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In Long Island, auto insurance is very much a necessity. While this statement could be applied to any part of the country, it proves to be especially true in regions that boast large populations. The more people and cars on the road, the more likely you are to be involved in some form of motor vehicle accident.

Many of the collisions that occur each year are due to distractions while driving. One major disruption to safe driving is cell phones. Talking to a friend, waiting on hold for the next available agent, and texting could steal your focus, which should always be on the road in front of you when you are driving.

Cells phones are only part of the problem though. Drivers could be easily distracted by eating and drinking behind the wheel. Having a heated discussion with the passengers and dancing to the music on the radio could also be detrimental to your concentration. Even small things, such as a bee flying into your car or a dropped cigarette could be enough to send your vehicle flying off the road.

While you may not be able to prevent all distractions and accidents from occurring, you could limit the financial burden they cause by making sure your car insurance is in effect. Driving without Long Island auto insurance could leave you shouldering heavy repair bills after a collision!

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With high real estate costs, high demand for property, and a higher cost of living than the average city, it is essential to save money whenever possible when you live on Long Island. Home insurance is one area where you may be able to save money. 

The following tips may help you see savings right away:

How can you save money on your home policy? Those who also have car, life, and health insurance should consider bundling their policies if possible. Much like bulk stores, insurance providers may offer savings to those who buy in “bulk”, so make sure to ask about multi-policy discounts if this applies to you. 
 
When you have a low deductible on your home insurance, you may feel that this is saving your money each time you file a claim. The truth is that lower deductibles often translate into higher policy costs. The reason for this is that a low deductible, in the eye of your insurer, means that you are more likely to file a claim – or multiple small claims. Homeowners with deductibles of $500 or more could see savings on their insurance premium rates.

Long Island home insurance does not have to be expensive or complicated to purchase. Contact one of our agents today to find out if you qualify for savings!

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Putting a new roof on your home is a big, expensive job. Educating yourself on roofing materials, warranties, and roofing contractors can save you money and headaches down the road.

Avoid using your workmanship warranty by choosing the right roofing contractor. Get a recommendation for an established, licensed or bonded roofer. Just as you have proof of your Long Island Home insurance you must verify their references, as well as certificates of insurance associated with their business insurance. Insist on a detailed, written estimate. The estimate should include all material and labor charges, as well as start date and estimated completion date. Payment schedules should be specifically enumerated. If you have doubts about the contractor, consult your local Better Business Bureau or check with the chamber of commerce.

Your roof’s materials will defend your home from wind, rain, hail, and possibly fire. Costs of a new roof vary greatly depending on the type of product used, and certain products are more common in different parts of the country. In fact, your homeowner’s association may even dictate the type of material required. To compare prices, it is important to know how roofing materials are measured. A roof is measured in “squares,” and a square is 100 square feet of area, or a 10-foot-by-10-foot section. If your roof has a steep pitch, you can expect increased costs due to the greater safety concern and installation time.

Check the ratings on the roofing material you want to install. Standards exist to measure the products resistance to wind and fire. A test designed by Underwriters’ Laboratories, UL 2218 testing, measures a roofing products resistance to hail. Under that test, Class 4 roofing is anticipated to provide the greatest impact resistance to hail.

Roofing products receive a  Class A ratings which indicate the roofing material is effective against severe fire exposure, Class B ratings are effective against moderate fire exposure, and Class C ratings are effective against light fire exposure. Use your common sense to determine the basic fire resistance of a given type of shingle; i.e., a wood shake shingle will afford less protection than a clay shingle.

As with any consumer product, read the warranty’s fine print carefully! Save one wrapper from a bundle of shingles to keep on hand in case you have to consult the warranty. Different types of warranties include:

·         Pro-rated – claims paid based on the age of the roof.

·         First owner – subsequent owners of the roof are not covered.

·         Flat roof warranty fee – a warranty for a flat roof may not be cost-effective. Check with your contractor for other options.

·         Wind – applies only to roof damage caused by wind.

