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210 SE 89th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73149

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Four common misconceptions about home insurance

Homeowners need to be well informed so that they understand their home insurance needs. S & S Insurance Services Inc. can provide consumers with valuable information about home insurance in Oklahoma City, OK.

The following are four common misconceptions you should know about home insurance. 

Your home insurance policy will cover you for termite damage.

Termite damage can be costly, but it’s unfortunately not typically covered under a standard home insurance policy. You need to read the fine print on your policy before assuming that it will cover you for termite damage. 

Your home insurance will cover the full value of your destroyed belongings within your home.

Home insurance policies will only cover your belongings up to a certain amount. If you have a lot of especially valuable items in your home, your home insurance probably won’t cover you for their full value. 

Your home insurance will cover the full value of any stolen personal property.

Your home insurance policy will also be limited in terms of how much it compensates you for stolen items. Review your policy maximums to make sure that you can be fully covered for stolen property in your home. 

You are legally required to carry home insurance.

While it’s always best to have home insurance, it is not usually legally required. You should be required to carry home insurance if you have a mortgage on your property. However, this is a requirement of your lender and not of the state or federal government. 

Contact Us Today

Get in touch with us at S & S Insurance Services Inc. if you have questions about home insurance. We can provide you with a home insurance quote for your property in Oklahoma City, OK. 

Why you need a home inventory?

Owning a home comes with a certain amount of risk. The financial investments many people make in their home is the largest they will ever make. Even if you take the best possible care of your home, you can’t protect it from all the hazards that are out there. At S & S Insurance Services Inc. in Oklahoma City, OK, we are an independent insurance agency that allows us to provide our customers with more choices. 

Why do you need a home inventory?

When your home is damaged by a covered hazard, you will contact your carrier to file a claim. When what was lost in the damage is your content, you will need to provide the insurance company with a list of what they need to pay you for. After you have been through home damage, especially if it is catastrophic, you may find it very difficult to be able to sit down and try to remember all the things that you previously had in your home. 

How will you prove that you had a brand-new computer or a seven-year-old sofa? If you have a home inventory already prepared and stored in a safe location, it can provide all the information you need to file your claim. A good inventory will include all the items you own, organized by room and supplemented with photos, receipts, and serial numbers. The more information you have included in your inventory, the easier it will be to get insurance money from the carrier to replace these items. 

Making a home inventory takes time and is a lot of work, but the amount of stress and time that it can save if you ever need to use it, more than makes up for the initial work you need to do. 

Give Us A Call

Contact S & S Insurance Services Inc. in Oklahoma City, OK to discuss your home insurance coverage. 

Does homeowners insurance cover contractors working in your home?

S & S Insurance Services Inc. is proud to help residents living in the greater Oklahoma City, OK area with all of their insurance needs. If you have questions about homeowners insurance, we are here for you! Give us a call today and let’s discuss all of your insurance needs!

What you need to know before contractors get to work in your house

Protecting your home from damage and protecting your family from liability becomes even more important when you are about to start a major home renovation project. It’s important to make sure that you have the coverage you need before any work begins in your home.

If it’s been a while since you have carefully reviewed your policy, now is a perfect time to take it out and give it a close look. You will want to ensure that you have the liability protection you need as well as confirm that your current policy level will be sufficient to cover the increased value of your house once the project is complete.

Sometimes, it can be confusing and difficult to ascertain that your policy has the protection you need. This is when it’s a great time to turn to a local agent! They can answer any questions that you may have and address any concerns that you have about coverage. And, you will know that everything is in line before starting.  

We are here to answer all of your insurance questions!

Oklahoma City, OK area residents can count on the team at S & S Insurance Services Inc. for all of their insurance needs. If you are getting ready to start a major home improvement project, let’s make sure that you have the protection you need! Call or stop by today.

How Home Insurance Do I Need?

Most homeowners usually say it’s better to overpay insurance rather than underpay. At S & S Insurance Services Inc., we typically say that purchasing the right insurance is the best thing for your finances. While overpaying is much better than underpaying, buying too much insurance isn’t the best way to use your finances. With that in mind, let’s see the amount of home insurance sufficient for you.

Meet the lender requirements

The first step in ensuring you have enough home insurance is complying with the lender requirements. If you have a mortgage, the lender will want you to maintain insurance equivalent to or more than the mortgage balance. While meeting the lender requirements is fine, this shouldn’t be the only guide for the amount of coverage you need.

The amount of dwelling coverage needed.

How much can you afford to pay out-of-pocket when repairing or rebuilding your home? That should be your deductible. Now, regarding insuring your home, always opt for the “replacement cost value” instead of the “ actual cash value.” The replacement cost value ensures that you get the full value of your home were it to be built from scratch today. This means you incur little out-of-pocket costs if your building was totaled today.

