Tips To Prepping Your Maryland Home Before Fall Hits

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There are a lot of tips that can be followed to ensure that your home is prepped properly for the fall. When you live in Maryland, you know that the fall marks the start of all the cold weather. By doing a few things in and around your home, you can save on your energy bill and protect your home at the same time.

Hire Professionals

While you may want to take the DIY approach whenever you can, there are certain things that you want to do to prep your home that requires a professional. This includes hiring a roofer to inspect if you are missing any shingles as well as a professional and licensed chimney sweep that can unclog your fireplace.

Save Your Electric Bill

There are a few ways that you can save on your electric bill during the fall and winter months. The first is to reimburse your plan so that you can redistribute the warm air. The second is to have your heater checked by a professional to ensure that it is working properly. You may also want to see if there is draft coming in through your windows and doors and have them weather-stripped again.

Do Some Cleaning

It’s also good idea to do some cleaning – including the gutters.

Change Batteries

The batteries in your smoke detector need to be working so that the detectors can do their job. By adding this to your maintenance checklist every fall, you can be sure that they are always working.

Call and talk to an agent at Mid Atlantic Insurance Financial today to learn more about homeowners insurance. We can help you with creating your fall home checklist, answering questions you have about coverage, and getting quotes for you to compare premium rates.

 

 

Do You Need Renters Insurance? 3 Facts to Consider

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If you’re like most people, you’ve probably always thought of renters insurance as an afterthought—something that would be nice to have but wasn’t a total necessity. Unfortunately, many renters find out the hard way that not having coverage is a big mistake.

Here are three facts to consider to help you decide whether or not you need renters insurance.

Fact #1: Renters Insurance Covers Your Personal Property

The top reason why many purchase this type of coverage is that it pays to replace your personal property if you have a covered claim. For example, if there is a fire in your apartment or you have a break-in, your policy will pay to replace the damaged or stolen items without forcing you to pay out of pocket.

However, one of the most overlooked facets to renters insurance is that it also covers your items during travel. This means that if you have belongings stolen from your suitcase or taken from your car, they would most likely be replaced using your policy. This is an important tidbit to remember if you regularly take vacations or business trips.

Fact #2: Your Landlord Might Require a Renters Policy

Most financial savvy landlords understand that their property coverage does not include personal belongings of tenants. This means that if there is any sort of incident, they are not required to replace your stuff. Furthermore, if someone becomes injured while visiting your apartment, your landlord is also not liable for any medical bills incurred during the incident.

This is why many landlords and property management companies now require tenants to have rental insurance and show proof of coverage. By making this a condition of renting the apartment, the landlord is ensuring you know that they are not in any way responsible for your personal items or any liability incidents.

Fact #3: Renters Insurance is Affordable

Renter’s insurance is often more affordable that most believe. Policy premiums usually only range between one and two hundred dollars a year—equating to only a few dollars per month for added peace of mind. Furthermore, many carriers often give a substantial discount off your auto insurance for having both types of coverage in force.

Of course, exact coverages and discounts available regarding renters insurance vary by individual circumstance. For more information on this type of coverage or any others, please contact our team at Mid Atlantic Insurance Financial today.

The Proper Way to Care for Your Car’s Braking System

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When it comes to keeping your car on the road, one of  the most important components is its braking system. After all, you can’t safely drive a car if its brakes aren’t functioning properly. Because of this, it’s imperative that you create a braking system maintenance plan and make sure to stick to it. Here are a few tips you can follow when creating a custom braking system maintenance plan for your vehicle. 

Know what to look for

First, you need to be aware of the signs to look for that directly relate to your braking system. These signs might include:

  • Dashboard braking system symbol is on or flashing
  • Brake pedal must be almost fully pressed to the floor before it the brakes start to engage
  • Vehicle wants to pull left or right when using the brakes
  • Any type of noise — screeching, grinding, clicking, etc. — means your brakes need maintenance
  • You feel a vibration or pulse when using the brakes

They will eventually need to be replaced

No matter how well you take care of your braking system, your maintenance plan should account for brake replacements. Depending on the wear and tear that you put on the car, you may have to replace your brakes once every 70,000 miles. Do keep in mind, however, that if you are hard on your brakes, they will need replaced sooner. 

Keep an eye on your brake fluid

Making sure the brake fluid is properly topped off is essential to the life of your brakes. Any time that the brake fluid is dark in color, it needs to be flushed out and replaced. 

For more tips on taking care of your braking system, contact Mid Atlantic Insurance Financial today. 