·         Hail – applies only to damage caused by hail.

·         Materials and defects – if your contractor installs the product incorrectly, you can bet the manufacturer will not cover resulting damage.

·         Workmanship – the terms of your workmanship warranty should be written into the contract for service and will vary depending what the parties negotiate.

By educating yourself and following a few suggestions, you can choose the right roofing materials for your home avoid any resulting problems and negotiate a contract with a reputable contractor, all the while ensuring your home is protected from the elements for years to come. Always protect your home with Long Island Home insurance.

With mortgage loans harder than ever to obtain, many homeowners are opting to remodel their existing homes rather than move to a new home. This may be especially true in high cost real estate areas, such as Long Island. Home insurance costs are often affected by a remodel, so there are many things to consider before starting your project.

While building structures from wood may be cheaper, they also result in higher insurance rates due to their increased flammability. Conversely, structures built from cement and steel may help lower your rates. Consider the durability and maintenance requirements and the susceptibility of the materials to weather damage when deciding what materials to use.

Those who live in a coastal region or flood zone should carefully determine if any home additions could increase their home’s risk of flooding. These risks can greatly affect your insurance costs and should be avoided if at all possible.

Taking out a loan for your remodeling project may also increase your home’s insurance premium, particularly if your original mortgage is paid off. Insurers typically lower the rates for homeowners who own their home outright due to the simple philosophy that you take better care of items that fully belong to you.

Now could be a great time to remodel your home, providing you plan ahead to avoid spending more money in the future on your home. Long Island home insurance for you property may need to be increased if you’ve made substantial changes. So be sure to contact an agent to learn more about how your renovations might affect your coverage!

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A living trust may seem necessary only for the wealthy or those with complicated estates. But a living trust can be advantageous for many people:

Know what it is.

A living trust is an arrangement under which one person — a trustee — holds legal title to property for another person — the beneficiary. You can even be the trustee of your own living trust

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Know the advantages.

A living trust averts the delay and additional expense of probate (a very public legal process that examines someone’s estate after the person dies.)

A living trust allows for suitable control of assets should a person become unable to make his or her own decisions.

Terms of the trust and information concerning income and assets are generally not public in states that don’t require court supervision of trust administration. “Court files for probate proceedings can generally be reviewed by anyone who cares to take the trouble to go to the court house and look through the file,” says Chicago attorney Gregory Norwell.

Last, living trusts are generally no more expensive to draw up than a conventional will. There are also software programs and books that can walk you through a do-it-yourself process.

You may have purchased New York homeowners insurance as financial protection for the loss of the possessions inside your home, and fitted strong locks on windows and doors to keep out burglars, but how safe are the possessions you store in your garage or shed?

Burglars are attracted to valuable portable items that can be sold quickly. Of course jewelry, laptop computers and smart phones that are stored in your home fall into that category – but so do the power tools, sporting equipment and bicycles that you store in outbuildings.

Your garage or shed may be less secure from burglars than your residence.  Make sure that doors and door frames are strong enough to withstand attack by a burglar, and are secured by strong locks or padlocks. Pay attention to window security, too: consider replacing glass panels with shatterproof material, fitting strong window locks and window grills. As secondary security within outbuildings, make sure that ladders and bicycles are padlocked.

Items stored in your shed or garage are likely to be expensive to replace if they are stolen. Read the terms of your New York home owners insurance policy if you are not sure whether items stored in outbuildings are covered by insurance, and talk to your agent or insurer if you need to increase coverage or take out separate insurance for property that is stored outside your home.

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For the 9^th year, Bethpage Federal Credit Union, Long Island’s largest community financial institution, will help low to moderate-income households on Long Island prepare their tax returns for free, by offering the government’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program at 12 of its branch locations.

