“Fall” Into The Season and Fix Up The House

Posted on June 22, 2019August 14, 2023 by Shield Insurance Agency

Shield Insurance Blog | Fix Up The House | Home Insurance

Here are a few things that we should be thinking about, with the snow right around the corner, to help you fix up the house.

Gutters: If they are filled with leaves and debris, the backed-up water will begin seeping into your home if it has nowhere to go. It’s recommended that we always clean them out every fall and spring.

Tree Limbs: Make sure that all tree limbs are trimmed higher and away from the home or power lines, when they get covered with snow they will become very heavy and will break and could cause damages.

Windows: Clean, store, and replace the screens with storm windows, this will make a huge difference when it comes to your heating bill for the season.

Ceiling Fans: Hot air rises, so if your ceiling fans are able to have their rotation reversed, be sure to do so to help bring that warmer air back down toward you. It could help you save money on heating costs by not wasting the hot air at the ceiling.

Smoke & CO2 detectors: Be sure to change out your batteries, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Heater Filter: Change out your heater filter, this should be done every 90 days without pets and every 60 days with pets.

Outdoor furniture: Clean it and store it away so it doesn’t get wrecked from the winter elements.

Faucets & Hoses: Drain all garden hoses and disconnect the outside spigots. Shut off all exterior faucets. Store everything in a dry place.

Also, remember any liquids that you may have that are in your shed or garage may freeze, be sure to find a home for them in a cool dry place that isn’t in the frigid temperatures.

I know that these are only a few of the tasks that we have to do before winter, to fix up the house, but I hope this helps get you started on the right foot.

I hope you have

Have a wonderful Autumn season.

Dawn

Recent Shield Insurance Agency Blogs

If In An Auto Accident: Who ya gonna call? Where ya gonna tow?

Posted on June 22, 2019February 14, 2025 by Shield Insurance Agency

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What would you do?

Have you ever thought about who you want to fix your car and who you want to tow it if you were in an auto accident?

77% of auto accidents occur within 15 miles of your house. So, it would be a good idea to figure out who you want working on your vehicle before the accident happens instead of trying to figure it out while on the side of the road. If you have full coverage, many insurance companies will have a preferred vendor list. However, you’re going to have the freedom to choose any reputable repair shop.

This is especially important if you don’t have full coverage and/or no towing coverage. You wouldn’t want to pay for your broken car towed home then end up with another bill to tow it to a repair shop.

— Joe

Pet Insurance: Do you have it?

Posted on June 22, 2019February 16, 2023 by Shield Insurance Agency

Pet Insurance | Shield Self-Quoting Portal | Shield Insurance Agency

Having a pet is just as common as having a child in today’s society yet we only get health coverage for one of them. I’m sure we all know which one it is, but why is it that way?

Studies show on average the number of pet-owning households in America is 84.6 million yet only 10 % of dog owners and 5% of cat owners have health insurance for their pets. This is shocking to me considering the cost of a vet bill nowadays! Is this lack of coverage due to a lack of knowledge that there even is such a policy available for your pets? OR is it due to a lack of desire to spend money on another insurance policy? Whichever reason it is hoped this blog will change your mind and save your pockets.

I’m going to explain what pet insurance is and how it can benefit you to have it. This article is close to me – because I have two dogs – and two cats – and Vet visits can get pricey!

What is pet insurance?

Pet insurance is a lot like health insurance in the sense that there is still a deductible and a co-pay along with premiums and a maximum payout, there is also no coverage for pre-existing conditions and no waiting periods. Much like health insurance, you will get to choose to pay an annual deductible for the policy year or a per-incident deductible that is paid at each appointment, there is also a co-pay, the percentage you pay after the deductible is met. The remaining percentage of covered expenses will be taken care of by the pet insurance company. You will choose from 5 types of maximum payout options

Maximum payout by the incident – Max amount the insurance will reimburse you for each new illness or injury, Once you reach the limit you will no longer receive money to cover it.
Maximum annual pay out- This is the max amount of money the insurance company will reimburse you every year, once you receive the max amount you will not receive any more money for the policy year.
Maximum lifetime pay. The max amount the insurance company will reimburse you in your pet’s lifetime. Once you receive the max amount your pet will no longer be insured.
Maximum payout per body system- Max amount the insurance company will reimburse for a body system. Such as the digestive, musculoskeletal, and nervous systems. Once you reach this limit for a body system you will not be reimbursed for any more injuries or illnesses that relate to that system.
The maximum payout due to predetermined benefit structure- The insurance company will reimburse based on a predetermined listed fee structure that can be determined with your pet insurance carrier.

Some pet insurance companies use only ONE type of maximum payout structure whereas others use a combination of the payout structure.

Your monthly or annual premium (the amount you pay) will be determined by many factors such as medical coverage you select, your pet’s breed/species, age, the co-pay, and the deductible, and also where you live. After all, this is finalized just like health insurance there will be a waiting period before the coverage is activated and usable.

Although Pet insurance is very similar in requirements and coverage to insurance for a human, there are two very big differences between the two. The number one difference is that pet insurance is a reimbursement program which means you pay the veterinary bill and then file a claim with the pet insurance company for reimbursement. Second there is not a network of vets that you can only use, you are free to use any licensed veterinarian in the U.S! (Sometimes out of the US as well)

Still skeptical on why you should get pet insurance? Well here is an example of how having it could save you money! My fiance and I have a one-year-old cat named Nina who got a hematoma in her ear, which means her ear basically formed a bubble of a bunch of blood.

We had to make an emergency vet visit to drain the hematoma where we were charged $300, after originally being told $900, for the lowest price option possible for them to simply take a needle and drain her ear of blood. If we would have had pet insurance we would have gotten a large portion of that reimbursed instead of an unexpected expense!

Can you imagine more than one emergency visit a year at that price on top of a regular vet visit bills?! In the end, having your pets covered by your insurance could save you thousands of dollars in vet fees and keep you and your pets safe in the case of an emergency situation, like a hematoma in your cat’s ear.

-TJ