Keep Your Pets Safe During The Summer In Laurel

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Living in Laurel, Maryland can be a lot of fun. Regardless of what kind of home you have, you may have pets. During the summer, you want to do all that you can in order to keep your pets as safe and as healthy as can be.

Dehydration can be a dangerous thing. The hottest times of the day are when you need to keep your pet inside. If you enjoy exercising with your pet at your side, do so during the early morning or late evening hours. Whenever you do take your pet outside, especially for long walks, bring a bottle of water for them to drink and remember to relax in the shade from time to time.

Whenever you are outside, you have shoes on as a way of keeping your feet clean and well protected. You need to do the same thing for your pets. The hot concrete can be very hot on the delicate pads of dogs and cats. There are adhesive pads, booties, and other forms of protection that you can purchase for your pet.

Ensure that your pets have access to plenty of clean water during the summer, whether they stay inside or outside. You can also mix in some wet food when you feed them dry food because this has approximately 70% water. It is an extra tip that can help them stay hydrated.

Some of the other things that you can do to keep your pet safe include:

  • Never leave them in a parked car
  • Use life vests on a boat
  • Get them on heartworm medication

At Mid Atlantic Insurance Financial, we’re here to help you with home insurance and more. Call us today and let one of our agents help find affordable quotes for a policy that you can count on.

 

 

Teen Driving in Laurel: Top Tips for Safety

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Teens are often so excited about getting their driver’s license that they forget to actually prepare for driving. Fortunately, as a parent, you can demonstrate to them how important it is to study traffic laws, and you can also make sure your teen gets in lots of practice driving hours. Whether it be letting your teen drive on a daily basis or for several hours on the weekend, you’ll want to make sure they get experience driving in various forms of weather. The more practiced they are, the better of a driver they will be. 

When you’re letting your teen practice driving, make sure that he stays off the phone. Being distracted by a cell phone is one of the primary causes of accidents. Think about it. When your teen is texting and driving, he won’t likely see when a vehicle stops in front of him, nor can he clearly see pedestrians. The easiest way to make sure a phone doesn’t cause a wreck is to stay off of it when driving. 

You’ll also want to express to your teen the importance of making sure everyone in the car is buckled up. Wearing seat belts can save lives, and this is not only important for the driver, but everyone in the car. 

Lastly, you should make sure your teen knows how to read warning lights correctly. If one of them was to light up on the dashboard, it’s important to see what caused the warning. If it’s something similar to low tire pressure or low brake fluid, this is something that needs to be fixed as soon as possible. 

To learn more about safe teen driving in Laurel, contact Mid Atlantic Insurance Financial today. 

Wake Up! Tips For Driving In Washington Dc

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Driving in Washington DC can be difficult. There are a lot of drivers on the road, even during non-peak times. With all of this traffic, you have to make sure you are always awake and alert when behind the wheel.

You have to be conscious of just how awake you are before driving. If you are doing a lot of yawning or are fighting to stay awake, you don’t want to drive anywhere, even if it’s just down the road.

Here are some tips to help you when you need to wake up when driving.

  • Get 7-9 hours of sleep prior to getting behind the wheel
  • Take a break approximately every 100 miles
  • During long trips, split the driving responsibilities with another person
  • Pull off the highway and nap at a rest stop to avoid falling asleep at the wheel

Don’t be one of the statistics. There are about 60% of drivers who say they have driven while they are drowsy and about 37% of them have fallen asleep. Men are more likely to drive when drowsy than women, and many shift workers will drive drowsy.

This means there are a lot of sleepy people on the roads of Washington DC and you don’t want to be one of them. You need a good auto insurance policy to protect yourself against what could happen in an accident.

The best way to prevent an accident, however, is to stay awake. When you are alert, you can avoid a number of accidents, even against those who are drowsy. Use your horn and wake others up if you have to.

Call and talk to one of our insurance agents today. We can help you to find the best auto insurance policy and get quotes to help you with making comparisons.

BBQ Safely In Your Maryland Home

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When you’re living in Maryland, a BBQ can be a fun outdoor activity. You can barbecue on a gas or charcoal grill and serve up some delicious food to your family and friends. However, you want to make sure you are doing so safely as a way of protecting you as well as your home.

Homeowner’s insurance is designed to protect your home and its contents. It can provide coverage against fire, smoke damage, and much more. At Mid Atlantic Insurance Financial, our agents can help you find a great policy so you are well protected. We also want to share some BBQ safety tips to ensure you never have to find out just how great your policy is.

