5 Ways To Ready Your Car For Fall In New Jersey

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It’s important to prepare for the weather in NJ. There are five ways to prepare so you can deal with what the fall and winter months are going to bring. By taking the time to schedule the inspections and such, you can drive around town with more peace of mind.

Check Brakes

One of the last thing you want to worry about is whether your brakes are going to grip the roads or not. When there is ice or a problem on the road, you want to be able to stop and know that your brakes are capable of doing the job.

Schedule HVAC Inspection

An HVAC inspection is going to look at your heating system, the ventilation, as well as your air-conditioning. This will ensure that you are comfortable as you drive and that the defroster will take care of clearing the windows as needed.

Buy New Wiper Blades

New wiper blades should be purchased in the fall so that you are able to clear off ice, sleet, and anything else that may land on the window. If you have a back windshield wiper, these need to be replaced as well.

Have Tires Checked

Your tires need to be checked for bald spots, bulges, and more. The tire pressure can change as the weather gets colder and a significant amount of tread depth is required to grip the roads effectively, especially once it starts to snow in the winter months.

Schedule Maintenance

You should also schedule maintenance with your local mechanic. This will allow you to find out what needs to be done based on the make and model of your car as well as the amount of mileage that you have.

Call and talk to one of our independent insurance agents at The Insurance Outfit today. We look forward to helping you find a policy in NJ that works for you.

 

 

Reduce the Cost of Your Road Trip with These 3 Tips — And Make Sure You’re Insured

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At The Insurance Outfit, we know first-hand how important saving money is to drivers in Chester, NJ. Our independent insurance agents help people find ways to save on their auto insurance every day. In order to further serve the drivers of Chester and nearby New Jersey cities, we’ve compiled a few ways to reduce the costs of road trips.

Reducing the Cost of Road Trips

If you’re planning a road trip, there are a few things you can do to reduce how much the adventure will cost you. The most significant thing you can do is drive a small, fuel-efficient car. If you only have a large, gas-guzzling SUV, consider borrowing someone’s car or even renting one (although this would increase the cost of your trip). You can further reduce your expenses by driving the speed limit, using cruise control which will improve your gas mileage, and staying with friends, rather than in hotels.

Keeping Your Auto Insurance Policy

If you borrow a friend’s vehicle to save on gas, make sure you’ll still be insured while on the road. Your friend should have auto insurance that will provide you with coverage, but you should still have your own auto insurance policy that will provide coverage while driving your friend’s car.

If you have questions about whether either your friend’s or your auto insurance policy will cover you while driving your friend’s car, feel free to contact our independent insurance agents. They can review your policy, and they can help you find a different policy if yours doesn’t provide the protection you need. To get in touch with our auto insurance agents, contact us through our website or call our office.

 

Check Your Renters Insurance Policy when Moving to Chester, NJ

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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.

Keep Your Vehicle Running Smoothly This Summer and for Years to Come

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Summer is a great time of year, but the hot weather can be tough on your vehicle. In order to keep you car or truck running smoothly for years to come, you’ll need to give it some attention this summer. We at The Insurance Outfit have three specific suggestions for taking care of your car this summer.

Keep Your Vehicle Running Smoothly

Automobiles can run for years, reaching hundreds of thousands of miles when they’re properly maintained and operated. To ensure that your vehicle lasts a long time, be sure to:

  • check its fluids regularly
  • maintain proper air pressure in its tires at all times
  • fill up the gas tank before the empty light comes on

None of these actions takes long to do, but they can have a lasting impact on the life span of your vehicle if you see to them.

Insure Your Vehicle

In addition to properly maintaining your automobile, you also need to carry auto insurance. Your auto insurance needs may change as your vehicle ages. An older car might not need the same amount of protection as a new one. At The Insurance Outfit, we can help you find auto insurance now, and we’ll be there when you need to adjust your coverage in the future.

For help finding auto insurance, either log onto our website or give one of our independent insurance agents a call. Regardless of how you contact us, as an independent insurance agency we will compare all of the policies offered by insurers in New Jersey to help find you the best one. We’ve helped many drivers in Chester, NJ, and we’re ready to assist you, too.

Clean Your Home Faster With These Tips

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There are various home cleaning tips to help you clean your home faster in Chester, New Jersey. After all, why would you want to spend any additional time on your chores than you have to? Some of these may be completely new to you, and you may find yourself asking why you haven’t thought about these before.

