Toms Blog

Identity theft in the U.S. continues to be a problematic issue with as many as 16.7 million people being victimized each year. The first step to avoid becoming a target is to realize how prevalent identity theft is and then take action to safeguard your personal information. Start your year off right by learning how you can protect your identity; after all, it’s the only one you have. Getting Victimized Can Be Costly When cleaning out your home to move, you threw out tons of paperwork including old bills, receipts, and mail from your home office in a concentrated effort not to move clutter from your current home to the new one. However, a month [...]

With Christmas behind us and Valentines Day quickly approaching, you may have received and/or will be receiving some beautiful and perhaps costly gifts. Adding to your inventory of new purchases or gifts means you should also take inventory of your N.C. homeowners coverage to ensure your valuables are properly protected. Don’t Let This Happen to You You woke up Christmas morning to a wonderful surprise! Your husband surprised you with an exquisite pearl necklace that you always wanted and you couldn’t be happier. However, the next day you and your family left town to visit family, leaving your necklace safe at home. When returning home, you realize that someone had broken in and stolen all [...]

When you begin that search for your perfect home, you may prefer looking at newer properties or perhaps, the old world charm of older homes, but if you prefer the latter, you may run into some issues with insuring it. Many insurance companies have enforced tighter underwriting restrictions for one simple reason. When it comes to having the right type of protection for what may be your biggest investment yet, you may find there are potential insurance problems with older homes because they pose a much higher risk of the frequency and severity of claims. Sealing the Deal May Not Be As Easy As You Think You spent 6 months searching for the house that [...]

Leaving your home for an extended period of time may void your N.C. homeowners insurance coverage so you must be aware of the difference between your home being vacant versus unoccupied.  According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, your home may be considered “vacant” if unoccupied for 60 days or more.  The reason insurance companies have this type of stipulation/guideline  directly correlates to the higher increase in risk for a catastrophic loss to take place when nobody is there to observe or mitigate the claim(s) once it happens.  If your home is vacant, will you know how to insure your vacant home? The Difference Between Vacant and Unoccupied  There are some defining factors when [...]