  • Keep your grill at least 10 to 15 feet away from your house. The BBQ grill should never be inside your garage or an enclosed patio when you’re cooking.
  • Always check for gas leaks. This can be done on your own by using soapy water on the hoses and connections or bringing it into a gas company for them to do the inspection.
  • Clean the grill on a regular basis to avoid fat and grease build up. You also don’t want the fuel injector to become clogged.
  • If there is a flare up, you want to control it quickly. Keep a spray bottle filled with water right next to the grill, just in case.

By being safe about your BBQ time, it will be a way to enjoy yourself and know that your home is being looked after. Enjoy steaks, hot dogs, or anything else in Maryland on the grill. Just practice safety at all times.

Call and speak to one of our insurance agents at Mid Atlantic Insurance Financial to learn about homeowner’s insurance. We’re happy to answer questions you may have and get quotes for you to help with the comparison process.

Comparing Quotes With Mid-Atlantic Insurance

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Comparing quotes is of the utmost importance when you are shopping for insurance in Washington DC. It doesn’t matter whether you need an insurance policy for your home, your automobile, your business, or even for your life. Quote comparisons will help you to get the best level of coverage at the most budget friendly rate.

At Mid-Atlantic Insurance, we are committed to helping you find the best policy. Our independent insurance agents work with some of the top insurance companies who are licensed to issue policies in DC. This works to your advantage because you don’t have to call the individual companies on your own. We do all of that for you.

It can be difficult to find insurance policies because you don’t know what you’re looking for. Insurance companies may try to sell you coverage that you don’t need. We will learn about your individual situation and guide you through the various forms of coverage to help you make educated decisions that protect your home, your car, your business, and your life.

Not all insurance companies offer the same coverage or charge the same amount. Since you want to get the best price for a policy, our agents will get quotes so you can compare the coverage and what the cost is going to be for that coverage. We’re also happy to help by making recommendations in terms of which company we feel is offering the best deal for you. The company you use for your auto insurance may or may not have the best price for homeowner’s insurance – and likewise for all of the other insurance you are searching for.

Call and talk to one of our agents today. We can compare quotes to help you find the best price and answer questions you may have along the way.

 

 

Save Time on Cleaning with These Hacks

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Cleaning your home can take up a lot of time, but it must be done. Not only does a clean home look nicer but it’s also less accident prone, as there are fewer things to knock over or slip on. Here are three ways that we at Mid Atlantic Insurance Financial have found to save time on cleaning, but still keep our homes nice and tidy.

Our Cleaning Hacks

The best way to reduce how much time you spend cleaning is to reduce how much cleaning you have to do. For instance, if you can reuse a glass at dinnertime, then that’s one less dish you have to wash. Here are some ways you can take this idea a little further:

  • eat out of original containers, instead of dishes whenever possible
  • switch to shower gel, as it doesn’t leave soap scum like bar soap does
  • turn your socks inside out to sweep the floor while you’re walking around

Our Accident Protection

Even with a clean home, accidents happen. We receive phone calls related to in-home incidents almost every day. Along with cleaning to prevent accidents, you should also check your insurance policy to make sure it would cover common household mishaps, just in case something happens in your home.

If you live in Laurel, MD, homeowners insurance agents at our office can help you go over your policy. We can also help you find a new policy, should your current one not provide the necessary coverage. Since all of our agents are independent, you can feel confident that they’re working to help you, and not a specific insurance company. To get started, visit our website for more information on our homeowners insurance offerings or give our independent agents a call today!

The Stats Don’t Lie: South Laurel, Maryland is for Families

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If you are seeing a lot of families, in particular young families, in the South Laurel, Maryland area, your eyes are not deceiving you. According to the U.S. Census, we have plenty of them. Let’s take a closer look.

With a population of 26,112, South Laurel has grown by almost 30% since the year 2000. Our median age in the community is a low 32.9 years old. Over a third of the households here have families with someone who is under 18 years of age in them. The median income for a family in the area is $60,028.

This is good news for businesses in the 20708 zip code area target young families. But even if business is booming, your business can’t afford to waste money. That’s where Mid Atlantic Insurance Financial can help. We are an independent insurance agency that can help you get the most of your business insurance budget.

Our independent agents have the ability to get quotes from multiple commercial insurance providers. Because they are competing for your business, this allows us to present the most competitive rates possible. We do this without you having to sacrifice coverage.

We invite you to give us a try with your personal insurance. With a quick visit to our website, you can obtain comparative quotes on your auto and homeowners insurance. From there, we invite you to contact us for your business insurance.

The numbers don’t lie. South Laurel is a popular place to raise young families. It is also where you can save on your business and personal insurance with Mid Atlantic Insurance Financial. Contact us today and let’s get started saving you money.