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Draper, UT 84020

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Natural Catastrophe Insurance: What is it? Do I Need it?

Your home insurance covers your home against numerous natural disasters, including volcanic eruptions, hail, lightning, tornadoes, and wildfires. While your homeowner’s insurance covers you against a wide range of natural disasters, it doesn’t cover common risks like flooding and earthquakes.

Home insurance is a bare minimum if you want all-rounded protection for your home. If you live in an area ravaged by floods and earthquakes, invest in natural catastrophe insurance from United Insurance Services Inc. in Bluffdale, UT.

What is natural catastrophe insurance?

What does it cover?

This coverage is what you would expect from the name — it covers you against natural disasters. The coverage you receive depends on the vulnerability of your location. The common natural disasters covered by natural catastrophe insurance include:

  • Floods: Whether your home is located near a waterbody or not, it’s never safe from flooding. Flash floods are common and usually cause significant property damage when they strike. Since typical home insurance doesn’t cover flood damage, you must purchase supplemental coverage. This policy covers damage to your building and the contents inside.
  • Earthquakes: While earth movements and sinkholes can cause significant damage to your home, they aren’t covered by home insurance. Purchasing earthquake insurance covers your building, its contents, and loss of use.
  • Tornadoes: Typical home insurance covers damage linked to tornadoes — hail and windstorms. However, if you live in a location prone to tornadoes, home insurance won’t cover you against them. As such, please invest in separate coverage. 

Contact Us Today

Since you have invested a lot in your home, it makes sense to do everything possible to protect it. While home insurance is a powerful investment, it isn’t sufficient on its own. Do consider investing in natural catastrophe insurance to cover gaps inherent in your home insurance. Get in touch with United Insurance Services Inc. in Bluffdale, UT today for more information. 

What Should I Know About Roadside Assistance?

When you’re tiring to decide what coverage to have in an auto insurance policy, roadside assistance is an optional piece to consider. Here at United Insurance Services Inc. in Bluffdale, UT, we are committed to helping our customers understand everything they need to know.

Understanding Roadside Assistance

Roadside assistance is exactly what it sounds like. Should you have problems with your vehicle, such as a breakdown or dead battery, you have access to help. More importantly, it’s available 24 hours a day, whenever you need it. You might use these services to get a tow to a nearby mechanic or simply jumpstart your battery on a cold winter morning.

Coverage For Roadside Assistance 

As mentioned earlier, roadside assistance is an optional coverage that you can add to your auto insurance policy. Here are some situations where it could be useful for policy owners.

  • Dispatching a tow– Have you broken down on the side of the road? Roadside assistance can provide a tow (within specified mileage) to get the repairs you need. 
  • Jumpstart a battery or vehicle lockout- You can have someone come to your location should you get locked out of your car or you need to get your battery jumped.
  • Gas delivery- It’s common for motorists to misjudge how much fuel they have left. Roadside assistance can help should you run out of fuel unexpectedly.
  • Flat tires- Getting a flat tire is more common than you think. Calling someone to help repair it can keep you safe on crowded highways.

Find Out More About Auto Insurance

Are you considering auto insurance for a new or pre-owned vehicle? United Insurance Services Inc. in Bluffdale, UT would love to get you started. Get in touch with us today to learn more about our insurance options. 

Reasons You Need Home Insurance

When you buy your first home, you are probably worried about all of the costs that you are going to have over the next few years. Not only are you going to have a mortgage, but you also have to consider insurance and taxes. In fact, you may try to get away from homeowners insurance. However, that could be a big mistake. 

United Insurance Services Inc in Draper, UT can help you navigate this important insurance coverage.

Here are some reasons you should consider buying homeowner’s insurance:

Your homeowner’s insurance will help fix your home if something happens to it

There are many things that can happen to a home. A tree may fall on it. You may get hail or wind damage to your roof. It will even help with fire damage, among other things. 

It can also help with water damage

Plumbing problems can quickly become major problems, and your homeowner’s policy will help cover the damage that may occur with a leak. 

Homeowner’s policies also cover liability

This will basically protect you if someone gets injured at your home. It will help pay their medical bills, as well as any legal fees that you may be facing from the incident. 

Your mortgage company may require it

Most lenders want to make sure that their investment is protected. They want to make sure that the damage will get fixed. 

Though you may want to save money, it could be a big mistake. Your homeowner’s policy will help to fix up your home if something happens. It will also protect you if someone gets hurt. Your insurance company may also require it, in order to get a loan. 

Give Us A Call

If you want to make sure that your home is protected against anything that could happen, don’t hesitate to contact us today at United Insurance Services Inc in Draper, UT. 

