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A home on fire during the CZU Lightning Complex wildfire in California.
Fire

California’s Wildfire Challenge: Safeguarding Homes

How Can I Protect My Home from California Wildfires? A crucial aspect of safeguarding a home from wildfire involves focusing on the defensible space surrounding it by mastering the Home Ignition Zone. The Home Ignition Zone spans from the exterior walls of your house to five feet beyond the building, it’s where embers can accumulate and pose a significant risk of ignition. To fortify your property against wildfires, follow these key fire mitigation guidelines: Vegetation Management Ensure that no vegetation, including trees, shrubs, bushes, plants, grass, and weeds, are present within the Home Ignition Zone. Remove any overhanging limbs or branches from nearby trees or bushes. While ideally having no vegetation in this area is best, consider incorporating limited use of wildfire-resistant plants to minimize risk. Noncombustible Hardscaping Surround your home with noncombustible hardscape materials like concrete, gravel, or paving stones instead of flammable mulch, and consider creating firebreaks to prevent the rapid spread of fire. Keep this area clear of debris to reduce fire hazards. While bare soil is also considered noncombustible, it may require more maintenance to prevent weed and grass growth. Remove Combustible Items Eliminate combustible objects such as wooden and plastic furniture, firewood, and trash cans from the Home Ignition Zone. These items can act as fuel sources for wildfires and increase the vulnerability of your home. Vehicle Placement Park boats, RVs, trailers, or any other vehicles away from the immediate vicinity of your home. Placing them elsewhere can reduce the potential fire risk they pose. Noncombustible Structures Consider replacing combustible pergolas, gazebos, curtains, drapes, or screens with noncombustible alternatives made of metal. This substitution further bolsters your property’s resistance to ignition. Harden Your Home Retrofitting your home with fire-resistant materials is a crucial step in minimizing the potential damage from wildfires. The use of fire-resistant roofing, siding, fencing, and windows can significantly increase the chances of your home surviving a nearby wildfire. Securing Your Vents During a wildfire, flying embers pose a significant threat to your home’s safety. Embers can find their way into your living spaces through vents in the attic, roof, gables, and crawlspace. Ensure that all vents are equipped with a metal screen with a mesh size of 1/8 inch or finer. This screen acts as a barrier, preventing embers from infiltrating and potentially igniting your home.  Periodically inspect and maintain the vent screens. Remove any accumulated debris, bird nests, or other obstructions that could compromise their effectiveness. Install Fire Suppression Systems Consider investing in fire sprinklers and fire suppression systems for your home. These systems can help contain a fire before it engulfs your property entirely. Stay Informed and Prepared Keep yourself up to date with the latest wildfire alerts and evacuation orders in your area. Create an emergency plan with your family, and practice evacuation drills to ensure everyone knows what to do in case of a wildfire threat. Additionally, fostering community collaboration can create a network of support that helps protect entire neighborhoods from the devastating impacts of wildfires. As California faces its wildfire challenge, we want to ensure homeowners are empowered to rise to the occasion and protect what matters most – their homes and loved ones. Contact us today at Coast to Canyon Insurance to see how we can help.

