In the Albany, NY area there continues to be plenty of advantages that will come when you purchase a home. Those that buy a property here can enjoy tax benefits, the joy of having a stable place to live, and price appreciation. If you are going to purchase a home here, you need to make sure that you properly cover it with insurance. There are several reasons why you may need to have home insurance here. 

Insurance Required by Lender

One of the reasons that people all over this area of New York need to have home insurance is that it could be required by their mortgage lender. If you have decided to use a mortgage to finance the purchase of the property, you will want to make sure that comply with the lender’s home insurance requirements. Most of the time, you will need to have a full policy in place.

Coverage is Needed to Provide Adequate Protection

Even if your home was not bought with a mortgage, you should still get home insurance. Having home insurance is the only way that you can adequately protect yourself and your home. With a full home insurance policy, you can receive great coverage and protection for your dwelling. Additionally, you will also receive liability coverage that will be very valuable if you or your property ever cause damages or bodily injury. 

When you do get home insurance in the Albany, NY area, you will get a lot of valuable coverage. If you are in the market for a new policy, you should call the team at NY Twin Bridges Insurance Agency. If you do call the NY Twin Bridges Insurance Agency you can learn more about your insurance options and how it can cover you. 

Are you about to sign up for homeowners’ insurance? This can be a difficult task especially if you’re unaware of some of the finer details of what it’s all about. It definitely will pay off if you do a little research and know what questions to ask when you go to an agent like those at NY Twin Bridges Insurance Agency, which serves the Albany, NY region.

Here are some questions you should be asking when you first talk to an insurance agent.

What does the standard policy cover?

The standard home insurance policy typically will cover four areas: liability, personal property, dwelling, and additional expenses.

• Liability coverage is for bodily injuries that occur in your home.
• Personal property covers any personal belongings that you have in your house.
• Dwelling coverage specifically is used if there are damages to the structure of your house.
• Additional expenses coverage is for if you are displaced from your home due to extensive damage or something other serious reason and it will cover hotel expenses and transportation.

What level of home insurance do you actually need?

There are actual cash value and replacement costs. You should consider which of these you need and talk to your agent to learn which is ideal for your situation. If you intend to live in the house for many years then it might be better to go with a replacement cost in your policy.

Do you require an inspection of the property before getting insurance?

It may be required to have a home inspection first. You can check with your agent to determine if this is the case so that the company can evaluate the risks and calculate your rates properly.

How do you set a deductible?

Think about if you want a lower or higher deductible. This determines the amount that you’ll have to pay out-of-pocket before the policy kicks in to cover the rest. A higher deductible means you’re paying less on a yearly basis though it will cost you more if you do have damages to your property.

For advice on these topics and more, talk to a NY Twin Bridges Insurance Agency of Albany, NY agent right away.

NY Twin Bridges Insurance Agency is an independent insurance agency that serves the Albany, NY community. We strive to help our clients find the insurance coverage that they are looking for, while also maintaining our commitment to providing excellent customer service.

Home Insurance

At NY Twin Bridges Insurance Agency, we use our relationships with multiple insurance carriers to ensure that our clients find the home insurance coverage that they need. Your home insurance policy will cover your property in the event that it is damaged due to a severe storm or a flood. Your personal items are also covered if they are somehow stolen.

Looking Ahead To The Summer

During the summer months, you’ll likely do some traveling. However, it is important that your home is protected while you enjoy the summer. Here are some things to consider during the summer.

Inviting Family Over

If you plan to invite your friends and family over during the summer for a cookout, make sure that you have liability coverage. Liability coverage will protect you in the event that someone is injured. If you have a pool or trampoline in your backyard, consider adding umbrella insurance coverage. NY Twin Bridges Insurance Agency will sit down with you and help you evaluate your options.

Travel Protection

If you are one of many people who enjoy going on vacation during the summer, your home insurance policy will cover you while you are not at home. You can also add coverage to protect your belongings while you are out of town.

NY Twin Bridges Insurance Agency Can Assist You

Stop by our office in Albany, NY to learn more information! We will advise you through the process to help you find the home insurance coverage that you need.

With summer right around the corner, now’s the time to prepare your home for the season. By planning ahead, you can get everything done in time for the summer holidays. These tips from NY Twin Bridges Insurance Agency can help you get started in prepping your Albany, NY home.

Check Your AC

Service your AC to make sure it’s in good working order for the heat of summer.  Have your technician inspect and clean out your unit and change worn out parts. By getting this done in a timely manner, you won’t be caught unprepared when the first wave of hot weather hits.  