Natural Catastrophes in Utah: What Kind Of Disasters Can You Expect

In Utah, you’re bound to experience a wild adventure at some point in your life. Our many valleys, canyons, mesas, and plateaus are a testament to how volatile our state’s natural environment can be. If you’re not careful and know what to expect, these natural hazards can wreak havoc on your life. We at United Insurance Services, Inc. in Bluffdale, UT help our clients navigate this important insurance covereage. 

Here is a list of our most common natural catastrophes:

Wildfires

Wildfires are a common occurrence in Utah. The state has one of the highest rates of wildfire per capita in the U.S. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, 1,085 fires scorched 60,863 acres in Utah in 2021 alone.

Flash Flooding

Flash flooding is a leading cause of natural disasters in Utah, according to the Utah Division of Water Resources. The state experiences flash flooding several times yearly, usually during the summer months. Intense rainstorms can cause flash floods, blocked storm drains, and overflowing rivers and reservoirs.

Landslides

The steep and mountainous terrain of Utah is prone to landslides. The most endangered lands include agricultural lands, rangelands, and residential properties. Over 10 million acres in the state are at risk for slope instability, including urban areas such as Ogden and Summit County.

Give Us A Call

Your home is a personal sanctuary, and you want to protect it from any disaster. Preparing for sudden events such as earthquakes, wildfires, floods, and even tornadoes is essential. While you can’t prepare for every possible disaster that might strike your home, you can protect yourself financially with a natural catastrophe insurance policy from United Insurance Services, Inc. in Bluffdale, UT. Contact us online, over the phone, or in-person to learn more!

What Should I Do After a Car Accident?

If you have a car accident, it may help to think about what you should do afterward in advance. Not everyone can think about the appropriate steps when they are worried about the damage to the vehicles or some other problem. United Insurance Services, Inc. in Bluffdale, UT is happy to provide some suggestions on what to do after a car accident.

Steps To Take After A Car Accident

In the state of Utah, you would need to call the police after you are involved in a car accident. 

You, also, need to get information from the other person or people in the accident and witnesses, such as names, telephone numbers, addresses, and driver’s license numbers. Make a note of the date, time, and location of the accident, the road conditions, the make, model, and year of the vehicles involved, insurance companies and policy numbers, any damage and injury information, and what you saw and what happened. 

Contact your insurance company as soon as possible following the accident. 

Be certain to make notes in reference to your conversations with the insurance company, any police, lawyers, or other persons involved in the accident. 

Find out if you could get a rental vehicle, if you need one, with your insurance policy. 

If you have a disagreement with your insurance company about the amount of compensation you should get, contact your state insurance department. The Utah Insurance Department’s Property and Casualty Division can be reached at (800) 439-3805. 

Ask for a recommendation from your insurance company for a shop to repair any damages to your vehicle. Find out if they will pay you or the repair shop, too.

Give Us A Call

Contact United Insurance Services, Inc., serving the greater Bluffdale, UT community, to get an insurance policy that would help you if you have a car accident. They will be on your side and help you with your problem.

Is my work shop covered by my homeowner’s policy?

When it comes to providing answers to insurance questions, the residents of the greater Bluffdale, UT area rely on the team at United Insurance Services Inc. Making sure that all of the buildings on your property are protected is an important part of finding the right home policy. Give us a call today with any questions that you may have. 

Protecting all of the buildings on your property

Many think that homeowner’s insurance will only cover their home, but this isn’t always the case. There are policies that will cover all of the properties on your properties, such as garden sheds, workshops, and other outbuildings. 

If you have buildings in addition to your home that you want to protect, it is possible to do so with a single policy. Your current homeowner policy may not provide adequate protection if you decide to build a workshop on the property. Because, even as there are a number of different policy options when it comes to these types of structures, not all do.

Take the time to carefully review your current policy, or take the time to sit down with your local agent to discuss it. Having the right protection in place for your workshop can be of great importance if there is a loss or catastrophic event. Going without the proper coverage could mean that you and your family are financially responsible for any loss that occurs in that building. 

You can rely on us for all of your insurance needs!

United Insurance Services Inc. is here to serve all of the insurance needs of the greater Bluffdale, UT community. If you have any questions related to any type of insurance, please get in touch! Feel free to stop by our office or give us a call today!

Levels of Natural Catastrophe Insurance

Your home insurance covers you for a specific set of perils; typically 10, 16, or all perils. However, you need to add natural catastrophe insurance to cover earthquake, flood, and landslide perils. No home insurance covers floods and most don’t cover earthquakes or landslides, even with all-perils coverage. You can still protect your home or business from these three perils with natural catastrophe insurance, also known as Nat Cat insurance.

The insurance industry realizes that there is no one size fits all policy. You can choose from various levels of coverage, including:

  • Contents only,
  • Structural only,
  • Contents and structural.

If you rent your home, you would require a contents-only policy. Your landlord would choose a structural policy if they rent an unfurnished home, but a contents and structural policy if they rent a furnished home. Likewise, if you own your home, you would choose contents and structural coverage.

