My husband, (without forewarning) was offered a promotion that required us to relocate to Erie, Pennsylvania. Due to the impending birth of our first child, I was overwhelmed with organizing the move. Therefore, I put certain issues on hold (like finding Pennsylvania car insurance) for both of our cars. I thought this could wait until we were settled. Afterwards, (I reasoned) I would have time to call a few Erie insurance agents.

Unfortunately, my old car barely made it into town. With a final huff and groan, it died in the driveway of our new apartment. Now, not only would I need cheap Pennsylvania car insurance, but another vehicle as well. The next couple of days were spent dividing time between unpacking and browsing the internet for a new car. With safety being a top priority for us, we shopped only vehicles that had proven safety standards. We wanted a midsize SUV, so we soon discovered that the top three safest 2011 vehicles in that category were # 1) the Chevrolet Equinox, #2) the Dodge Journey, and #3) the Ford Edge.

The following Saturday, we went out to take each of these vehicles for a test drive. We checked out all of the safety features of each, including whether or not they came with travel safety kits. Not wanting to be hasty, we decided to get Pennsylvania free auto insurance quotes on each of the vehicles before choosing. Expenses were adding up (on an already strict budget) so it was necessary to get the best available insurance at the least amount of cost.

With the insurance issues addressed, we decided to shop for a safe car infant seat while we waited for the quotes. (This was another necessity that I had placed on hold!) It was fun shopping the baby stores in an effort to find just the right carrier. We wanted a carrier that would double as a car seat while meeting (or exceeding) all safety requirements. We found exactly what we were looking for in a Graco SnugRide seat. It was a seat that fit our budget and met appropriate safety standards. It weighed only 7.5 lbs, and it had added EPS foam for extra support. It also had comfortable handles and a washable seat cover. In essence, it provided most everything that the more expensive seats had to offer.

When the salesperson realized that we were new to Erie, she gave us a valuable tip on insurance. She suggested that we call the Williams Agency. We were told that they could provide the most detailed information about State law regarding automobile safety when traveling with children; as well as offering the best in Pennsylvania car insurance.  Upon arriving home, we called our sales agent about the vehicle we had chosen.  We then called the Williams Agency for a Pennsylvania car insurance quote. Afterwards, we kicked off our shoes, opened a bottle of wine and sat in the middle of our new (freshly painted) nursery, staring at our beautiful new infant carrier!

Pennsylvania is a very rural state, with many of our residents living on and working family farms. There is a great deal of diversity among Pennsylvania farmers – some own their property and others rent, some raise crops and others raise livestock. While farmers share a lot of the same insurance needs as homeowners, there are other factors that should be considered when looking for farm insurance. Like homeowners and renters policies, coverage is usually either replacement cost or actual cash value. Replacement cost coverage will pay the full amount to repair or replace covered property or structures without regard to depreciation. The premiums for this coverage are usually higher, and replacement cost should be indicated in the policy. Actual cash value coverage, while less expensive, will reimburse you for your losses after accounting for the age, condition, and value of the property or structure.

Pennsylvania Farm Property Insurance can generally be separated into 4 different categories that you should discuss with your insurance agent:

Home and Contents

Insurance for Personal Farm Property

Insurance for Farm Structures

Liability Protection

Home and Contents:

This portion of your farm policy is very similar to a regular homeowner’s insurance policy. It covers your home, your personal household property, and other buildings or outdoor equipment such as garages, storage sheds, satellite dishes, and landscaping. If you rent your farm, then this portion of your farm insurance policy would be similar to renter’s insurance, providing coverage for your personal property.

Personal Farm Property:

Personal farm property coverage would include farm equipment and machinery, supplies, livestock, farm tools, and farm products such as grain, animal feed, seed, and fertilizer.

Farm Structures:

Your farm structures insurance covers you in case of loss or damage to the many different types of structures that you may have on your farm. This would include barns and outbuildings, confinement facilities, dairy parlors, silos, portable buildings, pens, chutes and corral fencing, building materials for farm buildings, and fixed irrigation equipment.  

