Category: Home Insurance

At Great Lakes State Agency, our mission is to streamline life for Lansing, MI homeowners. Peace of mind is invaluable, and having the right home insurance policy is crucial in achieving it. We’re here to assist you in making the most suitable choice. Here are some vital steps to help you navigate the process.

Understanding Your Specific Needs

The first step for homeowners is to consider their specific needs when selecting a policy. If a policy falls short of its current requirements, it could lead to significant problems in the future. As a starting point, homeowners should estimate the costs related to rebuilding their homes and replacing all valuable possessions.

Considering Natural Disasters

Every region in Michigan has unique concerns about natural disasters. Do you live in a flood-prone area? Are you susceptible to damages associated with fierce snowstorms? It’s crucial to discuss the specific challenges posed by the elements in your area with your insurance provider. This way, you choose a policy that caters to these needs.

Close Examination of the Policy

Go through the policy meticulously with a seasoned insurance agent. This approach allows you to address any concerns at the earliest and ensures all the significant details are finalised, leaving no room for confusion later on.

For any further queries about a potential home insurance policy, feel free to contact the dedicated team at Great Lakes State Agency. Our team of professionals is always on hand and ready to assist Lansing, MI homeowners with any concerns they may have.

Great Lakes State Agency offers all eight forms of home insurance to protect Lansing, MI homes. Which home policy type each individual chooses depends on their type of domicile and whether they rent or own it.

Eight Forms of Home Insurance

The breadth of home insurance provides coverage for every type of home. It also offers an option for those who rent their home.

• HO-1 and HO-2 offer named peril coverage and fewer options.
• HO-3 coverage offers all-perils coverage and liability coverage.
• HO-4 policies cover renters of houses, apartments, condos, mobile homes, yurts, etc.
• HO-5 coverage provides superior coverage for single-family homes, including all-perils coverage, liability, and other types of coverage, such as loss of use.
• HO-6 policies cover condos only with all-perils coverage.
• HO-7 policies provide all-perils insurance specifically designed for mobile homes.

HO-8 policies provide named peril coverage equal to HO-1 policies but only available to historic homes and architecturally significant homes.

Because the policies differ so much, it’s best to choose your level of coverage after consulting with your insurance agent.

Single-family Home Choices

Owners of single-family homes have the widest selection of coverage options. A home can choose coverage for 10, 15, or all perils. They can also opt to add additional coverage like loss of use, additional living expenses, and personal property coverage. Consulting with your insurance agent offers the most effective way to choose the appropriate coverage.

Contact Us Today

Contact Great Lakes State Agency serving the great city of Lansing, MI for a home policy consultation. Let us help you choose the coverage that best protects your financial investment in your home and personal property.

Dogs are man’s best friends, but not necessarily the best friend of every person they meet! A home insurance policy is designed to offer homeowners legal and financial protection in the event of a number of incidents, including injuries to another that happen on your property. But what if it’s your property (which pets are according to Lansing, MI and greater Michigan law) causing the damage? Our team at Great Lakes State Agency is here to answer this commonly asked question about home insurance!

Does Home Insurance Cover Dog Bites?

Home insurance policies are generally designed to offer financial and legal protection in the event someone is injured by your dog. A home insurance policy will generally step in to provide medical reimbursements and offer legal aid should that person try and sue you for damages due to their injuries or any injuries sustained by their pet.

However, there are some cases in which a home insurance policy won’t cover dog bite injuries. Let’s take a look at those exceptions:

• Dog bites the owner or household members. Unfortunately, if your own dog bites you or a household member, your home insurance policy will not take up the claim. You can pursue medical reimbursements through your own health care insurance. 
• Dog bite from an excluded breed. Many insurance companies are adding certain breeds and crossbreeds to a list of dogs they will not insure because of their heightened risk of causing serious injury. Common examples include pit bulls, bully breed mixes, and rottweilers. 
• Dog bite from a known aggressive dog. Your home insurance company may pay out for the first bite by your dog, but take care as once a history is known, future situations are unlikely to be covered.

 Learn More With Great Lakes State Agency

For more information about Lansing, MI home insurance policies and what they cover, give our team a call. 

It’s important that you’re aware of all the home insurance features that are available. If you have questions about home insurance features that are available in the Lansing, MI metroplex, we can answer them at Great Lakes State Agency.

The following are four special features your home insurance policy should include:

Additional living expense coverage

Home insurance policies can offer additional living expense coverage that pays for a hotel or another temporary rental if the insured property becomes uninhabitable due to damage. 