You can reside in any type of abode and obtain cat insurance. This includes mobile homes as long as they use tie-downs to ensure they remain anchored to the ground.

With respect to the flood coverage in the cat insurance, you can obtain it through the government’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or through the Natural Catastrophe Insurance Program (NCIP). Either option fulfills the flood insurance requirement of a financial lending institution from which you obtained your mortgage.

For more information on Nat Cat insurance or to get a quote on coverage for your home or business, contact United Insurance Services Inc. serving Bluffdale, UT. Let us help you properly insure your home against natural catastrophes.

What is Liability Car Insurance?

Accidents are an unfortunate reality of driving a vehicle, and while you’ll hopefully avoid being in one, having the right insurance coverage is key. If you are deemed legally responsible for a car accident, then you may be on the hook for paying all related medical bills, auto repairs, and physical property damage for yourself and any third parties involved. Consequently, having adequate liability coverage on your personal auto insurance policy is vital. Liability insurance can vary from provider to provider, but it typically includes two key components:

  1. Bodily Injury Liability: If you are at fault in an accident, bodily injury liability will cover the medical bills for those injured up to your policy limits. Additionally, it will cover legal fees and loss of income that a third party suffers by not being able to work.
  2. Property Damage Liability: Pays for the costs to repair or replace items damaged in an accident, such as a vehicle, home, fencing, or store.

Utah requires that all motorists maintain at least the below liability coverage:

  • Bodily injury liability: $25,000 per person and $65,000 per accident
  • Property damage liability: $15,000 per accident
  • Personal injury protection: $3,000 per accident
  • Uninsured motorist: $25,000 per person and $65,000 per accident
  • Underinsured motorist: $25,000 per person and $65,000 per accident

When shopping for an auto insurance policy, keep in mind that these figures are just the minimum. An accident is likely to exhaust your liability coverage quickly if you only go with the minimum requirements. Consequently, you will want to purchase a liability insurance policy with enough coverage to protect the entirety of your assets if you are responsible for an accident.

At United Insurance Services Inc. in Bluffdale, UT, we know the insurance industry inside and out, so we’ll be able to help you find the perfect auto insurance policy. 

Unusual Circumstances Home Insurance May Cover

Most homeowners think about a tree limb puncturing a roof or a windstorm causing shingles to fly off the roof when it comes to home insurance claims. While these situations are generally covered under a typical insurance policy in Draper, UT, home insurance offers protection for a number of situations, many of which you may not think about. United Insurance Services, Inc. shares a few of those unusual circumstances.

Dog Bites

In the event that your dog escapes the backyard and hurts a passerby, things can get serious. Depending on the severity and location of the bite, the medical expenses this person has to pay can be significant. There is also a risk of a lawsuit.

The good news is your home insurance will pay for most expenses associated with a dog bite. Of course, you will need to first ensure that the breed of your dog is not an excluded breed from your policy.

Spoiled Food

If you have a large freezer or a separate deep freeze, you may stock up on certain foods when they are on sale. Unfortunately, it only takes a lengthy power outage for these foods to thaw and spoil. During the summer, the outage doesn’t even have to be very long.

In the event this happens to you, you should speak to your insurance company about reimbursement. Although not all, many insurers offer coverage for situations like this one.

Fire Department Fees

If your house catches fire, the effects can truly be devastating. This is true even if the fire department is able to arrive and put the fire out. Unfortunately, some fire departments charge you for their services (putting out the fire).

Luckily, your home insurance policy will usually cover these charges as well as the cost of property damage from the fire.

When you need home insurance for your property, reach out to the agents at United Insurance Services, Inc. serving the Draper, UT area.

How you can protect your home from a natural catastrophe

If you are a homeowner in the greater Bluffdale, UT area, the team at United Insurance Services Inc. is here for you. We are proud to serve the insurance needs of our friends and neighbors in this wonderful community. Call or stop by our office today to find out the many policy options that can help you keep your property protected.

Keep your home protected with a robust homeowner’s policy

Our homes are likely to be the largest financial investment that we make in our lifetimes. By having catastrophe insurance in place, you can be sure that your home is protected. We never know what Mother Nature may send our way, and it is best to be protected! Having a local agent help you review your insurance for completeness is a great first step.

When it comes to home and family, our houses are the bedrock of our happiness. Don’t neglect the sanctuary that is your home. Being underinsured can be almost as disruptive as having no insurance at all. As your home appreciates and gains value, you will want to ensure that your insurance policies keep pace. 

Now is a perfect time to review all of your policies and determine if you have the level of protection that you need to protect your home and family.

Don’t delay, protect your home now

United Insurance Services Inc. is here to provide the greater Bluffdale, UT community with the insurance coverage it needs. If you would like to learn more about the homeowner and catastrophe policy options that are available in our community, call or stop by our office today!