Vehicles are a crucial and almost necessary part of modern life, and for this reason many people consider a vehicle as a very thoughtful gift that could impact someone’s entire life. However, there is more involved than simply the exchange of keys and a title when you give someone a vehicle as a gift. Here are a few things to consider before giving a vehicle as a gift.

Residual Costs

You should remember that there is more cost to the vehicle than just the vehicles price. There will be annual tags, taxes and insurance. You should consider whether or not the individual to whom you are giving the gift will be able to maintain these other yearly costs. Repairs and maintenance  can also vary from model to model. Some cars are much less expensive to maintain and repair than others. Factors these costs in when choosing a gift vehicle.

Taxes

Because the bulk of tax paperwork must be filed in the name of the recipient, not the purchaser, it is necessary for the purchaser and recipient to work together to get all of the correct information filed with the state and country in which the car will be registered. There are strict rules which vary from state to state concerning whom may hold the registration and under whose name the insurance must be filed. Be sure to do your homework so that you are in compliance with all applicable laws.

Insurance

Regardless of who buys the vehicle gift and who receives it, insurance is paramount to legal driving and operation of the vehicle. Be sure that insurance arrangements are made quickly, so that there is no lapse in coverage or temptation to operate the vehicle uninsured. Make the title, registration and insurance are all under the correct name to avoid any confusion in the event of an accident.  

If you have further insurance questions please contact Cross Creek Insurance now serving Hope Hill, NC.

On October 31 most people enjoy a few treats. Kids go around trick-or-treating and adults gather together for parties. Even those of us who primarily hand out candy are known to sneak a piece or two for ourselves. A few people, however, plan tricks for Halloween. Make sure you don’t get tricked by a thief this Halloween. Here are a few tips to keep your home safe.

Deter Thieves with Locks and Lights

Most thieves who are prowling around on Halloween night aren’t planning a detailed and involved robbery. Instead, they’re looking for easy targets that they might steal from without exposing themselves to much risk.

Therefore, you don’t need to protect your home against a movie-worthy heist plan. You simply need to exercise some basic precautions that will deter thieves. Specifically, you might want to:

• secure any valuable items you leave outside with padlocks
• place decorations around your yard that will light it up
• leave your home’s exterior lights on all night long

Insure Your Belongings Against Theft

In addition to securing your outside possessions and lighting up your yard, you should also make sure your belongings are insured against theft. Home insurance policies afford protection against loss due to theft, although their specific protections vary. If you own a home, this is a final line of defense against burglars that you must have.

For help finding home insurance, contact us at Cross Creek Insurance. Our independent insurance agents are able to compare home insurance policies from every insurer in North Carolina. No matter what company offers the best protection against thieves, our agents will make sure you get the best protection at the most affordable rates. To get in touch with them and discuss insuring your home in Hope Hills, NC, send us a message on our website.

 

We love our outdoor activities in Sanford, NC. The famous Tobacco Road Golf Club seems to always be rated high on lists of America’s favorite courses. San-Lee Park and Mountain Bike Trail provides a multitude of outdoor recreational activities. The spacious Kiwanis Family Park and Greenway is a terrific site for outdoor family fun and exercise. Deep River paddling provides for aquatic activities.

Of course at almost any time rain can cause problems with our plans. We appreciate the rain for keeping our lawns green and our crops growing. It’s just when it happens at the wrong time and place it can be frustrating. The same can be said for water in your home.

When water is controlled through your plumbing or kept out by your roof, it’s usually not a problem. Under the wrong circumstances however, it can be devastating. When it comes to water damage in particular, it is critical you know what is, and isn’t covered under your homeowners insurance.

You see, when it comes to insurance, all water is not treated equally. There is water damage you can suffer from heavy rains. You can sustain water damage from a sewer back-up. Broken plumbing can cause serious damage, especially if you are not home when it occurs. Flooding? That is a whole separate issue. If you want to be assured you are covered under these various water-related issues contact us for a home insurance review. As an independent, local agency, we understand what coverage you should have, and can find the providers who offer it most affordably. If you wish to compare rates you can do so online right from our website. We also offer comparative rates for auto insurance.

There may not be much you can do when rain interrupts your outdoor activities. You can however, take steps to protect your home from water. Contact us today and put us to work for you.

A claim against your Fayetteville homeowners insurance can arise in any number of ways. The cable guy can fall off a ladder, the pizza delivery kid can trip on an uneven sidewalk, or Aunt Esther can trip over her own shadow. If you don’t have sufficient coverage, a $300,000 jury verdict can come back against you while you’re only insured for $100,000. That leaves you personally on the hook for the $200,000 balance.

