Let's Review Your Homeowners Needs! Give us a Call!
It is not hard to notice how expensive it is getting to build a home. One hundred dollars a square foot or greater is now the norm. Probably the best feature in a MEEMIC homeowner is that we give you true 100% replacement cost. In other words, we will rebuild your home to the same quality and dimensions with no limit to the cost. This is a rarity in the homeowner insurance industry. With the rising prices of homeowner insurance nationwide, it is good to know that MEEMIC homeowners insurance is of such great value. Whether you have MEEMIC homeowners insurance or not, ask yourself the following questions - or give us a call!

Have I added any features to my home such as a deck or a finished basement making my home more valuable? Do I have items that require scheduling? Could my basement get wet? (Special coverage is required for sewer/sump pumps. Do I carry high enough limits for my liability coverage? Do I have an inventory of my contents, or better yet, a video tape that represents my belongings? Does my home have special building code requirements?

Ordinance or Law coverage provides protection when there is a partial loss on the dwelling and current building codes require improvements in construction to your home to meet code requirements.

Home Owner Policy Deductibles? Why would raising my deductible benefit me?
When you need to make a homeowner claim a deductible comes into play. The deductible is the amount the insured pays first before the company says. The theory behind a deductible is in a policy term your rate is lower with a higher deductible. The higher the deductible the less the term rate. We at the Mark Owen Agency look at this as a means of saving money. Merely raising your homeowner deductible from $250 to $1000 would probably save hundreds a year. Raising from $250 to $500 would be a noticable amount as well. It is clear that most of our clients take very good care of their home. It is true that three homeowner claims within a three year period of time allows a carrier to cancel a client by Michigan state law. This fact alone should require people to be sure a claim is first worth it. Fixing small problems in a home is a routine task for most homeowners. Please make the consideration to raise your homeowner deductible. We at the Mark Owen Agency can help you "do the math" and pursue additional savings while not risking the major aspects of your insurance policy.

Do you need water back-up coverage? Sump Pump/Sewer Back Up and Advantage Endorsements can meet your needs!
This has been some winter with the snow and cold. Spring showers are surely on their way. We are sure to see a great deal of water run off that will in some cases tax our sump pump or drain/sewer systems. We are not immune to this in any of Michigan's four seasons.

Water back-up coverage is an optional coverage. Every time we write a policy we recommend to include this coverage. We go so far as to have clients initial when they decline this coverage. Our water back-up coverage is available in two ways is available. The Advantage Endorsement or the sump pump/sewer backup endorsement.

The sump pump/sewer backup endorsement costs $85 dollars per year and provides $10,000 of backup coverage. This is recommended when a client has a finished basement or more value in their basement or downstairs area.

An alternative is our Advantage Endorsement. This endorsement provides $2,000 of water backup coverage. Your deductible will apply first to this coverage. This may meet the needs of a client which may not have a finished basement and less possible risk. What is nice about the Advantage Endorsement too is that it includes other coverages and is only $35 dollars a year. The Advantage Endorsement also includes:

• $500 Refrigerated Contents due to power failure on the residence premises.
• $1000 Tree Removal for reasonable expenses you incur for the removal of trees from your residence premises due to windstorm, hail or the weight of ice, snow or sleet.
• $1000 Personal Property Off Premises. Covered in sudden and accidental direct physical loss.
• Residence Glass Coverage. Your policy deductible will not apply to this coverage which means no deductible on a claimable broken window.
• Locksmith Coverage of $100 per occurance or $200 per year with a $25 deductible. This is for mis-placement of your keys and the need for locksmith service.

An important note in the mentioned coverages. The terms and conditions of our policies apply to the approval or disapproval of a claim. The Mark Owen Agency again welcomes your phone call to discuss water back-up coverage.

What is Scheduling Items in a Homeowners Policy
In a basic homeowners policy your most important needs are met by having coverage for your home itself, your outside structures, your contents or belongings, liability coverage as well as coverage for immediate medical issues

What do you do if you want to extend your coverages for particular items as well as diminish your deductible?

The answer is scheduling!

Whether you have an expensive ring, fine arts, guns, computers or anything that is of special value it is important to look into scheduling.

Scheduling greatly improves the coverages for that special item. Each item will have a fee associated to it in increments of 100 dollars. To schedule an item you need a letter of appraisal or receipt depending on what the item is. We need to define the true value of the item to replace it properly for you. Makes, models and serial numbers are often used as means of identification. If this rings a bell with you please call our office for details. We are here to serve you!

Insure Your Snowmobiles By Adding Them to Your Homeowners
Maybe you didn't know that MEEMIC Homeowners insurance will allow qualified customers to place their snowmobiles on their homeowner's policy. It is one of the best values and I strongly recommend you calling the office and checking into this if you own or plan to own a snowmobile.

To fully appreciate the value of our snowmobile coverage, compare our quote to any other snowmobile policy.

Qualified customers need to meet requirements for new auto business with all household members. They also need MEEMIC homeowners insurance. This is another good reason to look into MEEMIC homeowners!