Month: November 2016

Thanksgiving is almost here and there is no better time to show off our culinary expertise to family and friends. We fry turkeys (and just about anything else that will fit in the fryer), smoke meats, and spend countless hours making sure everything turns out perfect. Through all of this, we’re entertaining guests, watching the football game, enjoying a few drinks, and probably not thinking about homeowner’s insurance in Delaware County, PA. This is the beauty of the holiday, but also part of the reason that insurance claims resulting from cooking-related fires skyrocket on Thanksgiving Day.

I love Thanksgiving and I hope that everyone can enjoy it, so I put together a list of Thanksgiving safety tips to help you have a safe and successful holiday.

1. If you are going to fry a turkey:

• Be certain to keep the fryer a safe distance from your house.
• Make sure the turkey is completely thawed and dry before putting it into the fryer.
• Do not overfill the fryer with oil. The turkey is going to take up a lot of space, and if the oil spills over, things will get ugly quick.
• Stay close by. If something does happen, you will be close enough to prevent serious damage.

2. If you are going to smoke a turkey:

• This is a long process, so it’s easy to get the smoker started and forget about it for a while, potentially even overnight. The biggest thing to remember here is keep the smoker at a safe distance from the house. Do not keep the smoker on or under you deck, especially unattended.

3. Be careful with hot oil in a pan on your stove top:

• Just like the turkey fryer, make sure anything you throw on the hot pan is thawed and dry.
• If you are uncertain whether the pan will ignite, turn off the burners before putting the food in.
• Keep the pan handles turned to a position where small children cannot reach up and pull them down

4. Always keep a fire extinguisher handy:

• Having homeowner’s insurance is important, but it’s even more important to be proactive about protecting your home and loved ones. Always keep an extinguisher close by to prevent a small fire from turning into a disaster.

5. Make sure to check the batteries on carbon monoxide and smoke detectors.

• Because we’ll be entertaining our guests we may miss the first signs of a fire, so we want to make sure we have plenty of notice if something has gone wrong.

If you do have a fire, your homeowners insurance will cover it. Fire is the most basic peril that an insurance policy covers, so you shouldn’t be concerned whether the fire damage will be covered or not. Now go show off your cooking skills.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Call Risk Averse Insurance in Media, PA to discuss homeowner’s insurance in Delaware County, PA.
Risk Averse Insurance is an insurance agency, in the heart of Delaware County, that specializes in providing high-quality insurance products at an affordable price.

If you own investment propertiesin the Philadelphia area, you are already aware of risks such as fire damage, water damage, and personal liability. You know that insurance in Delaware County, PA is a must. However, there is a risk that is almost always overlooked, but is becoming more prevalent in today’s insurance: tenant discrimination.

 

New guidelines from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) give tenants the ability to file discrimination lawsuits online. Because of this, Pennsylvania courts are being inundated with cases of tenant discrimination, some with merit, and some with no merit. Either way, the owner of the property will end up with a large legal bill defending the case.

The Fair Housing Act seeks to prevent discrimination based on race, color, national origin etc. While you shouldn’t be screening tenants based on these factors, running criminal background checks on potential tenants can also leave you in hot water under these guidelines. The reason for this is the disproportionate incarceration rate among minorities, especially African-Americans and Hispanics.

Blanket bans on anyone with a criminal record is specifically what HUD is trying to prevent. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t use criminal history on your tenant-screening process. You can still use it to show that there is a justifiable concern for the welfare of neighbors, tenants, or your property.

 

Here are some recommendations to avoid or mitigate a discrimination lawsuit:

• Remove any wording from your lease or application indicating that a criminal record is an automatic declination
• Evaluate the conviction to justify your concern over renting to a potential tenant. Include factors like: How old is the offense? How old was the applicant when the offense was committed? Were there multiple offenses? How severe is the crime? Was this person arrested, or were they actually convicted of the crime?
• Keep records of your denials to assist you in defending your decision if the issue should arise.

 

If you do end up in court for discrimination, it is very likely that your property insurance policy does not provide coverage to you or your business. However, a 3rdParty EPLI policy can provide the coverage you need in the event of a discrimination lawsuit. The cost of an EPLI policy is minimal and will vary depending on how many units you own. Even if the lawsuit ultimately proves to be without merit, your policy will pick up the tab for legal fees and provide defense from an attorney who understands these types of claims.

We understand how people can feel overwhelmed when thinking about getting insurance in Delaware County, PA, andwe’re help to help.Call Risk Averse Insurance in Media, PA to discuss the coverage that is right for you and your investment properties in Delaware County, PA or another county in the Philadelphia area.

 

Risk Averse Insurance specializes in providing high-quality insurance products at an affordable price. Contact us today to learn more.