When you live in Chester, you have to ask yourself a very important question. Is your home ready if there is ever a disaster? It will be an easier question to answer if you take the time to go

It’s best to use a checklist to see if you have everything you need, room by room. To get you started:

• Have a first aid kit in the kitchen
• Have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and on every level of the house
• Ensure working carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms are on every floor
• Ensure batteries and emergency lighting is around the house, including every room
• Have extra food and water on hand
• Keep protein heavy nonperishable foods in the pantry
• Keep extra blankets around
• Buy a weather radio
• Maintain a list of emergency contact numbers

Depending upon the layout of your home, you want to make sure that you have other supplies as well. If you have bedrooms on the second floor, having an emergency escape ladder can provide a secondary route of escape if needed. You may also want to have a corded phone plugged into your landline on each level of your home in the event you need to call for help.

Check on your home preparedness levels on a regular basis so that if you are short on supplies, you can replenish before a disaster ever threatens to harm your home or your family.

Call The Insurance Outfit today so that one of our insurance agents can talk to you about emergency preparedness as well as the different coverage options that exist in Chester, New Jersey. Our goal is to help you find an affordable policy that provides you with peace of mind all year long.

The independent insurance agents at The Insurance Outfit in Chester, New Jersey can offer solutions before you begin that greatly anticipated home improvement project. Some projects may be covered by insurance while others can cause unexpected costs.

Notifying your insurance agent about your impending project is crucial when beginning a home improvement project. If you build a beautiful sunroom and someone becomes injured in the process, your insurance may not cover the injury if they were not informed of the project beforehand.

Certain large improvement projects can cause the value of your home to increase. Normally this is a good thing, but if something unforeseen happens to your newly remodeled home the insurance may only pay out the amount your home was valued at prior to the improvements. Increasing your limits may be the only solution. Find out from your independent agents at The Insurance Outfit if you have to add that major project to your policy.

Protect yourself from a legal suit by making sure your contractor has the proper liability insurance. Imagine your contractor falling from the roof that he or she is redesigning. He breaks his leg. If he is not properly insured, then you could have to dig through your homeowner’s policy to see if your insurance covers his injuries. In addition, your project will be on hold for days, if not weeks until you can find a new contractor.

Similarly, do-it-yourself jobs can have the same issues. Make sure that your liability insurance covers Uncle Harry spraining his ankle on the loose gravel he was clumsily spreading. He will need X-rays, which include doctors and laboratory bills. The Independent Agents at The Insurance Outfit in New Jersey can help you discover the right kind of coverage you will need for your home improvement project.

It doesn’t matter what kind of home based business you have. Whether you are an entrepreneur or you have simply chosen to run your business out of your home, you have to make sure that the right business insurance is in place. While you can save a lot of money by basing your office out of the home, homeowner’s insurance is not going to provide sufficient insurance protection in all aspects.

Your homeowner’s insurance policy provides personal property coverage – but that may not be sufficient for all of the property that you have, when you start to include everything related to your business. Computers, merchandise, and various other items may require separate business property coverage. This can help to provide sufficient protection in the event of a loss.

Your homeowner’s insurance policy provides personal liability coverage as well. If someone hurts themselves on your property, it can deal with the legal costs and more. However, if it is a client, it may not provide the needed protection. This means you will want to look at a general liability policy – which can also protect you against claims of negligence.

Other types of business coverage may be required as well, and this is going to be based upon the kind of business you are running. You can gain business interruption coverage, equipment breakdown coverage, and even employment practices liability coverage, which is great if you hire any employees.

You need to know about all of your options so that you can close the gap between homeowner’s insurance and business insurance. If there is an issue, you want to know that the protection is there.

Contact us at The Insurance Outfit today to learn more about the cost of homeowner’s insurance and how to cover your home-based business at the same time. Our agents are here to help you in New Jersey.

When you live in Chester, power outages are bound to happen at one point or another. Whether it is as a result of someone getting a power pole or a snowstorm, you want to make sure that you are prepared so that you aren’t having to deal with various safety issues as well as other problems.