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Insurance

Insurance Coverage Checklist

Named Insured: _____________________________ Date Completed: _____________ PROPERTY INSURANCE: Keep Replacement Costs Updated: Annually review the replacement cost of your property to prevent underinsuring your property. Home improvements and construction can increase its value, so ensure your coverage accurately reflects the current replacement cost. Ample Liability Coverage: We recommend a minimum of $500K in liability insurance. We also recommend a full review regarding your needs for an Umbrella Policy. Conduct an Annual Inventory: Simplify the claims process by conducting an annual inventory of your personal belongings. A video walk-through of your home and possessions will prove invaluable in the event of a claim. Schedule Valuable Items: Consider scheduling valuable items such as jewelry, fine art, furs, musical instruments, silverware, or firearms. As base insurance policies can have limited or no insurance coverage. AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE: Please note that the measures mentioned above also apply to other assets such as boats, motorcycles, ATVs, and similar vehicles. Bodily Injury Liability Limit: It is essential to have a minimum bodily injury liability limit of $250,000/$500,000 or a combined single limit (CSL) of $500,000. We recommend an Umbrella Policy for additional coverage. Uninsured/Underinsured Limit: Maintain a minimum uninsured/underinsured limit of $250,000/$500,000 or a combined single limit (CSL) of $500,000. This coverage protects you in the event of an accident where the at-fault party either lacks insurance or has insufficient coverage to pay for your injuries. Lease/Loan Gap or Repair/Replacement Cost: If your vehicle is new or has a loan, verify that your policy includes a “lease/loan gap” endorsement. “Lease/loan gap” coverage bridges the gap between your loan and the depreciated value of your car in the event of a total loss. ADDITIONAL COVERAGES: Umbrella or Excess Liability Policy: Ensure you have an umbrella or excess liability policy in place with a minimum limit of $1,000,000 in coverage with a recommendation of $3,000,000.00 per occurrence. This policy provides additional liability protection once the limits of your underlying home, auto, boat, etc., policies have been exhausted. With these proactive measures, you can rest assured knowing that your property is adequately protected under your insurance policy. WE ARE DEDICATED TO HELPING YOU FIND THE RIGHT POLICIES TO PROTECT THE THINGS THAT MATTER TO YOU THE MOST. Call us toll-free: 888-983-6400 coasttocanyoninsurance.com

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Woman putting together earthquake-preparation grab bag.
Insurance

Earthquake preparation: is your go-bag ready?

With the abundance of disaster in recent months it is more important than ever to make sure you are ready.  This means making sure you have all the necessities packed and ready to go on the move with you. Ready.gov  has a basic emergency supply kit breakdown: Water – One gallon per person per day, minimum three day supply Food – Three day supply of non-perishable food Battery-powered radio, NOAA Weather Radio Flashlight Basic First aid kit Batteries Moist towelettes, garbage bags, plastic ties – personal sanitation Dust mask Basic tools Manual can opener Cell phone battery packs / cables Pet supplies In addition, you may want to beef up your kit with some non-essential items that can either improve your downtime or give you the ability to help others. These items range from having non-prescription medication, sleeping bags, blankets, eating utensils and extra clothing.  You may not feel the need to have an emergency kit right now,  but when disaster strikes it becomes too late!  It is better to be prepared and not require your supplies than to need them and not have it. Depending on where you spend your time it may also be smart to have more than one kit ready to go.  Home, work, and vehicle kits should all be handily available.

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Two parents and a happy toddler laying on a bed-like surface.
Insurance

Term Vs. Whole Life Insurance

Life insurance can be a complicated subject, but that doesn’t mean you should overlook the benefits it may provide you.  Life insurance is about more than just your peace of mind, it’s about having financial security for your loved ones, to make sure that they are protected.  Let’s go over some of the options you have for life insurance, and find the plan that fits for you.  There are two main types of life insurance, term and whole life. TERM LIFE Term life insurance is similar to renting a car.  You own the life insurance for a period that you select, commonly in segments of 10 years, and are protected for that term.  This type of policy is commonly much cheaper than the whole life option, and may make sense if you are worried about not having the savings to protect your family during that term.   When looking at term life, you should: Choose a term that makes sense for your financial goals.  You want to be aware of when you may be at risk, and at what point you will have the savings to feel comfortable. Choose a benefit amount that your family would need if you were no longer able to provide.  The payout would help pay for expenses you currently incur, as well as new expenses that may arise if you were no longer in the picture. Ideally, you choose term life during periods where there may be heavy expenses and financial drain if your income was no longer in the picture.   WHOLE LIFE Whole life insurance is a bit more complicated, but don’t worry! The core benefit is about the same. Whole life is, as the name suggests, a coverage option for lifelong protection.  This coverage is more than just a death benefit, the policy itself can be an investment as well.  With many whole life policies you are able to borrow money against the policy, or even surrender the policy for a cash benefit. Benefits of Whole Life commonly include: Ideally, you choose whole life if you want a safety net that follows you as you age.  The ability to borrow money against the policy, as well as the guaranteed benefit and locked in premiums ensure that you are able to feel safe and protected.  

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