This type of coverage minimizes the stress and expense of experiencing a severe accident in your home that makes it so that you’re temporarily unable to live there. 

Coverage for additional structures

If you have outbuildings on your property, you should look into coverage for additional structures. This will cover damage to detached garages, barns, sheds, and more. 

Personal property coverage

Home insurance doesn’t just protect your home’s structure. It also protects the personal belongings that you keep in your home. However, home insurance only insures personal property up to a certain amount.

It’s always a good idea to evaluate your personal belongings and make sure that your home insurance offers enough personal property coverage to insure the full value of your belongings. 

Added liability coverage

When you buy home insurance, you’ll have the option of choosing from among a variety of liability coverage options.

You should probably invest in added liability coverage and not just purchase the lowest amount of liability coverage. Lawsuits can get expensive, so it can really pay off to invest in additional liability coverage that will protect your assets. 

We Are Here To Help

We will help you find the right home insurance policy for your needs. Homeowners in Lansing, MI can get in touch with us at Great Lakes State Agency to get a policy quote today!

The more you understand about home insurance, the better equipped you will be to deal with it. Great Lakes State Agency in Lansing, MI is here to help. 

Here are three facts about the subject that you may not be aware of:

Your Insurer Needs to Have a Good Reason to Drop Your Coverage. 

We hear about insurers abruptly terminating coverage, but the truth is that they are required by law to provide a reason. An insurer who is careless about dropping a customer may face heavy fines and lawsuits as a result of their efforts.

You Can Reopen Old Claims

You may be able to reopen a claim even after you’ve been reimbursed in some cases. Often, you won’t know the full extent of the damage until repairs begin, in which case you may be able to get supplemental payment from your insurer.

Your Insurer May Limit Your Deductible

Different insurers have different limits. Typically, most insurers will not allow you to set your deductible higher than $1,200. Lower premiums result from higher deductibles and vice versa. But, of course, there has to be a limit somewhere — both for the sake of your insurer and for your own. You don’t want to file a claim only to discover that your deductible is several times the amount of your damages.

You don’t have to be an expert, but it’s always a good idea to do some research before spending money on something. This is especially true for home insurance.

Reach Out To Us

To learn more about home insurance or to get a free quote, contact Great Lakes State Agency today. Our agents are proudly serving the Lansing, MI region and can help answer any and all of your insurance-related questions. Call us today to find a policy that best fits your needs!

As you are shopping for a place to call home in the Lansing, MI area, there are a lot of important choices to make. One important choice will come when you are shopping for insurance for the property. A home insurance plan provides different types of coverage that can help protect you and your dwelling.

There are various reasons why you need to have this coverage here:

Insurance is often an obligation

One reason that you should have this coverage is that it is often an obligation. If you are going to take out a home loan when buying the property, or if you live in a home association, it is important that you properly insure your home as it will likely be a requirement under certain agreements you sign. Carrying coverage will ensure you are in good standing with such agreements. 

Insurance offers valued protection

You will also need to have this coverage as it can provide you with valued protection. Anyone that is going to buy a home will want to know that it is covered and supported. If you have a home insurance policy, it will give coverage to protect the dwelling and also offer liability support. This can be quite helpful if there is an accident or damage to your home. 

Contact Us Today

Those that live in the Lansing, MI area should always ensure that they are properly insured with home insurance. If you are going to purchase a home here and need this insurance, calling the team with the Great Lakes State Agency is a great idea. The team with Great Lakes State Agency can offer you any support that you need to build your next plan including giving guidance and support, so you understand all your needs and options. 

Home insurance is an important way you can invest in your home and family. Although many people think of home insurance as just another expense each month, it is truly much more than that. Great Lakes State Agency is here to help folks in Lansing, MI and the surrounding areas, better understand their home insurance options and the importance of this type of coverage. 

Is Home Insurance Really An Investment?

Yes, each month when you pay your home insurance premium, you are investing into safety and security for your family. Should your home be damaged or lost, a home insurance policy is there to make sure you have the funds you need to make repairs or replace your home. This provides a deep sense of safety and security for you and your family. You will always have a place to call home. 

What Does Home Insurance Cover?

Home insurance will cover the cost of repairs or replacement of a home should it be damaged or lost. Home insurance will also cover the cost of any lost possessions inside the home. 

In addition to this, home insurance also provides liability coverage. This type of coverage can help pay for expenses resulting from an injury on your property or in your home. 