Stock Up on Food

You cannot depend upon the food within your refrigerator and freezer because it is likely going to oil before the power comes back on. This means you need to have plenty of food stopped within your pantry that doesn’t require refrigeration or heat. It should be very easy to prepare, such as peanut butter and crackers, granola bars, dried fruit, and Turkey, and more.

Have Light Sources

Various light sources should be on hand, ranging from lanterns to flashlights. You also want to make sure to have plenty of backup batteries.

Obtain Heating Sources

Having a few heating sources can be advantageous. This can be something as simple as a gas grill or something more comprehensive such as an outdoor rocket stove or a solar oven. This will allow you to heat food as well as to boil water for sanitation purposes.

Avoid Restlessness

In today’s day and age, everyone depends upon electricity in one way or another to stay entertained. This includes charging a cell phone, watching TV, playing video games, and more. If there is no power, everyone is going to grow restless very quickly. Avoid this by having board games, card games, and various other things to do.

Call and speak to us at The Insurance Outfit today where we can talk to you about how to prepare for a power outage, ways to obtain the most affordable homeowners insurance policy, and more.

For motorcycles riders, especially those in a relatively populated place like Chester, New Jersey, you learn to always be on-guard when you are out on the road. There are so many different things that can affect your ride and possibly cause an accident, which will result in damage and minor injury at the very least, if not much worse. However, there is an especially dangerous time of the year and that is deer season, where bucks, does and fawns are migrating through the woods and often crossing into the road at their own volition. Hitting a deer in a car is bad but hitting a deer on a motorcycle is dangerous if not deadly. Below are some tips on how motorcycle riders should prepare for the upcoming deer season in Chester, New Jersey.

Wear a Helmet

This is the law in New Jersey anyway, though many motorcycle riders don’t regularly abide by it. But if you hit a deer, the helmet you are wearing or not wearing could literally be the difference between life and death.

One Deer Often Means Many More

Just because you see one deer crossing in front of you on the road doesn’t mean you are in the clear. Deer travel in groups, so watch out for others following close behind who might dart out in front of you.

Don’t Speed 

Speeding is one of the main culprits for most accidents. So during deer season, try to keep your speed down but still safe enough to ride in traffic.

Have The Right Insurance 

Contact a company like The Insurance Outfit, who serves greater Chester, New Jersey, to make sure you and your motorcycle are properly covered during deer season.

Spread Out When Riding in A Group

As bad as hitting a deer is hitting other motorcyclists on the road who are your friends who have stopped suddenly to avoid hitting a deer. So when riding as a group, spread out a little bit. 

If you’ve recently moved to Chester, NJ, we at The Insurance Outfit can help you find renters insurance for your new apartment or rental home. Renters insurance is location-specific, even down to the building you live in, so it’s important to update your insurance when you move. Our independent insurance agents can help you make sure you’re properly insured and if you need a new policy, we can help you find an affordable one.

Renters Insurance Is Location-Specific

Renters insurance provides tenants with important protections, like personal property coverage and liability coverage, and everyone who rents should be insured — regardless of where they live. Many renters insurance policies include similar coverages, but every policy is specific to a location.

Therefore, if you’ve moved to Chester, NJ, you need to update your insurance so that you’re insured in your new apartment. Depending on your insurance policy, you may be able to simply notify your insurer of your new address. You may, however, have to purchase an entirely new renters insurance policy if your previous insurer doesn’t offer insurance in New Jersey.

Renters Insurance Agents Will Help

Regardless of who your previous insurance policy is serviced through, we can  help you update your insurance coverage. It’s our way of welcoming new renters who move to Chester, NJ.

Our independent insurance agents can review your former policy and help you find similar coverage for your new home. As they help you update your insurance, they can also compare your policy’s rates with the going market rates in Chester. If there is a better deal available, they’ll let you know. To get in touch with one of our renters insurance agents, contact them through our agency’s website.