Dusting Fans 
Use an old pillowcase over each of the fan blades. The dust will fall into the pillowcase when you wipe backwards, ensuring the dust falls into the case instead of on you or anything that you have recently cleaned.

Cleaning Hard Water Stains
Hard water stains can be cleaned easily using distilled white vinegar. When you are trying to get it off of your shower head and other areas, fill a bag with the vinegar and rubber band the bag over the shower head or faucet to keep it in place for a few hours. Then remove the bag and wipe away the grime.

Removing Greasy Finger Prints
Use a piece of white chalk to draw over all of the greasy fingerprints. Allow it to sit for a few minutes and then wipe off the chalk. This will take the greasy marks with them.

Cleaning Stainless Steel
The stainless steel of your kitchen sink, bathroom, and more can be cleaned by using a combination of powdered laundry detergent and hot water. It will create a paste that you can apply and allowed to sit for about an hour before rinsing it clean.

There are plenty of other tips out there, and you can clean your home faster when you implement them.

Let one of our agents at The Insurance Outfit assist you with finding affordable insurance quotes and answering questions you may have about home insurance in Chester.

 

 

BBQ Tips To Keep Your Home Safer

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When you set up the barbecue at your Chester, NJ home, it is important to focus on safety. It doesn’t matter what you are grilling, safety needs to be a top concern in order to keep your home as safe as can be. Otherwise, you run the risk of damaging it with smoke and/or fire.

You need to keep your grill at least 20 feet away from your home once it has been lit. Avoid using it inside of your garage or a screened in patio. This is because you need to allow the smoke somewhere to go, other than your home.

Always use caution when grilling, as various pieces of grease and oily foods can fall into the flames, causing a flare-up. There may also be hot embers that will blow off of the grill and onto flammable items, such as furniture or clothing. This is why you want to remove as many things away from the grill as possible.

It is also a best practice to keep a spray bottle of water and a fire extinguisher nearby. This allows you to keep control of flare-ups and flames.

A clean grill is a safe grill. Using a wire brush on the grates will help to remove any debris that could otherwise smoke or cause a fire.

When it’s time to clean up at the end of your grilling session, be sure everything has cooled down. Never throw hot briquettes into a trashcan, and if you are cooking with gas, be sure that you close the gas valve so that nothing leaks out.

Being a responsible homeowner means knowing and utilizing these BBQ tips.

Call The Insurance Outfit today to learn more about keeping your home safe. We can provide you with quotes for home insurance and much more in Chester, NJ.

 

 

Four Ways to Save Money On Car Insurance

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When it comes to saving money on auto insurance, there are several tips and tricks you can follow.  Here’s a closer look at these tricks and how you can use them to lower your premium amounts.

Set up auto pay

Many insurance companies will allow you to earn a discount if you set up your premiums to be paid automatically out of your checking or savings account each month.  It might not be a huge discount, but even $5 a month adds up to a total savings of $60 a year.  

Opt for liability insurance

There are three basic types of insurance:

  • Liability
  • Liability with comprehensive coverage
  • Full coverage

Full coverage is usually the most expensive with liability being the cheapest.  If you have a car that is valued under $5,000, you might want to consider investing in a liability-only policy or liability and comprehensive coverage.  While full coverage is nice to have, being that the premiums are higher than liability coverage, it may be more reasonable to invest in a cheaper policy being that the car isn’t worth very much.  An insurance agent can help you decide whether or not to invest in full coverage. 

Ask for special discounts

Depending on where you live and what you do for a living, you may qualify for certain discounts.  Take for instance that you’re a full-time student at a local college.  Being a student with good grades usually qualifies you for a discount of anywhere from five to 20 percent. The more claims you make, the higher your rates will be.  Thus being accident-free is sure to keep your rates lower.  

To learn more about saving money on your auto insurance, contact us today!

When You Need Disability and Long Term Care Insurance

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Nearly 20% of the population is disabled in the United States. It’s reasonable to assume that none of these people thought they would be unable to work because of a disability, but it happened. The unexpected happened and it changed their lives forever. Fortunately, while you are still able-bodied, you can take measures to protect your family’s future from disability and the rising costs of long term care using insurance in Chester, NJ. 

