Choices Discounts Policy and Coverage Strategies
Choices - This section talks about business choices you make and how they may effect your premium.
Leases -
Animals - Many insurers prefer that you have your tenants sign leases and have firm rules for the use of your property. Inclusions that may insurers happy include NO PETS or NO DOGS. In fact the difference of having versus not having dogs on you property may be a savings of not having any liability coverage. (This is really no savings at all because of the exposure to loss you now have.) Policies may be added to cover liability for dogs that most insurers refuse to cover cost just under $1,000 per dog. Give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Annual and Continuous - Some landlords have a lease and then let it lapse and the tenant stays from month to month. Insurers will not give discounts or allowed preferred policies to be written on properties without annual leases in place. There are many details that differ by each insurance company as to how this works. So, give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com and we may help you through understanding this.
Renters Insurance - Leases that require your tenants to have renters insurance and you have verified that they do by keeping a copy of their declaration page(s) of their renters insurance policy may result in savings of 7.5%! For more details, you guessed it, give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
You asked and we delivered! Click here for a flyer that you can share with your tenants. (Please duplex print them as needed since they will be updated from time to time with out notice.)
Life Safety -
Smoke Detectors, Fire Extinguishers, and CO2 Detectors - These are considered mandatory, required by law in most places, and standard minimal safety precautions to have in all rented units. Most insurers no longer will write a policy if these minimal requirements are not complied with.
Central Station Alarm - Alarms that call out to a central monitor station generally will save you up to 5% off of your building and contents premium. In some cases the savings for this safety system may save you enough to pay for the annual cost of the contract. Give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Fire Escape - All buildings with a third floor should have a secured second means of egress. How this works with each insurer varies and the rules may also vary by type of building. Give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Partial Sprinkler System - Some buildings only have sprinklers in the common areas or wear the utilities are like only in the basement. Most insurers do not consider this a sprinklered building. However, we have found some that give a partial credit for this. Keep in mind that the system must be checked and maintained per the individual insurer's standards. Proof of this must be provided the insurer upon request. Give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com to see how this may help you.
Full Building Sprinkler System - Buildings that have complete sprinkler systems throughout the entire building may qualify to get a discount off of the annual premium for the building and contents of up to 40%! That is HUGE! If you are building a new structure it is much easier to build this safety feature in. In some cases it is worth installing this in current buildings. Just imagine how much you can save when you own a building 10, 20, 30 or more years! Keep in mind that the system must be checked and maintained per the individual insurer's standards. Proof of this must be provided the insurer upon request. Give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Deductibles - Deductibles generally range from $250, $500, $750, $1000, $2,000, $2,500 $5,000, $10,000 $20,000, $25,000 and $50,000. The savings from one deductible to the next highest has been generally calculated at 5% per level compounded. How do you find what level of deductible is right for you? It really depends on your personal strategy. Often it takes careful thought to get this component right. Your choice may vary by insurer and the location to be insured. We may be able to help you through these considerations if you give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Precise Coverage - This almost seems like a given, doesn't it? However, many times landlords do not know how much insurance they want when they contact us for the first time. There is a real strategy to choosing coverage that gives you the best value for your insurance dollar, remains affordable when compared to your income strategy and provides the type of insurance protection you are looking for.
Building(s) - How much coverage should you have? Getting replacement cost settlement coverage does not mean the you have replacement cost policy pricing. Are you really going to replace the building after a significant loss? How much do you have invested in the structure? Does actual cash value insurance make more sense? Are you going to let the building stand damaged if there is a partial loss? These are just a few of the questions that you should consider. In some cases getting higher limits of coverage will save you money. Wouldn't it be nice to work with an insurance agency that considers all of the available options rather than cookie cutter your request? Please, give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Liability Limits - In some cases the liability coverage differs greatly but the premium very little. Would you like to have $1,000,000 liability coverage per occurrence for only $60 a year? We may be able to find a company that can make that happen if you give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Property Managers - If you are more than 50 miles from your income property some insurers will not allow you to have their preferred products unless you use a property manager to care for the remote locations. Even though we may usually be able to help you either way, the savings may be hundreds of dollars between preferred and non-preferred insurance products. How may we help you qualify for discounts? Give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
Maintain Good Credit - Statistics show that persons with good credit have fewer insurance claims. Also, as you may guess persons with good credit are known to pay their bills on time. Therefore the internal costs of insurance policies are lower. This lower cost of managing a policy is reflected in eligibility for preferred policies and lower premiums. So, as far as it depends on you keep excellent credit. What also goes along with good money management is being able to pay your annual premium in full or one payment.
Pay In Full - PIF generally stands for Pay In Full in the insurance world. Sometimes PIF results in discounts that may be in the hundreds of dollars. Other times you may use your willingness to PIF as a way to get a better tier of product that you would not have been otherwise eligible for. Since most companies charge installment fees for breaking your policy premium into payments, you will save those fees by PIF. Imagine this, saving installment fees of around $5 per month and getting a discount for PIF. It doesn't take long for this one strategy to save you money. Now, lets pile this on to the other savings ideas we have...Give us a call at 607-843-8860 or email us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com.
*Savings vary by insurer. Not all insurance companies offer the same options. Not all options are available in every state. There are many factors involved in creating a policy that is right for you. Just because it is cheap doesn't mean it is better. Policies may look the same however the devil is in the details. Seemingly small endorsements or changes of a few words in a policy make a big difference at the time of a loss. You should know your policy well. For more details contact us at insurance@drickardinsurance.com or at 607-843-8860.