Liability Protection:

This is the most important part of your pennsylvania farm insurance policy. Farming is a very hazardous occupation; accidents can and do happen. No matter how careful you are, accidents can happen to visitors, workers, or others who may be on your farm property. Personal and farm liability insurance is essential to protect your farm and your business. It provides payments for your legal liability up to the limits of your policy, in the event that someone is injured or someone’s property is damaged, while on your farm. Liability insurance will also pay the medical bills for people that have been accidentally injured while on your farm, up to the limits of your policy. 

Additional liability coverage can be obtained by purchasing umbrella coverage. Like an umbrella, this coverage arches over your existing pennsylvania auto, homeowner, and farm policies, providing an additional layer of liability protection.

Several serious house fires have made the news in recent months, leaving many locals wondering how to prevent such a disaster in their own home. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to reduce the likelihood of a fire in your home, and minimize the severity if one does occur. By following these precautions, you may even be able to find cheap Pennsylvania homeowners insurance or reduce your current rates.

The first thing to do is a simple walk-through of your home. Look for fire hazards such as overloaded or damaged outlets. Be sure to keep an eye out for melted or cracked casings, as well as outlets that do not have power to them. These can be a sign of wiring problems, which can cause fire. If you have children, be sure to take their perspective into account. Some experts recommend involving them in the process. An easy way is to play a version of “I Spy,” which can show you what they are seeing. Be sure to include the garage or attached storage areas in this, as they can often house flammable chemicals or too many extension cords.

It is also important to do a smoke alarm audit. This involves checking the location and function of every alarm in your home. Make sure you have a minimum of one per floor, but preferably more. Be sure they are placed near sleeping areas and in the kitchen, and are mounted high on the walls or on the ceiling. Test the battery function and make sure they are in good repair. It is also a good idea to make sure they are all UL listed, as other smoke alarms may not be made to the highest standards. This may even be required by your Pennsylvania home insurance company.

One safety precaution that is often neglected is simply having fire extinguishers strategically placed around the home. Most experts recommend having at least four in the average family home. There should be at least one on each floor, and one in high-risk areas such as the kitchen and the garage. As with smoke alarms, these should be UL listed and checked periodically. Some Pennsylvania home insurance quotes may ask about precautions such as this and factor it into your rates.

Finally, you will need to plan for what to do if a fire occurs. Since fatal house fires often happen while people are asleep, be sure to have an escape plan from every bedroom. Parents and older children should determine who is responsible for making sure younger children get out of the house. Also, make sure young children know basic precautions such as “stop, drop, and roll,” and never to play with matches or candles. Parents and older children should also brush up on fire safety tips.

Fire is a serious risk, but there are many things that you can do to minimize the chances of one and even help you find cheap Pennsylvania homeowners insurance. For more information on home safety and making sure you have the right insurance coverage just in case, check out Williams Agency.

Pennsylvania Renter’s Insurance

When buying a new home, everyone thinks about the need for purchasing homeowner’s insurance, but what about when you choose to rent? Can you afford to replace belongings that are lost in a fire? If you are forced to live somewhere else for a while, hotel and food expenses can end up in the thousands of dollars in no time. Do you have available savings to buy a new laptop, iPod, or TV if they are stolen? Can you pay the medical bills if someone is injured while visiting you in your apartment?

Your landlord will have insurance that covers the building, whether it is an apartment, townhouse, or single family home, but your possessions are not covered by that policy. Renters have valuable possessions that need to be protected, and yet many renters don’t realize that insurance is available. Not only is renter’s insurance available and necessary, but it offers other important features that you may not be aware of.

        Most renter’s insurance policies include:

• Fire or lightning
• Theft
• Windstorms or hail
• Explosions
• Flood
• Accidental flooding (such as overflowing bathtub or freezing of pipes)
• Smoke
• Vandalism or malicious mischief

Your renter’s insurance policy will also include liability insurance. This is coverage that protects you in the event that someone is injured while on your property. It will even help pay for your legal defense in this situation, if necessary. Medical coverage is also part of most renter’s policies.

