed to mitigate this risk.

Coverage is a Requirement

You will also want to get home insurance because it is commonly a requirement. Anyone in this area that takes out a mortgage will have to comply with their lender’s insurance requirements. A mortgage lender will have specific home insurance requirements, which are designed to protect the bank’s collateral. In many cases, you will have to fund an escrow account each month to ensure coverage remains in place. 

When you move to West Chester, PA, and want to protect your property, you should call Griffith Insurance LLP as soon as you can. The insurance professionals with Griffith Insurance LLP will understand how this type of insurance can protect you. We can also assess your individual situation and figure out how to build a policy that will properly meet all of your needs. 

Buying a home in the West Chester, PA area is a great idea for many people. This area of the state is well known for having a good local economy and for being a great place to live. If you do choose to buy a home, it is vital to make sure that you are protecting it as well as you can. One of the best ways to do this is by getting a full home insurance policy as it can protect your home in several ways.

Protect Against Natural Disasters

While West Chester is generally a safe place to live, there is always a small risk of fires, bad weather, and other casualties occurring. Due to this risk, and the damage that they can create, you need to make sure that you are adequately insured. A home insurance policy will provide you with this type of protection to ensure you are covered if a disaster occurs.

Vandalism and Theft

Another item that you should have coverage for can include vandalism and theft. While it is a safe place to live, theft and vandalism can still happen in this area. When you have a quality home insurance policy, you will be covered for losses that you sustain due to either vandalism or theft. 

It is undoubtedly always a good idea to get home insurance for your property in the West Chester, PA area. Due to the importance of this type of coverage, you should make sure that you speak with the professionals at Griffith Insurance LLP whenever you are looking for a new policy. The insurance team at Griffith Insurance LLP can help youfind a home insurance policy that will adequately protect both you, your property and your personal belongings.