Deep Clean the Interior of Your Home

If you’re planning to have family over for the summer holidays, take time to deep clean your home to include kitchen, bathrooms, windows, and fans. Move furniture around to reach those out of the way places and professionally clean carpets to remove deeply entrenched dirt and grime.

Paint Interior Walls

Touch up your walls with a fresh coat of paint to make your home look and feel fresh and clean. You may even want to change your color scheme to create a whole new environment. Painting will enhance your ambiance and set the mood for special occasions with your family. 

Declutter 

Declutter your home by putting winter clothes, winter sports gear, portable heaters, and other winter equipment in storage for the summer. This gives you more space to accommodate visitors and makes your home look and feel more spacious. Decluttering also reduces the risk of accidents and makes your home less of a fire hazard.

Review Home Insurance

Review your home insurance in Albany, NY to ensure you have the protection you need for the busy summer season. For quality home coverage at reasonable costs, contact NY Twin Bridges Insurance Agency today.

Water damage is considered the number one cause of weakened foundations. When water invades your home, it eventually causes serious structural damage. Not only does the water itself cause extensive damage, but with water comes a range of other issues, including termites, mold, and mildew, which can cause even more damage to your home in Albany, NY. Just a small amount of water can cause significant damage to your home, so it’s essential that you take the precautions against water damage. NY Twin Bridges Insurance Agency has put together a few tips to help protect your home from expensive water damage.

Routinely Check Hoses and Faucets

Hose and faucets with persistent leaks eventually cause mold and mildew, rot and even termites. It is important to routinely check all the hoses and faucets in your home for leaks and repair them as soon as possible. To check for leaks, look for dark spots inside sink cabinets, a rocking toilet, ceiling stains, and drips.

Only Run Water Appliances When You’re Home

As tempting as it is to start the dishwasher or washing machine before leaving for work or to run errands, it’s best to stay home while these appliances are running. The reason you should stay with these appliances is that all it takes is for a hose to break or the washing machine to overflow and you’re instantly facing serious water damage. If you are home when a problem occurs, you’ll be able to act quickly and deal with leaks when they happen, but if you’re away, by the time you get it home, it may be too late to prevent extensive damage. One thing to keep in mind is that just one burst hose has the potential to pump out 500-600 gallons of water into your home within an hour; this can result in a lot of extensive and expensive damage.

Maintain the Plumbing System

There’s nothing better than having access to a shower with high water pressure, but if the water pressure is too high, it may cause problems. The recommended water pressure for residential systems is typically between 40-70 PSI. The excess water pressure can put stress and pressure on the hoses and pipes, which may them to fail. Along with checking the water pressure, it’s also important to routinely check for leaks and pay attention to the signs of potential plumbing problems, such as noisy pipes, rusty water or moisture on walls or floors.

There are several ways your home can experience water damage, so it’s important to pay attention to areas where there is water, including the roof, gutters, plumbing system, and basement. If you do notice a potential problem, it’s essential that you repair the problem immediately.

Residents of Albany, NY interested in learning more information about home insurance should contact NY Twin Bridges Insurance Agency.

Buying a home is always a very big decision that needs to be taken quite seriously. For those that are in the Albany area, it is also important to consider your home insurance needs. While it can seem like a complicated process, there are several tips that could be followed to help someone get into a quality home insurance policy that provides the right protection.

Know their Needs

When you are looking for home insurance in the Albany, NY area, it is important to consider your personal needs first. Most people will need to have coverage to rebuild and replace their property and personal assets as well as liability coverage. However, others may need additional coverage including insurance riders for valuable assets or additional liability coverage. By spending time considering your needs, you will make sure that you get coverage for all relevant risks.

Get Professional Support

Along with considering your own personal insurance needs, you should also seek out the advice and wisdom from a professional. Choosing your own home insurance policy can be a complicated process. To make it easier, you should speak with an insurance professional that can help you to build a policy. These insurance professionals will be able to provide you with guidance and support that could help you to get into the perfect policy for your situation.

There are clearly many great reasons to get home insurance in Albany, NY and speaking with a professional would always be helpful. Those that are in the area should contact the team NY Twin Bridges Insurance Agency to discuss their insurance needs. The NY Twin Bridges Insurance Agency will carefully assess your individual needs and personal situation to help get you into the right policy that gives you the coverage you need. 

The agents of NY Twin Bridges Insurance Agency serve residents in Albany, NY and many of the surrounding communities. They understand the stress and frustration tornadoes and other types of storms can cause when they result in damage to a person’s home or property. The agents work with people every day who have experienced various types of weather-related events.

Tornado Damage

In most cases, tornado damage is covered by your homeowners’ insurance policy. While hurricanes and floods require a special type of rider, tornadoes do not. If your home is damaged during a storm, your homeowners’ policy is written to pay for the cost of the repairs to your roof and any other area of your home that has been affected.

