Quick Spring Cleaning Tips to Fit Your Busy Lifestyle

You may think of spring cleaning as a process that is a lot of work and takes days to complete, but it doesn’t have to be. Get your home fresh and clean with these tips.

Wash all your bedlinens. While they are off, apply some baking soda to your bed, and then vacumn it off. This will help remove any dirt and dust in your mattress and freshen it up. Take down your shower curtain and liner and put them in the washer on the gentle cycle. You will also want to wash any throws or small rugs.

Take large rugs outside and beat them with a broom. This helps get out dirt that your vaccumn didn’t pick up. Let it sit outside for a few hours, and vacumn them when you bring it back inside.

Cut a lemon into slices, and put it in a microwave safe bowl full of water. Put it in the microwave for about two minutes. This will loosen up any messes, and the lemon makes your home smell cleaner. SImply remove the bowl and wipe your microwave clean.

Take out any expired or ruined items in your fridge. Use your lemon water and mix in some dish soap and baking soda. Now you can give your refridgerator a quick cleaning on the inside without getting chemical cleaners on your food. When you are finished with the inside, wipe the outside down with the solution.

Bring in some flowers. They will make your home smell wonderful, and give it a springtime feel. You can get potted plants, or just a simple bouquet of wildflowers.

Spring cleaning is a great way to take care of your home, but have you thought about your insurance coverage lately? If you don’t have insurance, or would like to see if you have enough coverage, The Insurance Outfit can give you a quick quote.

 

Keep Safe This Spring on Your Bike

The weather is becoming more pleasant across the nation this means more pedestrians and bike riders on the streets. Both parties must increase their awareness of each other to keep safe.  Getting out and enjoying the weather by choosing your bike for transportation or leisure riding is a great way to burn extra calories and increase overall health, as long as safety comes first.  

Tips For Bike Safety

  • One of the main things to increase safety is increased visibility.  Ever wonder why construction crews choose orange for the cones and vests? It was not a fashion choice; research proved that orange stands out among other colors when it comes to catching the eye. Further research proved that movement and flashing light will draw the eye. This means every reflector, and moving light on a bike as well as the colors were chosen to wear can increase biker safety.  
  • Area awareness for all parties is vital. Both vehicle drivers and bike riders need to be aware of their surroundings. Many accidents are caused by a person simply not paying enough attention. Taking a few seconds before a ride to remind yourself to be intentionally aware may save your life. 
  • Stay in the designated areas when biking. Many New Jersey cities have biking lanes and areas; it is important for riders to stay in their lanes and drivers to be aware of the lanes to avoid a collision. 

At The Insurance Outfit, we serve Chester NJ and the surrounding areas with all of the insurance needs. Keeping safe is vital to enjoying the best spring and summer this year, and we have your back if something does go wrong.

Is Your Home Ready If Disaster Strikes?

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.

 

Track Down Your Motorcycle in the Event of Theft

Motorcycles are much easier to steal than any other major vehicle. If you own one in Chester, you need to protect it at all cost. Of course, in some instances it simply isn’t possible to avoid this. However, if you protect your vehicle and cover all of the bases, it is possible to track down your motorcycle in the event of theft. The first step you need to take is look into the different kinds of motorcycle insurance offered by The Insurance Outfit. 

GPS

After you have established a protective barrier with motorcycle insurance for your bike, you need to take the next step and purchase a GPS for the motorcycle. If the motorcycle is ever stolen, you are able to monitor the bike’s movement. Less than 30 percent of all stolen motorcycles are tracked down as most are sent to chop shops. Due to this, time is short, so the faster you can track it down the better your chance of finding the motorcycle is. GPS gives you this opportunity. 

Contact the Police

As soon as you realize your motorcycle has been stolen, you need to contact the police. When the police arrive on the scene, make sure to provide the GPS information. This way, the police can track down the stolen vehicle. You need to remember never to track down the stolen motorcycle on your own. You don’t know who took the bike or what they might be capable of, so it is always best to practice safety and to contact the police. 

Contact Your Insurance

After you have contacted the police and have given them the GPS information, make sure to notify The Insurance Outfit if you have motorcycle insurance through them. The sooner you have a police report on file the better. 

Finding The Perfect Used Family Car Doesn’t Need To Be Hard

Throughout Chester, there are a lot of used cars out there. You want to love the car you buy for the family. Finding the perfect one is a lot easier than you might think. It’s simply important to know a few things before you start the process.

The first thing to know is that there is something known as “certified, pre-owned. This is all about the car going through an inspection that meets manufacturer standards. There’s also an extended warranty, which means you won’t have to worry about major repairs within the first year.

There are a few other tips to follow:

  • Always test drive the car
  • Look at a few different dealerships
  • Don’t be picky on color

You want a family car that is going to last, and this means knowing about the integrity of the engine and the other things under the hood. Have a mechanic take a look at the car – one that is not associated with the dealership. If you ask to drive the car to a local garage and the dealership says no, consider choosing a different dealership.

Finally, be aware of the value that you’re going to get. This means looking at the age of the car, the mileage on the odometer, as well as the price that you’re going to pay. To save money, you can get an older car. However, you don’t want to get such an older car that you have to worry about expensive repairs soon after driving off of the lot.

Take the time to do your research at the dealerships.

You need to have auto insurance coverage in Chester, New Jersey. Call us at The Insurance Outfit and one of our independent insurance agents can answer questions, find quotes, and generally hope you get a policy you can count on.

 

 

Things you should know about inland boating

Boating is frequently treated as similar to driving a motor vehicle, including requirements for insurance and licenses and rules for operating boats. And just like there are different rules and expectations for driving big trucks versus small cars as well as in a small town versus on the highway, there are different rules for different boating scenarios.

There are rules about what types of boats can be used where.

Boating on a lake or river in comparison to the ocean is different because of the types of boats that can be used. Space is limited, so the size of the boat is typically governed by the size of the body of water, including its depth. This is to ensure the safety of everyone at that body of water, including you and your passengers. Before you take your boat inland boating, make sure you’re taking it to a location that’s permitted.

There are rules about when you can use your boat.

Once you find a location you can take your boat based on its size and speed, make sure you check the rules for when you can use the boat. Some public boating locations are limited by time of year or time of day. Boating regulations are typically very public, so it shouldn’t be a problem to find out when you can use your boat at a river or on a lake.

You aren’t the only one on the water.

The most important thing to remember is that you aren’t the only one on the water. There may be other boaters or even swimmers at a boating location. Rules about boating often consider others at the lake or river in order to keep everyone safe.

For more information about boating insurance, contact The Insurance Outfit today.

Is Home Improvement Projects Covered by Insurance?

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.

Homeowner’s Insurance: Is Your Home Business Covered?

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.

 

 

Power Outages Are No Fun, Prepare!

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.

 

Tips for Motorcycle Safety During Deer Season

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.