When preparing to purchase renter’s insurance, you should explore various options that insurance companies offer. For example, renters may be able to choose between “actual cash value” or “replacement cost” coverage. If you choose actual cash value, then in the event of theft or other loss, you will receive the actual cash value of the items that need to be replaced. If the items are relatively new, then the actual cash value will probably be enough to replace them. If your possessions are older, however, the actual cash value amounts will be a lot less. You would need to come up with additional funds in order to replace the items. Therefore, if many of your possessions are older, then purchasing replacement cost coverage would be a better way to go. Replacement cost coverage will actually pay to replace the lost possessions with brand new items. The premium may be higher, but in the event of theft or fire, you would be able to replace the items with no trouble. You will need to decide on a personal property replacement amount, usually from $10,000-$35,000, and a deductible. In the event of a claim, you must pay the deductible amount before your insurer will cover the balance of the loss.

It is also important to know if your renter’s insurance policy is an all peril or a named peril policy. All peril policies insure against the loss of your personal property in the event of any and all possible disasters, except for the specific exclusions that are noted in your policy. With an all peril, or all risk policy, if your apartment is flooded by a broken water line your insurance company will pay to replace the ruined property, unless flooding resulting from a broken water line was a specific exclusion in the policy.

Named peril policies are exactly the opposite.  A named peril policy will only protect your property from the disasters that are specifically named in the policy.

There are other options to consider when purchasing a renter’s insurance policy. Many insurers offer endorsements that can be added to the basic policy. These can include a higher valuable items limit that would allow for insuring furs, collectible art, coin collections, or expensive musical instruments. An identity theft rider and septic or sewer system riders are also options to consider when purchasing a renter’s insurance policy.

So many of us are hurried in our lives today and when we think of car safety, we really have not considered it much, especially in the summer months. Summer means easy driving and the time we start thinking about our Pennsylvania car insurance policy, it is only happening because winter is on its way and we know the roads will not be safe to drive on. Automobile safety needs to be a consideration no matter what season we are driving in and there are so many things we can do with our own cars and in our own driving habits to make the roads safer for everyone involved.

Erie insurance agents can help make sure cars are safely covered as far as the paperwork and the laws are concerned. It is the law to have insurance on vehicles and cheap Pennsylvania car insurance, that has good quality coverage, is not always easy to find. At the Williams Agency, they go beyond just giving us Pennsylvania free auto insurance quotes; they also give us great tips about how to pack a travel safety kit, about child car seat safety and more.

One great tip for traveling safely is to keep your car owner’s manual handy in case of emergencies. If sensor lights come on your dashboard and you are not sure what they mean, you can find a safe place to pull off the road and look in the manual for the recommendations for the situation. Travel safety kits should be packed with those types of emergencies in mind. In the summer months, a car overheating is not uncommon. When we have small children or pets on board, not only do we need to consider their safety, we need to remember that they depend on us to stay safe as well.

Take that car overheating for example. If we pull off the road we may find something in our manual that describes first letting the engine cool down and then how to check our coolant levels. Letting the engine cool could take some time on a hot day, so we must be sure we have parked in the safest and most out-of-the-way place that we can find. Keeping everyone inside the car cool will mean keeping windows open to let in fresh air and making sure everyone has something to drink. (Water in a travel kit is a great idea.) Then you would want to make sure that you are seen whenever you go out to check on your coolant levels. A brightly colored vest or even reflective tape that can be stuck on your shirt would help you be seen by other drivers.

Driving can be an expensive adventure these days and sometimes safety concerns take the back seat. We always need to have insurance coverage, though, and remember that driving safely keeps the on the road costs down. We can look to our trusted agents for a Pennsylvania car insurance quote and ask them for more great tips on how to drive safely.