When you rent a residence, having renters’ insurance is a must. It protects you in a number of ways, and it can ruin you financially if you don’t have this coverage. If you need renters insurance, contact us today at Jim Boyce Insurance in Matthews, NC. 

Renters’ Insurance for Your Belongings

Unlike home and condo insurance, renters’ insurance does not cover the building or unit that you live in. The landlord has to insure it and is responsible for fixing it after a disaster or calamity. However, like those policies, renters’ insurance covers the belongings that you have inside your home. If a serious incident should happen that ruins, or destroys, your possessions, your renters’ insurance will pay for you to replace them. This is important coverage for every renter, and no renter should be without it. 

Coverage for Your Liability

It is possible for a guest in your home to have an accident or get sick and for you to be found liable for it. This can mean lawsuits and huge legal and medical bills that you would be responsible for. However, renters’ insurance comes with coverage for that liability. If someone does get sick or injured in your rented home, your renters’ insurance liability coverage will pay for those bills up to the policy’s maximum so that you don’t have to. 

Insurance for Your Standard of Living

If a serious incident like a disaster or other tragedy were to occur and your rented home was left uninhabitable, you will have to live somewhere else while it is being fixed. Renters’ insurance can help in this situation as well. It pays for you to move out and to live elsewhere while the landlord has the rental fixed. This keeps you at a higher standard of living instead of forcing you to stay in a ruined home. 

Renters’ Insurance

If you don’t have renters’ insurance yet, call us at Jim Boyce Insurance in Matthews, NC.

When floods strike, they result in property damage and even loss of lives. And woe unto you if you don’t have flood insurance for your home. Why? While you may have home insurance, it doesn’t protect you against floods. And if the federal state doesn’t declare that the floods in your area as a national disaster, you will have to finance repairs to your home from your pocket.

Understanding flood insurance can be frustrating if you are not familiar with this coverage. With this in mind, Jim Boyce Insurance of Matthews, NC wants to dissect flood insurance to its basics for you to understand it in detail.

What is flood insurance? 

If your home is damaged from water accumulation from the inside (perhaps due to faulty pipes), this is considered unexpected, and your typical homeowner’s insurance should pay for the damages. However, flooding from the outside is considered common, and in such instances, you need stand-alone flood insurance coverage to cover your damages. 

What does flood insurance cover?

Your flood insurance has two types of coverages, namely: dwelling coverage and contents coverage. The dwelling coverage protects your building structure, including the foundation, electrical and plumbing system, air conditioning system, cabinets, and other fixed appliances. If you get coverage from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), your home is protected up to $250,000, but you can increase the limit at an additional premium.

The contents coverage protects your assets, including clothing, furniture, electronics, curtains, portable appliances, and other assets. The maximum coverage limit is $100,000.

• Pro-tip: Since flood insurance requires 30 days to come into effect, you need to avoid a last-minute rush if you want optimal coverage. 

Is flood insurance mandatory?

No law in North Carolina requires homeowners to purchase flood insurance. However, you may need flood insurance if a mortgage finances your house. 

Buy flood insurance today!

Because every home is at risk of flooding, you need to protect your home with flood insurance? If you are in Matthews, NC, and its environs, please talk to Jim Boyce Insurance for an affordable flood insurance quote. 

At Jim Boyce Insurance, we’re a committed insurance company that offers the best to our clients. That is why we have been offering umbrella insurance to our customers in Matthews, NC. 

What is Umbrella Insurance?

Traditionally, most insurance policies have some limits. This means that there is an extent to which they will not cover. This is where umbrella insurance comes in. It helps you cater to expenses that have gone beyond the standard limit of your insurance policies.

If you already have an insurance policy, it doesn’t mean that you’re fully covered. You should make sure that you have umbrella insurance for complete coverage. Here are some of the areas where umbrella insurance will cover. 

Bodily Injury Liability

Bodily injury liability is coverage that helps you to cover for the injuries you have inflicted on another person. It involves medical expenses and compensation for lost wages. If your bodily injury liability is exhausted, umbrella insurance will come in handy and help you to cover such expenses. 

Property Damage Liability

If you damage other people’s property, your property damage liability helps you out by taking care of the necessary repairs or replacements. However, such liabilities might be too much to cover using your property damage liability. Umbrella insurance will cater to the extra costs that your policy is not covering. 