As independent insurance agents, we want you, your home, family and personal property to be protected with plenty of coverage. If you’re concerned about a particularly large personal injury claim arising sometime in the future, we can arrange for umbrella liability coverage. Should you have particularly valuable personal property inside your house, like artwork, jewelry or musical instruments, we can set you up with specific special endorsements for coverage over and above ordinary policy limits for those items too.

We’re trusted and respected members of the Fayetteville area community, and because we’re independent agents, we’re able to provide you with a variety of choices as to insurers, coverage and premiums. Agents for the mega insurers just can’t do that. They’re not permitted to. The information we give you on your insurance issues is balanced, objective and unbiased. We’re not giving you one choice from one giant insurer. You can choose who insures you, what coverage you’ll have and your premium amount from any number of reputable and long established homeowners insurers that we work with.

Whether you’re in the process of buying your first home in or around NC Zip Code 28301, or trying to save some money window shopping, don’t hesitate to give us a call. We’re pleased to answer any questions that you have.

Some of the best foundations begin in a small town like Hope Mills, NC 28348. Taking risks, building a business or home takes gumption. A laid back atmosphere small town pleasures and ways are what residents love. If hunting or fishing is your way of relaxation then Hope Mills has it. After a long day of chasing the wildlife then the town has many one of a kind of restaurants to enjoy. Fred Chason’s Grandsons Buffet gives an awesome amount of southern style foods cooked like grandmas do it. The Wine Café has innovative wine fountains, an engaging atmosphere, and many brands and flavors of the juice of the grape. Mi Casita Mexican Restaurant serves plenty of chips and Mexican styled main dishes. Residents like the seating and the amount of food. Beef O’Brady is local hang out where all are welcome. Basically a sports bar it is the local watering hole.

Speaking of local watering hole I your local agent have talked to residents and found them quite satisfied with Hope Mills living. Our annual checks on homeowners insurance makes sure all is taken care of. With the active lifestyle a few bumps and bruises are bound to happen. To make sure your policy offers adequate coverage check your personal injury claim. Someone falling on your property is covered medically and if someone tries to sue you are covered for that as well. Consider combining different policies such as home and auto. Often a discount applies. Better yet get an umbrella policy which provides enough coverage for most incidents including libel and slander.

Whatever your decision come down to my office for a chat. Bring some quotes and we will find the best options for you.

Mountains, rolling hills and 300 miles of beaches makes North Carolina an intriguing state to live in or visit. Some favorite attractions are the BlueRidge Parkway that winds for 432 miles from the Great Smokey Mountains to National Park to North Carolina Shenandoah National Park. Kure Beach Sea Turtle Patrol teaches ways to protect the endangered sea turtles. Blowing Rock Winterfest which has ice carving contests, food, WinterPaws dog show, and other winter themed events shows the festive side of winter. Across the state plenty scenic beauty and events exist to please most anyone in your family or friends.

Because of the geologic formations below the soil sometimes an instability happens. If you have ever been on a porch and had a sinking feeling before dismissing it go check your foundation. Whether buying a house or updating a policy, standard policies cover sinkhole coverage to a point. Coverage depends on how the sinkhole happened. Earthquakes take an additional endorsement for covering their damage on a home. As your local area agent I know my territory and can tell you where sinkholes are more likely to happen. Many times I even know how recently they have occurred in an area. When buying homeowners insurance it is important to cover all the bases above ground as well as below ground. Many times combining auto insurance with your homeowner policy results in a discount. Various options exist that can be added to a policy to customize it to your needs.

Before a sink hole happens stop by the office for a chat. Let’s take a look at what the possibilities are and see what is needed.

 

 

 

As a resident of North Carolina, your homeowners insurance options are quite wide because you have the option of selecting any amount of coverage, and virtually any type of coverage, that you want and need. Every home is different, so the options that you want might be different from your neighbor’s choices. However, most homeowners in the state generally select options like these.

Insurance for the House: The home should be protected from all types of loss, and this is the insurance type that does that. You will be able to choose a policy max based upon how much you feel you would need to rebuild if disaster struck and you lost everything.

Other Building Coverage: If you have other structures on your property, those should also be covered by insurance. Some homeowners policies automatically include this coverage along with the house insurance, but always check with your agent as a policy addition may be needed to cover extra buildings. This would apply to greenhouses, tool sheds, and any other freestanding buildings on the property.