Filing a Claim

Once the storm is over, you will need to immediately call your agent. An inspector will be sent to your home to determine the extent of the damages. It’s important that you take as many pictures as possible and document as much of the damage as you can so that everything is reported. The next step is to talk to your agent and file your claim. As soon as the claim has been approved, you will be able to start making the repairs to your home.

If you live in Albany, NY contact the agents of NY Twin Bridges Insurance Agency to discuss your homeowners’ insurance policy. They can look over your old policy and recommend changes that may work better for you. Schedule an appointment today to make sure you have the coverage you need. Don’t wait until it’s too late!

Albany, NY is a great environment for living, working, and raising your family. Your homeowners policy gives you the needed security and protection you need so you know that if anything happens your family will be able to move on without starting all over again.

But is home insurance required by law? There is no law in New York which requires anyone who owns a home to purchase an insurance policy. However, you may still be required to have a policy, and there may even be limits and deductibles you are required to meet.

Just as a landlord may require tenants to have renters insurance to protect their personal possessions, your mortgage holder will probably require you to hold a homeowners policy. The bank or lender which holds the mortgage also has an interest in the property, meaning that if the house burns down before you finish paying off your mortgage, the lender suffers a loss too.

At NY Twin Bridges Insurance Agency, we work with our clients to find the policy that best suits their individual needs. Besides the structure itself, you will want to protect your possessions inside the home. 

Basic coverage will protect fixtures like your big appliances and flooring, but you can also get coverage for personal items like movies, clothing and bedding. While not necessarily covered by a standard policy, you can add protection for other items not covered, like valuable jewelry.

You want to protect your home in Albany, NY even if you have paid off your mortgage. If you are like most people, your home is your biggest investment.

If you want to make sure you have the protection you need, we at  Twin Bridges Insurance Agency are happy to help. Call today with any questions or a free quote.

Many homeowners in or around the Albany, NY area have discovered problems that originated in the crawl space area of their home. This area houses the pipes, insulation, and wiring needed for your home, and damage to this area can be costly and time-consuming. What many homeowners are finding, however, is the benefit of crawl space encapsulation and how it is assisting home insurance policies from NY Twin Bridges Insurance Agency. 

Preventing Mold & Mildew

With the crawl space encapsulation, the area is covered in thick plastic, preventing moisture from getting into the covered areas. When moisture builds in an area over time, mold and mildew will continue to grow and can work its way into the home. This will cause structural damage to the home as well as health issues for the occupants. 

Improve Air Quality

By creating a vapor barrier beneath your home with the crawl space encapsulation, the air quality that comes from this area and into the home ventilation is not carrying mold and dirt particles. The air is much cleaner and essentially filtered before coming into the home. 

Decreased Energy Bill & Save Money

Because the crawl space is essentially sealed and not allowing exposure for damages, your energy bill will decrease. Because there are no drafts and the area is sealed, the heat and cool air will be preserved in the home, minimizing the need for the HVAC system. Because you have incorporated this energy saving maintenance on your home, you may be eligible for tax incentives for your home. 

The agents at NY Twin Bridges Insurance Agency proudly serve the insurance needs to residents in or around Albany, NY. Give our agency a call today for a home insurance quote that fits your needs.

Do you own a great deal of collectible and antique items? Then you should see to it that the value is protected by getting these possessions insured. Find out exactly what you can do in your unique situation by contacting NY Twin Bridges Insurance Agency, which serves the Albany, NY area.

Are Your Belongings All Covered in Home Insurance?

It is important to look into what is covered by your home insurance policy. In many instances, antiques and other rare items you own just won’t be included in the policy. In fact, there is a coverage category that specifically is for collectibles.

Why You May Need Collectibles Insurance

There are several emergency situations that can lead to damage of your precious collectibles or antiques. For instance, your wine collection may become damaged during a heat wave. Also, you may have pipes break in your basement where you are storing a baseball card collection, and they may develop mildew if not discovered right away, or if you are not able to dry them properly.

Each of these scenarios can be quite devastating for an avid collector. Even though your possessions likely have a sentimental value to you as well, you can at least recover what they are worth if you have the appropriate insurance coverage.

Avoid Problems By Talking to an Insurance Agent

It is ideal to discuss what you have in your house with a reputable home insurance agent, like the professionals at NY Twin Bridges Insurance Agency of Albany, NY. You’re sure to have greater peace of mind when you have a good policy in place. The threat of a fire, flood, other types of natural disaster, or various other emergencies should not leave you stressed. Reach out to the experts today.