Personal Injuries

If you get injuries in a car accident, your auto insurance is supposed to cover your medical expenses and any other arising charges. However, when your injuries are severe, personal injury protection might not be enough. Instead of paying out-of-pocket, you can use umbrella insurance to cater for such expenses.

If you live in Matthews, NC, you cannot afford to live with the fear that your insurance policies might not provide full coverage. At Jim Boyce Insurance, we will help you get umbrella insurance to cater to what goes beyond your limits.

Jim Boyce Insurance is committed to the safety of our Matthews, NC motorcyclist customers. According to the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, one in five motorcycle crashes will cause neck or head injuries. These types of injuries account for the most fatal injuries to motorcyclists. This is why North Carolina law requires a motorcycle operator and all passengers to wear a helmet while riding. 

Choosing The Right Type Of Helmet

Motorcycle safety helmets must conform to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety standard number 218. The standards apply to all styles of the helmet including three-quarter and full face. These requirements include:

• Thick Inner Liner  – Each helmet must have a 1inch thick polystyrene foam inner liner. You should be able to feel the thickness of the liner as you wear the helmet.
• DOT sticker – A compliant helmet will have a DOT symbol sticker permanently installed on the back of the helmet. Purchasing a sticker separately does not mean the helmet is compliant.
• Manufacturer’s Label – This label found on the inside of the helmet will contain important information such as the manufacturer’s name, model, and date of manufacture. It will also include the type of shell and liner used in the helmet’s construction and instruction label for maintaining the helmet.

Other Important Safety Features

The helmet should fit snugly All the way around your head. There should be no obvious defect such as frayed straps, loose padding, or cracks. Helmets should always be securely fastened, so they won’t be lost during a crash.

Eye and face protection are an important consideration. Goggles or shatter-resistant face shields protect your entire face during an accident. They also protect you from general hazards while riding such as wind, dirt, rain, and insects.

If you are a motorcyclist in the Matthews, NC area, please reach out to Jim Boyce Insurance today to learn more about motorcycle safety and insurance.

One hard lesson that many business owners learn is that commercial policies have coverage limits. This means that once a policy coverage level is reached, coverage is exhausted and liability falls to the policy owner. Fortunately, commercial umbrella policies are available to commercial policyholders whose primary policy is exhausted. Jim Boyce Insurance is here to provide the guidance and information necessary for Matthews, NC area business owners to determine if an umbrella policy is right for them.

Benefits of a Commercial Umbrella Policy

Liability insurance can make the difference between easily recovering from a catastrophic, covered event and failure. Too many businesses suffer from frivolous lawsuits or employee-driven issues that can quickly deplete their primary or basic commercial coverage. Those that have umbrella coverage are able to rest assured that if their primary policy is exhausted their hard work and business will remain protected. 

In today’s litigious environment, there are often unfair and unscrupulous lawsuits that can all but destroy a business. Whatever your industry, knowing that your firm will be protected to a higher level than a basic policy provides can offer peace of mind. When you know that you have the insurance protection that you need, you are able to fully focus on the important work of your business. 

Commercial coverage needs to be robust and comprehensive in order to provide adequate protection for many situations. Now is an ideal time to find out the umbrella policy options that are available to NC businesses. 

Find out more about the benefits of umbrella insurance today

If you are a business owner serving the greater Matthews, NC community, call Jim Boyce Insurance today and schedule a consultation. We can work with you to help you choose a robust insurance portfolio that covers your protection needs. 

People that are in the Matthews, NC area could be better off renting instead of buying in some cases. Those that rent will have more flexibility on an annual basis and will not have the same responsibilities as a property owner. Along with renting, you also need to get proper insurance. There are a few reasons that you should get a renters insurance plan when moving into a new home. 

Insurance Protects Personal Assets

A reason that you should get a renters insurance plan is that it can protect your personal assets. When you move into a new rental property, you are going to bring your furniture, electronics, and other assets that you will have invested a lot to acquire. If you do not have coverage and are a victim of theft, fire damage or another form of loss, you will not have coverage for these. With renters insurance, you can have coverage to replace these items. 

Insurance is Often Required

You will also want to get renters insurance as it could be a lease requirement. Many landlords require all tenants to get renters insurance. This coverage can help to provide liability protection for the tenant, which can ultimately protect the landlord as well. Usually, you will need to provide evidence of your coverage before moving into your new home. 