Bethpage’s Farmingdale branch has started offering VITA, and will continue through April 11, 2012.  One hundred and fifty IRS certified volunteers, including bilingual tax assistors, will be available to meet with eligible taxpayers with 2011 incomes of $49,000 and below.  One need not be a Bethpage member to qualify.  VITA services will be available on Wednesday evenings and Saturday afternoons in 12 Bethpage branches including Freeport, Hempstead, Massapequa, Elmont, Westbury, Roosevelt, Bay Shore, Farmingdale, Central Islip, Patchogue, West Babylon and Riverhead branches.

For specific times and branch addresses, go to www.lovebethpage.com  or call (800) 628-7070.

Householders who automatically renew New York homeowners insurance or auto insurance coverage every year may be missing opportunities to reduce their insurance costs. Rather than simply writing a check for insurance premiums and then forgetting the matter for another year, consult our insurance agency; we’ll be happy to obtain a variety of insurance quotes for you and help you to compare offers and find ways of reducing insurance premiums.

Shopping around for insurance is the best way to ensure that you get good value. For example, some groups of policy holders are considered to be low risk by different insurers and may be offered incentives that can reduce insurance costs.

• Retired homeowners who spend a lot of time at home are considered to be at lower risk of burglary than people who leave their homes empty when they go to work.
• Motorists with flawless driving records are considered to be safe drivers and may qualify for discounted auto insurance premiums. 
• Homes that have modern electrical wiring are considered to be less likely than older homes to suffer fire damage as a result of electrical faults.
• Purchasing homeowner’s coverage from the same insurer that provides your auto insurance may qualify you for a multi-policy discount.

We can help you by identifying opportunities for credits, discounts and other incentives that could reduce the cost of New York homeowners insurance and auto insurance. Call us today, and we can start working with you to get the best homeowners and auto insurance deals!

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Every policyholder can include one or more properties in their Business Insurance NY policy. There are three types of property that the named insured can select and add to the insuring declarations, depending on the business owner’s specific insurance needs:

·         Building – this refers to the buildings specified in the policy’s declarations and all finished adjacent structures, indoor and outdoor fixtures, equipment and machinery on the premises.

·         Business Personal Property of the insured business owner inside the insured building, on its premises or in close proximity to the premises. Commercial building insurance covers all kinds of personal property used for the purposes of the business, such as fixtures, computers, furniture, different appliances and machinery, etc. In addition, any improvements made to the building or part of the building, are also covered under commercial building insurance.

·         Personal Property belonging to others, which the insured is in control or care of, is also covered.

·         A number of extra coverages are also included in a commercial building insurance policy. Examples of situations covered under commercial building insurance, include removal of debris expenses, the cost of restoring electronic data, removal of pollutants expenses, property preservation and increased construction costs.

The commercial building insurance coverage can also include other property provided that the policy declarations include a coinsurance provision of at least 80 percent. The following types of property extensions can be additionally applied:

·         Outdoor property;

·         Property located off the main premises;

·         Property that has been constructed or acquired after the policy has come into effect;

·         Recovering of valuable records and data, etc.

young single person moving to New York has much to look forward to. This stage of your life is an important time to lay the groundwork for your future financial security.  You’ll be talking to banks and other financial institutions of course, and it’s worth making contact with an insurance agency; New York is an exciting city but it’s important to have financial protection from some of the risks of Big Apple life.

Have you arranged for renters insurance for your belongings? Although you may think that you don’t have many possessions worth insuring, how much would it cost to replace them quickly if they were lost in a burglary, fire or other catastrophe? Don’t forget that renters’ insurance offers other benefits, including protection for legal costs if someone is injured while visiting your home. Review your renters’ insurance regularly and adjust coverage so that you are fully insured for new possessions you acquire.

Health insurance may seem unimportant to someone who’s young, healthy and single but it’s far from irrelevant. Don’t take the risk of going without health coverage when you’re no longer covered by your parents’ health insurance.

The choices you make about insurance and other financial matters are likely to have far reaching implications; for example, establishing a sound credit history and a good insurance record may be advantageous when you buy your own home and purchase home insurance. Contact our insurance agency in New York and we will guide you through the process of obtaining renters’ insurance, health insurance and other insurance coverage that you need. 

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