Buying your first home is an exciting event. However, many new homeowners aren’t really aware of what they need to do to maintain their property. Use these tips from Thompson Insurance Services to design a home maintenance routine that keeps your property in pristine condition.

• Service your HVAC system at least once every 3 months. Inspect the system and clean or replace air filters. Schedule services right before winter to ensure your indoor air is as clean as possible during the colder months.
• Teach all of your family members how to turn off the water flow in each room. It’s also a good idea to label or tag the main water supply valve as well.
• Don’t put off plumbing repairs. Water damage can quickly cause costly problems that go deeper than your indoor pipes.
• Keep gutters and rainspouts clear of debris. Clean them before winter weather sets in to prevent backups that can damage your roof and warrant costly repairs. While you’re there, make sure the downspouts are pointed away from walls and foundations. This simple move significantly reduces water damage to your home’s structure.
• Check your homeowner’s insurance coverage periodically. Review your coverages to determine if they may need adjustments. This is the best way to ensure your policy will offer a sufficient payout if an accident occurs.
• Form a relationship with a local handyman. If you aren’t technically inclined, it’s important to make friends with a handyman in the Highland Village, TX area. When something goes wrong, it’s comforting to know there’s someone you can turn to who knows your property well.

Thompson Insurance Services offers home insurance policies for residents in the Highland Village, TX area. Contact our representatives to learn more about maintaining your home with insurance.

Rushing to the emergency room for any reason is a parent’s worst nightmare. Thankfully there are many things you can do in and around your home to prevent injuries with your children. Thompson Insurance Services cares about the safety of you and your loved ones, so here are some tips on ways to childproof your Highland Village, TX home.

Inside Your Home

• Place covers on electrical outlets

• Install safety locks on any door or cabinet a child can reach and open

• Keep all cleaning products and medicine on high shelves

• Make sure any railing spindles are no more than 4 inches apart

• Install child safety gates on all stairs and in any areas you don’t want your children to go

• Put corner protectors on any sharp corners, such as coffee tables or TV stands

• Fasten large furniture, such as bookshelves, to the wall so children can’t pull them down on top of themselves

• De-clutter- pick up any items that could become choking or suffocation hazards

• Test the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors

• Make sure window blind strings are out of reach of children

Outside Your Home

• Store all yard fertilizers and garden tools in a locked shed or garage

• Consider installing a fence, especially if you live on a busy road

• Remove or keep children away from toxic plants and plants with thorns

• Add lattice or a mesh guard to your deck posts

• Place an outdoor rug on a wooden deck to prevent splinters

We all want to keep our children safe, but unfortunately, accidents do happen. Once you’ve finished childproofing your home, crawl around and pretend you are a child and see if there is anything else they could get into that you missed. Contact Thompson Insurance Services today if you live near Highland Village, TX to make sure you have the right insurance policy to protect you if something does happen.

For many homeowners, a standard home insurance policy is sufficient to cover their house and personal goods. If you own expensive items, however, you may need more coverage than what a standard policy has to offer. At Thompson Insurance Services, we can help you select a policy that provides the protection you need. The right insurance coverage is essential to safeguarding your home in Highland Village, TX along with the valuable possessions you hold dear.

Home Insurance Riders

Standard home insurance policies come with limits on the coverage they provide for personal belongings. If you have valuables that exceed these limits, a standard policy won’t be enough to protect these goods fully. You can, however, add an insurance rider to your policy to boost coverage of valuable items. In the event of theft or loss, you will have coverage to replace these goods by the expanded limits on your rider.

What Items Can be Protected by Riders?

Pricey goods to include may be antiques, artwork, coin collections, gun collections, posh jewelry, costly office equipment, comic books, and electronics. These can be covered by a rider to make sure they are insured at full value. You may want to have antiques, heirlooms, artwork, and other pricey goods professionally appraised to validate their worth, in the event you ever have to make a claim. You should also make an inventory of all your possessions, with particular emphasis on valuable items, to have an up to date record of what you own along with an accurate accounting of personal valuables.  

Selecting the right home insurance policy will give you peace of mind that your home and belongings are adequately protected against any eventuality. For greater insight on home insurance options and costs, contact us at Thompson Insurance Services in Highland Village, TX.  

Whenever you take a mortgage to purchase a home in Dallas, TX or elsewhere in DFW, the lender will direct you to buy a home insurance policy to protect their interests. Unfortunately, most of the homeowners who purchase homeowners’ insurance policy from Thompson Insurance Services don’t understand its features and how it can save them in the event of a disaster.

Do not allow the excitement of purchasing a new home be cut short by the numerous unforeseen risks that can put you in a financial crisis. Make sure that you have the right policy to protect your biggest asset. Here is all that you need to know about home insurance.

What Does a Homeowners’ Insurance Policy Cover?

A standard home insurance policy offers coverage for the house structure and other structures that are attached to it such as your car garage, gazebo, or shed. It also covers your personal property such as clothes, furniture, and electrical equipment in case of theft, fire, wind, or hail.

The liability coverage offers protection against lawsuits that may be filed against you if an accident occurs in your home. Your standard home insurance also covers loss of use meaning that if a disaster such as fire happens and your home is rendered uninhabitable, the coverage will cater for things such as hotel costs.

There are Different Types of Home Insurance Policies

The home insurance coverage can either be an HO-3, HO-5, or HO-6 policy. However, the most common type is the HO-3 which offers you coverages against the common disasters that are covered by the policy. It insures personal property against all named perils. The HO-5 covers both your home structure and personal property while the HO-6 policy is meant for condo or co-op owners.

It’s Mandatory

All mortgage companies require you to purchase home insurance for you to access financing. If you don’t have home insurance at the time of closing the deal, the lender will be forced to get one for you through a provider of their choice.

Are you a homeowner in the Dallas, TX area? Contact Thompson Insurance Services today for your home insurance policy needs.