Anyone that wants to rent a home in the Matthews, NC area should spend time assessing their insurance needs. For those that are going to get coverage here, speaking with the team at Jim Boyce Insurance is a good option. The insurance professionals with Jim Boyce Insurance can help you assess your needs and build a plan that will provide the right coverage to ensure your assets are protected and you are in lease compliance. 

For over 20 years, Jim Boyce Insurance has proudly served the Matthews, NC community.  We strive to ensure that our clients find the policies they need to protect their assets. As an independent agency, we have established partnerships with multiple carriers around the country.

The Benefits Of Classic Car Insurance

Your classic car is one of your most valuable possessions. In order to protect your investment, explore the benefits of classic car insurance. Classic car insurance helps you maintain the value of one of your most prized possessions. The state of North Carolina is known for its love of classic cars. Classic car insurance protects you as you travel to car shows in Matthews, NC and on other special occasions. In order for your vehicle to maintain its classic status, it’s important that you only drive it selectively. You should not use it as your everyday method of transportation. Your classic car policy will likely include a mileage limit that outlines the number of miles that you are allowed to put on your vehicle during the calendar year.

Classic car insurance does cover your vehicle in the unfortunate event that you are involved in a collision or if someone vandalizes your vehicle. Liability coverage protects you if you are involved in an accident and you cause someone to get injured or you cause damages to someone’s property. Storage coverage is important. As your classic car is such a valuable asset, you should store it somewhere safe and secure.

However, accidents can happen at any time. The policy covers your vehicle if the storage unit is damaged due to a fire or another type of natural disaster. This should give you peace of mind that you’ll be protected regardless if something unexpected happens.

Jim Boyce Insurance Will Help You Protect Your Asset

Visit our website today to learn more information on classic car insurance.  

Let’s be honest – life insurance isn’t that exciting to most people and when you consider that you also have to face the thought of your own death it becomes even less of a priority. With a higher number of millennials facing student loan debt in numbers that have never been seen before, it becomes even more important for that generation to protect their loved ones from financial ruin by purchasing life insurance. Having life insurance becomes even more important when you are married because it is likely that your financial obligations have increased, but even if you are single someone is still responsible for paying off any of your debts at your passing which could leave a loved one vulnerable to financial distress.

Put simply, life insurance offers a tax-free payment to the beneficiary if the insured dies while the policy is effective. While the beneficiaries can use the money however they want, the payout is intended to be used for paying debt, replacing the insured person’s income, funeral expenses, and providing the recipient with enough money that they can withstand the loss of their loved one’s income. When deciding how much life insurance to purchase, it is important to consider whether you are the primary income earner in the household, what debt you have including mortgage or student loans, and what you are trying to save for in the future like a college fund for your kids. 

Once that’s done, you can choose between term life and whole life insurance. Term life, as the name implies, only provides coverage for a certain number of years while whole life is in force so long as the policy is current. At Jim Boyce Insurance in Matthews, NC we can help you navigate your life insurance options and help you find the perfect policy for your needs. 

Owning a small business comes with risks, it is unavoidable. How you prepare and plan for these risks determines how well your business survives them. Commercial insurance is many different lines of coverage. Not every one of them is right for your small business but some of them will be. Talking to an independent insurance agent who you trust can go a long way toward making sure you have the right coverage. For those who live in Matthews, NC, Jim Boyce Insurance is the place to go. 

Commercial property insurance

Commercial property insurance covers the place where you do business whether you own or lease the building. It covers your fixtures, the machinery you have, the office equipment, and furniture. It covers everything that you use as part of your business and may cover some personal items if they are on the premises when the peril occurs. It also protects your records. 

Commercial auto insurance

If your business owns even one vehicle you need to insure it with a commercial auto policy, that is the law in North Carolina. It is also just good business to keep your personal life and your business life separate. 

Workers’ compensation

If you have three or more employees, either full time or part-time, the law in the state of North Carolina requires that you provide workers’ compensation insurance. Protecting your employees is always good for your business. 

Commercial liability insurance

Bad things happen and people sue. Small businesses are vulnerable to legal suits for a variety of reasons. It can be an injury someone receives at your business or by using one of your products or services. 

Commercial insurance helps to protect your small business from all the perils that life can throw at it. Having the right lines of coverage is important. If you are in Matthews, NC, Jim Boyce Insurance has a knowledgeable team to help. Stop in at our office or give us a call for a no-hassle quote.