When to Purchase Disability and Long Term Care Insurance
Insurance products are always based on calculated risks. The best time to purchase insurance is when you don’t have many risks, such as health risk, work-related risks, etc. Ultimately, you should purchase disability and long term care insurance as soon as possible, earlier would have been better. 

Purchasing these types of insurances when you are younger means you pay less for each policy because you are considered less of a risk to the insurance company. For instance, an individual who purchases their long term care and disability at 20 will likely pay less than someone who purchases their policies at the age of 40. Why? Individuals who are 40-years old face more risks. They are more likely to file a claim than an individual who is 20-years-old.

Where to Purchase Disability and Long Term Care Insurance
Like other types of insurance, our insurance companies have a plethora of options available so that you can get the disability and long term care insurance that is right for you. By speaking with one of our licensed insurance agents today, you can make an informed decision about what type of insurance and what amount of insurance is right for your family in Chester, NJ.

3 Ways Your Commercial Auto Insurance Supports Your Business Strategy

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The Willowwood Arboretum in Chester, NJ is a great place for children to learn and explore outside. The Late Fall/Winter Photo Contest hosted by The Willowwood Arboretum is a great event that highlights the natural beauty in Chester. Whether you are taking your family or you are a business owner in search of your next photographer for your website, you will find the experience is one of a kind. 

Great photographers and delightful fauna are not all Chester, NJ, 07930 has to offer. Businesses that are interested in strengthening their competitive position can do so by purchasing their commercial insurance with our insurance agency. The following are three ways business insurance strengthens your competitive position.

We Offer the Best Value
As your local insurance provider, we pride ourselves on being a part of the local community while still managing to offer the best rates for business insurance. Whether your business needs auto, life, general liability, or umbrella insurance, we have an insurance product that will meet your needs. It only takes one phone call to get an insurance quote from our professional staff, to change the way you look at insurance. With great rates, your business does not have to worry about spending extra money to cover the costs of insurance, which makes our agency a great business partner.

Coverage When You Need It Most
Employee accidents make businesses vulnerable. The potential for getting sued makes many business owners reconsider why they went into business in the first place. Getting sued can be expensive, depending on the circumstances of the wreck. Fortunately, by partnering with our insurance agency, your business has the coverage it needs, when it needs it. So, instead of paying the costs of the medical bills and the legal fees on your own, call us to find out how our policies can share the cost with you.

We Keep Your Business Compliant
There are many reasons businesses should have insurance, but mostly it is to keep your business compliant. State regulations require a business to have certain insurance protections in place so that the business will have the coverage it needs in the event of an accident. We provide you with that insurance so that your business is not in violation of any laws, allowing you to remain open for business. 

As your strategic partner, our insurance agency provides you with the coverage you need to take your business to the next level. Give us a call to get quotes, so that we can help you determine what coverage is right for you.

Make Sure Your Chester, NJ Business Isn’t Zapped by Inadequate Coverage

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Chester, NJ is a remarkable place to live and to do business. It’s nostalgic shops and country atmosphere brings people from throughout the region to walk its old fashioned brick sidewalks. Antiques abound, as do crafts and art. Here you’ll find homemade candies and specialty boutiques with something for everyone. Ongoing events keep Chester vibrant, but yet it is a place where time seems to slow down.

Behind the preserved historic business facades along Main Street, however, could be a very modern problem. Many businesses are not adequately protected for damage that may occur to their business related electronics.

Electronics and computers are playing a critical role in business today, even small ones. Businesses invest in security systems, computers, servers, and cash registers. Electronics are involved in cash transactions and in online transactions. They are used to communicate with customers and manage payroll. Data and software also play significant roles, tracking inventory, keeping customer records, and maintaining business financial reports.

The reality is this reliance on electronics makes them much more valuable to a business than their mere replacement cost. With that thought in mind, some may not be properly protected with their business insurance.

If you do business in the 07930 zip code, we can help. As an independent insurance agency, we can review your coverage. If you wish, we can search multiple companies to compare coverage and rates. There’s no obligation.

We also offer comparative rates for auto and homeowners insurance online at our website. This is a good way to compare what we can do for you. If you would like to know more, contact us. We may be able to save you money while improving your peace of mind. We can help resolve a modern problem for businesses in a very traditional business district.