What about liability coverage?

This is usually tricky because you never know the magnitude and time of the liability claims you will face. We typically advise homeowners to consider liability coverage between $300,000 and $500,000. However, if you are a high-net-worth individual, we recommend considering umbrella insurance or excess liability coverage.

Home insurance in Oklahoma City, OK.

Since we know figuring out your home insurance needs on your own can be challenging, we would like to partner with you to help you navigate the insurance world. Please contact S & S Insurance Services Inc. for more information. You can visit our Oklahoma City, OK offices to chat with one of our agents in person.

Why home insurance needs to be reviewed on a regular basis

Are you a homeowner in the greater area? If so, the team here at S & S Insurance Services Inc. is ready to help you with all of your insurance needs. If it’s been a while since you’ve taken a close look at your insurance policies, give us a call today and schedule a review. You’ll be glad you did!

We recommend you review your home insurance every year

Home values can change quite a lot over the years, and it only makes sense to have your home insurance policy increased along with those changes. Many times, people simply renew the same policy at the same coverage levels year after year. This can become a problem if your home value increases to the point where you no longer have adequate coverage.

A regular review can also help you remember to add additional coverage and protection. This can be relevant if you have major improvements to your home or add on an addition. Personal articles are another factor when it comes to increasing your protection. If you make any large purchases such as jewelry, artwork, or electronics, it may trigger a need for increased coverage.

There are many different factors to be considered when it comes to determining the right amount of insurance for your needs. The best way to stay on top of these important requirements is to conduct a regular review of your home insurance policy.

Schedule your review today!

S & S Insurance Services Inc. is here for homeowners in the greater Oklahoma City, OK metropolitan area. We want you to have the protection you need. Call or stop by our office today and let us review your policy to ensure you have the coverage you need.

What Exactly Does Home Insurance Cover?

If you are a responsible homeowner, home insurance is what you need. It provides financial protection against loss due to accidents, theft, and disasters. If you are currently shopping for home insurance and want to know more about it, S & S Insurance Services Inc. serving homeowners in Oklahoma City, OK prepared a list of things that are usually covered by a standard home insurance policy:

What Is Covered By Home Insurance?

  • Structure of your home. If your home was damaged or destroyed by a hurricane, fire, lightning, hail, or other disasters listed on your policy, home insurance will cover it. However, it is important to know that standard home insurance does not pay for damages caused by earthquakes or floods.
  • Personal belongings. Your personal stuff, including furniture, electronics, and clothes are also covered by home insurance. However, a standard home insurance policy has a dollar limit, meaning that you may need additional coverage for such valuable things as jewelry or collectibles. 
  • Liability. Your home insurance also covers you against lawsuits for property damage or bodily injuries caused by you or your family members to other people. There is also no-fault medical coverage, meaning that if your visitor or guest gets injured on your property, your insurance company will cover their medical costs. 
  • Additional living expenses. If your home was damaged and is currently being repaired, your insurance company will pay for your temporary living somewhere else, as well as for your food, gas, and restaurant bills. 

If you live in Oklahoma City, OK or any other nearby town and you are looking for a reliable insurance company to buy home insurance in order to protect your home, S & S Insurance Services Inc. is ready to assist you. We will help you find the perfect home insurance based on your needs and budget. Therefore, do not hesitate to give us a call. 

Making your home a safer place

Having a safer home is important for homeowners of all ages. Young children and the elderly are the most vulnerable, but accidents in the home pose a danger to people of every age. Making sure you do everything to make your home a safer place is the best thing you can do to lower the accident potential in your home. Making your home safe, including dangers from outside as well as inside. At S & S Insurance Services Inc. in Oklahoma City, OK, we have an experienced team here to ensure that you get the home insurance you need to protect yourself and your home. 

Maintain your home

Lack of home maintenance poses a variety of different dangers. Whether it is a chimney in bad repair or needing to be cleaned, or faulty electrical work, you need to make sure necessary repairs are made to keep your home safe. 

Replace your batteries

Hopefully, you have smoke detectors in your home and carbon monoxide detectors. The batteries need to be changed every six months, and you should check them monthly to make sure they are operational. 

Remove trip hazards

Tripping and falling are a danger in your home. Good lighting is important and don’t leave things in hallways and on stairs that can cause a fall. Carpet needs to be tight-fitting to the floor and throw rugs are a danger to running children and the elderly. 

Make sure you have door and window locks.

Door and window locks keep danger out and those you love inside. Not only do you need to have locks, but you also need to use them every day. 

Keep poison out of reach.

Many everyday products are poisonous to children and pets. Make sure they are not where they can be reached. 

Contact S & S Insurance Services Inc. in Oklahoma City, OK with your home insurance questions.