How Much Coverage Do I Need?

Each family is different and each home is different. This is why you should sit down with an insurance representative to determine exactly how much insurance coverage you need. 

Get Home Insurance Today

If you would like to learn more about home insurance, or any of our other services, please contact us at Great Lakes State Agency, serving Lansing, MI and the surrounding areas. We will be happy to answer your questions and help you today. 

You’re probably concerned that the mortgage lender may not pay your claim in a timely manner. Consider buying homeowner’s insurance from a reputable company that protects your investment. 

Some mortgage lenders offer homeowner’s insurance as an optional rider to their mortgage. For questions, Great Lakes State Agency is your insurance expert in Lansing, MI. 

Implications of Seeking Insurance through Mortgage Lender 

If you have homeowner’s insurance through your mortgage lender, then if you have a loss, you must go through your mortgage lender to get approval for the repairs. This means that they will probably require an independent inspection by an inspector they choose. 

They’ll want to see all of your receipts and when you try to pay someone with a check from your homeowner’s insurance policy it will be held up until the mortgage company verifies that the repair has been made properly. 

Some lenders may allow you to purchase homeowner’s insurance through your mortgage and others may not. With that said, most likely your ability to refinance your home will not be affected if you have homeowner’s insurance through a mortgage. 

Many people are surprised to find out that their mortgage lender may not be the best option for purchasing homeowners insurance. This is because many mortgage lenders require a minimum amount of coverage be carried on the mortgage holder’s insurance. 

Most likely, they’ll pay the smaller amount that’s not enough to cover your home in the event of a major disaster. Instead, you may want to consider purchasing insurance directly through your homeowners. This is because the homeowner’s policy will likely cover your home for much more than the mortgage lender’s minimum amount of coverage. 

Contact Us Today

Homeowner’s insurance is typically purchased through a broker, so it’s recommended that you purchase it from a knowledgeable agent and not your mortgage lender. 

Once you have been approved for a mortgage, the lender is obligated to provide you with coverage and will typically provide a standard policy that covers the majority of your home’s value. Visit Great Lakes State Agency to clarify issues in Lansing, MI.

No one ever wants to think about the things that could cause you to need to file a claim with your insurance carrier. But bad things happen all over and Lansing, MI, is no exception. At Great Lakes State Agency, we are there for our customers from the time we help them get the right insurance at a price that works for them through any claims they need to file along the way. 

An inventory is just a list of all your possessions. If you are like most people, you have a lot more than you realized and nothing makes you realize that faster than doing a home inventory. Get a pad and pen and a camera and pick a room to start in. Get pictures from several different angles and then list what you see with as much information as you can provide. 

For electronics, serial numbers help, as do make and model. If you have sales slips or receipts, they should be attached to the list. Open the closets and drawers, go to the top of the house and the attic and the basement if you have one. Don’t forget the garage. If you have expensive items, be sure you have an appraisal to prove their value. The more detailed your descriptions the better. 

Once you have completed your listing, attach all the backup information and the photos and find a safe place to store it. At the very least, you need to have a fire and waterproof container to protect this very important information. Ideally, the inventory can be stored away from the home and it is always a good idea to have a copy on the cloud. 

Give us a call at Great Lakes State Agency in Lansing, MI when you are ready to discuss the home insurance that is best for you. 

Those that are in the Lansing, MI area could find that it is a great community and place to own a home. If you would like to purchase a property here, you always need to ensure that you are protecting it well. A great way that you can do this is by getting home insurance. A quality home insurance plan is a good investment for a few reasons.

Protect Your Dwelling and Assets

A good reason for anyone to have a home insurance plan in this area of Michigan is to protect their assets and dwelling. Buying a home is the largest investment that most people will ever make. Additionally, you will have a range of personal assets including clothing, furniture, and electronics that you will keep in your home. If you do get a home insurance plan, you will get coverage that can protect all of these assets. 

Receive Liability Support

You also should get a home insurance plan to receive proper liability protection. Anyone that is going to own a home will have a risk that an accident could occur that causes property damage or injuries. The best way to offset this concern is by obtaining a home insurance plan. With this coverage, you can receive liability insurance that will provide helpful support in a variety of situations.

You should always ensure that you have proper home insurance in the Lansing, MI area. When you are looking for a plan in this area, calling the Great Lakes State Agency is a great idea. With so many choices to make the team with Great Lakes State Agency can help you identify your insurance needs and give any support necessary to build a plan. This can help ensure you get into a plan that is ideal for your situation.