Is This Covered By Insurance?

We see clients on a regular basis that thought they had homeowners insurance coverage on a particular damage, for example termites. Unfortunately they had to pay for the repair themselves. Here are a few things that might surprise you that are NOT typically covered, from Clark.com:

Mold: According to Bankrate, a standard homeowners insurance policy generally limits mold damage coverage or totally excludes it.  Some insurers offer an endorsement to expand coverage limits for mold claims but only if you are willing to pay more for your insurance.  The Insurance Information Institute says the best way to deal with mold is to prevent it from growing in the first place — if you have any flooding or a leak, get rid of the moisture as quickly as possible.

Sewer backup: If a sewer backs up into a home, it can do some serious damage to floors, walls, furniture and electrical systems — and it’s typically not covered by a standard policy. If you’re worried this could be an issue, experts recommend you consider extra insurance that may be available as part of your current policy to cover sewer backups.

Flooding: Too often, homeowners think their regular insurance policy will cover them in the event of a flood. They are stunned when they find out it doesn’t. You need to have separate flood insurance policy for coverage.

Construction work damage: If you are renovating your home, a standard homeowners insurance policy likely won’t cover any damage done to your house. Ask your provider about a separate policy to cover any potential damage. If you hire a contractor, make sure he/she is licensed for any liability.



Termite infestation: The National Pest Management Association estimates termites cause $5 billion in damage in the U.S. each year — and it’s not covered by standard homeowners insurance policies. Having a licensed pest control company inspect your home annually is the best way to avoid this problem.

Real Estate Recap
Good info from our realtor friend Lee Ann Wynns.  The number of sales was down last month, but the price was up!

Fall Design Tip

Don’t limit yourself to traditional orange in your seasonal displays. Orange and yellow pumpkins really pop when mixed with bright greens.   Try using small green plants as well as gourds and squash with green tones. WWOWT Wonderful World of Window Treatments The Benefits of Smart Shades Today’s smart-home technology is evolving quickly, with smart control available for everything from door locks and lights to refrigerators and shades. Yes, shades. Why even consider smart window shades for your home? Think about these benefits: they’ll add convenience to your day to day, while enhancing security and privacy, adding energy efficiency, and protecting furniture and flooring from harsh UV rays. Plus, they’re cordless, making them a safer option than shades with exposed cords, if you have small children or pets. Added Convenience With smart shades, you’ll enjoy the added convenience of effortless shade control. Motorized operating systems like PowerView® Automation from Hunter Douglas let you raise and lower your smart shades with the press of a button, tap on a mobile device or with your voice, using Siri on your Apple devices, Amazon Alexa or the Google Assistant. You can even schedule smart shades to move automatically at certain times of the day and create personalized shade-setting scenes within a room or throughout your entire home. Enhanced Security and Privacy Easily give your home a lived-in look while you’re away by scheduling your smart shades to automatically raise and lower at set times during the day. You can also schedule them to close when you head out the door and open when you return. Have large windows or sliding-glass doors that provide expansive views to the outside? Hunter Douglas offers smart vertical window treatments with vanes that rotate 180 degrees, for times when you want complete coverage over those windows or doors. Luminette® Privacy Sheers, for example, combine a sheer fabric for light where you want it, with vertical fabric vanes to preserve your privacy. Better Energy Efficiency Shades can help improve the energy efficiency in your home by blocking harsh rays from heating up your house in the summer as well as helping prevent heat loss in the winter. But if you have manual shades, you have to make the time to raise and lower them when necessary. Smart shades save you the hassle. A button press, tap on your mobile device, voice command or automated schedule will set your shades in motion. You can also integrate Hunter Douglas smart shades with other manufacturers’ smart-home systems, so your shades will raise and lower in response to light- and temperature-sensor commands sent from that system. For the best approach to energy efficiency, look to smart cellular shades, like Duette® Honeycomb Shades. Their honeycomb design traps air in distinct pockets, creating an extra layer of insulation at the window. Duette shades are available in both a single and a honeycomb-within-a-honeycomb construction, for even greater energy efficiency. Improved UV Protection Over time, the sun’s rays can damage furniture, flooring and even fine artwork. One solution for protecting interiors is solar shades, which block UV rays while maintaining your view of the outdoors. And if you add smarts to those shades, you can conveniently lower them when the sun’s rays are at their highest during the day—no running from window to window to lower them manually. Designer Screen Shades from Hunter Douglas are an excellent choice in smart solar shades. Enjoy the scenes outside your window, without harsh glare. How Much Does It Cost? This week we installed Hunter Douglas® Provenance Woven Woods Shades Fabric Coastal color Egret with light filtering liner, for a customer's bathroom. The one over the tub was PowerView and the other two other LiteRise. Her price was $3,100 for all three. Our client was delighted, but wished she had purchase the PowerView for the other two shades.  "Any sufficiently advanced technology is equivalent to magic."