Home insurance FAQs

Your home is the center of your family life, and protecting that center is essential. Home insurance provides a variety of different types of coverage every home should have. No matter how big or small, whether in the city or the country, your home is at risk every day. Knowing your home insurance is there for you lets you sleep peacefully at night. At S & S Insurance Services, Inc. in Oklahoma City, OK, we are locally owned and operated and work with multiple carriers to provide our customers the best possible choice. 

Why should I have home insurance?

If you have a mortgage, home insurance typically isn’t optional. It is required. Your lender will make you have enough to cover your mortgage. Beyond that, home insurance offers a variety of beneficial protections. It will not just help you rebuild your home if it is damaged or destroyed. It will help you afford to replace your contents and have a place to stay while the repairs are happening. Most importantly, it provides liability insurance which protects your assets from legal action against you.  

How should I insure my personal possessions? 

When it comes to insuring personal possessions, you have two options replacement cost or actual cash value. 

  • Replacement cost – With this coverage, you will get the amount needed to replace the item at today’s prices. 
  • Actual cash value – With this coverage, you would get the value of the item minus depreciation. 

How do I choose the right deductible?

The deductible is the amount you must pay out of pocket before your insurance policy pays. By choosing a higher deductible, you can keep your policy’s cost lower, but you run the risk of paying more out of pocket. The deductible is payable on every claim. 

Contact S & S Insurance Services, Inc. in Oklahoma City, OK for any home insurance needs you may have. 

Keeping your home safe in the winter

Keeping your home safe no matter what the season is one of the most important responsibilities of homeownership. Winter is a particularly vulnerable time. Weather is usually not on your side, and having to deal with cold, snow, sleet, and ice poses unique challenges. At S & S Insurance Services Inc. in Oklahoma City, OK, making sure your home is protected is our specialty. As independent agents, we offer a variety of home insurance products to meet your particular needs. 

Carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide is one of the great dangers of wintertime. It has no scent, taste, or color, and you won’t even know you are being endangered. It is important for your entire family’s safety that you have a carbon monoxide detector, and it has fresh batteries before winter begins. 

Repair and clean chimney

When the temperatures drop, having a roaring fire in your fireplace is appealing. Don’t give in to that urge until you have had your chimney cleaned and any masonry issued repaired. 

Trim tree branches

Tree branches that get too close to your roof can cause damage. Winter weather with high winds and ice can damage trees. Getting branches trimmed away from your house is essential. 

Clean gutters

Water standing in gutters in the cold weather can freeze and cause damage to your roof. Having clean gutters allows rainwater to reach your downspouts. Be sure downspouts are directed away from your home.  

Make sure pipes are insulated.

Turn off water to your exterior faucets and make sure any exposed pipes are insulated to protect against freezing. 

Have sand and salt on hand

Ice is a big danger in the winter, and someone slipping and falling on your property can lead to expensive claims. Have salt and sand on hand to minimize the risk. 

Contact S & S Insurance Services Inc. in Oklahoma City, OK for all your insurance needs. 

Homeowner’s Insurance

Having a homeowner’s policy may not be enough to protect you financially if you don’t have enough homeowner’s insurance. There are several factors you should consider to determine whether you have enough homeowner’s insurance. S&S Insurance Services Inc. works hard to provide Oklahoma City, OK residents with the right homeowner’s policies. 

Costs of Rebuilding

If you have made significant renovations or upgrades to your home, you may need more insurance coverage. If your home’s value has gone up, you must be sure that your coverage limits reflect this. Rising property values can also raise the value of your home significantly. 

Ideally, it would help if you were sure you have enough coverage to replace or rebuild your home. Increasing property values mean that replacing your home will be more expensive as well. If you’ve made renovations, then you’ll need enough coverage to purchase a home of equal value and quality. 

Contents Coverage

If you have recently acquired top end items, you may need a rider for your policy to provide adequate coverage. Policies place coverage limits on your personal property as a whole and also on individual items. If you’ve purchased antiques, jewelry, or art, speak with your agent to see if your policy adequately covers them. It’s also wise to add up the value of everything in your home. If it’s more than your current coverage limit, consider increasing your limit.

Liability Coverage

Liability coverage is often an afterthought for homeowners, but it’s just as important as dwelling coverage. If someone is injured on your property, you could be liable for the damages. Swimming pools and pets can increase your liability risk, and a standard policy doesn’t cover some breeds of dogs. It’s important to know your liability risk and be sure you have enough liability coverage.

At S & S Insurance Services Inc. in Oklahoma City, Ok, our agents take the time to discuss your circumstances and help you decide how much homeowner’s insurance you need. Contact us today so you can enjoy your home knowing that you are protected from potential disasters.

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