Contents Coverage: The contents of your home are significantly valuable to you and your family, whether the monetary value is high or not. If you want to be sure to have enough money to replace these home contents in a disaster, be sure to get this type of coverage. You can choose the amount of coverage you’re most comfortable with, but make sure that you estimate the current replacement cost of everything in the home to get a good figure for the policy.

Liability Insurance: Every homeowner should protect themselves from legal actions that could arise due to injuries that may happen on their property. If your friend, or in fact any property visitor, were to get hurt while anywhere on your property you could be held financially responsible for all their damages. This is one of the most important homeowners insurance options since judgments against you for injury could be so financially devastating, and this coverage prevents you from suffering those losses.

Don’t get caught without enough homeowners coverage. You can very easily compare policies on the Internet with Cross Creek Insurance Agency in minutes. Use our free quote comparison tool to get policy info from multiple major carriers, all in one convenient spot!

After buying a home in Eastover, NC home insurance is a necessary part of protecting your property. In many cases, your mortgage lender will require that you purchase some coverage for the house, but the exact requirements that your lender sets and the options that are available can vary.

Standard Plans

The basic policy for a house will usually cover against common problems that may arise. It will pay for damages to the interior or the exterior of the house. In most cases, you can also replace personal belongings and even make a claim for the hotel expenses when you cannot stay in your house due to the damages.

Although you can purchase additional coverage for specific needs, the basic policy is usually enough to handle most of your concerns. You should be careful to read the plan before determining that it is appropriate, since policies can vary and the best option can depend on your concerns.

Replacement of Personal Belongings

Using the value of your house as a basic detail, you can usually claim a percentage of that value or the total policy amount to replace personal belongings that are lost in a covered situation.

Depending on the plan, the amount that you can expect will vary. An actual cash value plan will usually only pay for the item after calculating the depreciation rates, so the amount that you are provided is usually less than the cost of replacing the item. Replacement value plans will pay for the total cost of replacing a particular item.

There are options available to protect your house from common risks, but most homes will need a standard plan to protect against potential concerns. To learn more about protecting your property and assets, contact us to talk to an agent today.

When a child is injured in Hope Mills, NC, it can be a problem for every individual involved in the situation. Even though a child may be staying in a day care facility, the liability of an accident may or may not be applied to the child care program.

Permission from Parents

Children who are staying in a home day care may not have the same treatment as children who stay in a child care facility. The day care provider may ask parents if it is appropriate for their children to play with the neighbor’s children or the neighborhood children.

If parents have given their permission for their child to play with local children and visit their homes while they are under the care of a home day care program, then the liability of an injury may fall to the neighbor’s home insurance policy.

Day Care Responsibility

Even though the injuries may be handled by the insurer of the homeowner, a day care is responsible for the children. That means that parents may decide to sue the facility. If the parents of a child decide to sue the day care, then the insurance policy will usually help pay for any settlement, fees and associated costs of the injury. In some cases, the liability plan may cover any additional costs associated with the injury if the neighbor’s plan has a limited amount of coverage.

Nobody wants to discover that their child or children were injured at day care, but the situation can determine the responsible individual and the policy that will pay for the medical bills. Contact us to talk to an agent for more details about protecting your home business.

Insurance companies can drop your insurance coverage, at any time. In most cases, you will be provided with a reason, but this is not required. Companies often drop coverage in areas that have become high risk or when the policyholder has made a large number of claims. An unoccupied property presents a valid reason for a company to drop your policy.

The insurance company’s reasoning

Each company will determine a definition of a vacant home. Most companies do have a grace period and insurers often use a 60 to 90 status to determine occupancy. Unoccupied properties present a considerable amount of risk to an insurance company.

Vacant homes are more subject to vandalism and other damages. If a fire of flood were to occur, it may take longer for the problem to be noticed, increasing the amount of damage. When a property is for dale, liability risks can also increase. People will be touring your home and any injuries will be your responsibility.

What you need to do

You do need to maintain homeowners insurance while your home is on the market. If your hold a mortgage, this is required. Even without a mortgage, you could risk losing all of your equity. Your current company may offer you a different policy, but it will likely be more expensive.

You may need to change insurance providers and you should get comparative quotes to ensure you are getting the best rate. If the rates are extremely high, you might be able to raise your deductible to lower the premium.

Keep in mind that a home can be considered vacant if it is unoccupied for over the 60 to 90 mark. If you only use the property seasonally, you should have a specific policy to cover your property. Get in touch with us so we can help you compare quotes from several insurance providers.