Local Stuff

August 3rd is National Watermelon Day! To celebrate National Watermelon Day learn how to cut a watermelon into perfect cubes from Food & Wine’s Justin Chapple . Impress your friends at a BBQ or just enjoy the deliciousness yourself!   http://j.mp/1RYn5k5

A growing number of individuals are trying to profit from the claims process by convincing unsuspecting homeowners they need a new roof.  Here is how it works.  A person working for a roofing company rings your doorbell and says, “I can help you get a FREE roof”.  Many times, these individuals target homes with roofs nearing the end of their life or an area that has experienced a recent hail storm.  They perform a free inspection and determine that, what is often normal wear-and-tear, is actually hail damage.  Furthermore, they encourage the homeowner to report a hail claim, often coaching the homeowner on what to say to the insurance company.   You can

prevent this from happening to you.

1. Beware of anyone who solicits you or tries to convince you they can get you something for free.
2. Don’t sign contracts that you do not fully understand.
3. Call you agent to discuss the potential claim.

This is important to you because insurance scams end up costing you more in the form of premium increases.

Enjoy the rest of the summer with your friends and family!

http://ow.ly/QfzMh

The average cost paid out for dog bite claims nationwide in 2014 was $32,072, compared with $27,862 in 2013.  This is a significant risk for homeowners.  Most of us love our dogs like we love our children and can’t imagine that our pet would ever harm someone.  But, dog bites continue to occur.  There was a day when you could bank on animal liability being an automatic part of your policy.  Automatic coverage is not true these days.   Some homeowner policies now exclude animal liability or limit the amount of insurance.  Call us if you would like to discuss homeowner animal liability.  (386) 752-8660

The National Weather Service Hurricane Center in Miami is watching an area of low pressure in the Western Gulf of Mexico that is expected to intensify.  The appearance of the first tropical system is a good reminder to us here in North Florida to ready our families.  The Florida Division of Emergency management sponsors the terrific KidsGetAPlan you can use with your family to ready yourselves.  John and family ran into State Emergency Response Team (SERT) at the home school convention in Orlando recently.