If it’s your dream to own a beach home in Inlet Beach, FL, you’re not alone. Many people who dream of living in Florida prefer their homes to be along the coastal regions. While the coast provides a beautiful sunset view and great beach life, living around such areas exposes you to unpredictable storms and possible flooding events. Remember, home insurance does not cover floods. That’s why Dune Lakes Insurance recommends educating yourself about flood insurance to be adequately prepared. Here is what you need to know about floods in Florida.

No one is really safe from floods

About 20% of flood insurance claims from most insurance companies in Inlet Beach, FL come from people living in low or moderate-risk flood areas. Floods can hit anytime. Sometimes you don’t have time to evacuate or take any precautions. If you don’t buy the policy on time, you may be forced to pay out of pocket for a vast portion of the damage. Remember, flood insurance comes with a 30-day waiting period.

You don’t need to be in a high-risk area to get the policy

If you live in Florida, you should buy flood insurance. Floods can be devastating as they end up causing massive destruction of properties worth millions along the way. If you are not adequately covered, you may end up losing your home and valuables, and you just never know when they hit. 

Flood insurance prices vary

Every policyholder’s insurance needs are different. Your insurance provider will need to check a few things, such as your risk level, the size of the home, and the type of construction, to determine your insurance premiums. To ensure you’re adequately covered, make sure your policy covers the value of your home and its contents.

Don’t wait for floods to hit your property to buy flood insurance. Get your customized flood insurance policy from Dune Lakes Insurance today!

Your business may be financially secure, meaning you can pay for unexpected emergencies without breaking a sweat, or you may be a start-up and can barely afford the various insurance policies that you are required to pay for your operations. Whichever of these options your business falls under, commercial insurance acts as an essential cover and will often dictate how well you relate to your customers, partners, and the law. If you have a business in Inlet Beach, FL, Dune Lakes Insurance takes you through the reasons to consider getting commercial insurance.

The Law Requires It

Whichever state you operate your business in, numerous laws require companies to have some coverage to protect their employees and their customers. Due to this, you will be required to carry basic commercial coverage, with the go-to options for this being workers’ compensation policy and commercial auto coverage.

Business Contracts Require Commercial Insurance

During your operations, you will likely encounter contracts that require business insurance, with examples of this being financing contracts, building leases, or business partnerships. If you are looking to secure such agreements, the contract terms need to be met, requiring you to get commercial insurance for your business. Failure to do so could leave you without assistance, causing a halt to business operations.

Builds Reputation

Whether you have only just started your company or have a business that you have been running for years, commercial insurance is the standard by which your customers and partners will judge you. Having the right policy shows that your business can take care of employees and customers when they encounter emergencies, allowing you to build confidence and reputation in your industry.

Offers Peace of Mind

Apart from protecting your workforce, having commercial insurance comes with the guarantee that your business is protected when covered perils strike. With this in mind, you can rest knowing that you are covered through emergencies, helping you carry out your activities without worrying.

Wherever your need lies, Dune Lakes Insurance is here to help you reap the above benefits. Call us today for commercial insurance aimed at protecting your Inlet Beach, FL business.

5 Facts About Flood Insurance

1. Flood insurance is a part of most homeowner’s insurance policies; however, flood coverage is available through Dune Lakes Insurance. Most flood insurance is underwritten by the NFIP – the National Flood Insurance Program. 
2. A homeowner’s mortgage lender may require flood insurance coverage if the mortgaged property falls within a defined FEMA flood map/zone. The owner of a property held ‘free and clear’ will need to decide if they want to purchase flood insurance, as there would be no lender to mandate its purchase.
3. When purchased, flood insurance coverage has a standardized waiting period of 30 days before the coverage begins. As such, homeowners should NOT wait to buy this coverage at the last minute.
4. FEMA defines different flood zones based on the expected and calculated risk of a flood in that area. Each flood zone will have certain flood insurance costs associated with its risk level, with the riskiest flood zones generally having higher insurance rates.
5. Flood coverage is important for both coastal and inland areas.

Homeowners should remember that FEMA updates its flood maps periodically so that a property may change flood zones during a routinized update. Dune Lakes Insurance professionals can help you determine if flood insurance is the right fit for your situation.

If you reside in the city of Inlet Beach, FL, and are interested in learning about commercial insurance, you might want to consult with experts at an agency such as Dune Lakes Insurance.

For the majority of business owners in the state of Florida, general liability insurance is required. This coverage is very important not only because it is required, but also because it protects business owners from having to pay the costs associated with either indirect or direct damages to other parties.

If your business or your employees end up doing anything that causes damages for which you can be held liable, general liability coverage can come to your aid. This will cover personal injuries (which can involve visitors, customers, and subcontractors) and property damage. If you are a business owner in the state of Florida, you will have options in terms of policy limits and insurance deductibles with whatever coverage plan you have chosen.

There are many different types of businesses in Florida that have commercial insurance coverage. These include restaurants, contractors, retail stores, healthcare operations, and others. The exact type of policy you will need to get depends on quite a bit on the exact type of business that you are running. Different types of businesses will obviously have different specifics in terms of operation, which will leave them more likely to cause very unique types of damage to people who come in contact with them.

If you are living in Inlet Beach, FL and want to know more about commercial insurance, you should feel free to contact the professionals at Dune Lakes Insurance. They will be able to give you more information that can be helpful, and they may be able to point you in the right direction in terms of what policy would be right for you.

When you have both home and auto insurance, you have some liability protection. However, you likely have very little of it. One way to fix that is to add an umbrella insurance policy to your coverage. If you are interested in having an umbrella policy, call us today at Dune Lakes Insurance in Inlet Beach, FL.

Boost Your Liability Coverage

To get more liability coverage for your home and auto insurance policies, you can go to the insurance carrier and ask to raise your liability maximums. However, this can be extremely expensive to do. For getting the coverage that is not much more, you can significantly raise your monthly premiums costs. Few people want to do this and drive up their bills, but extra coverage is important to have. 

However, there is another choice for raising the liability coverages on both of these policies. You can get an umbrella insurance policy. This type of policy adds to both your home and auto insurance so that you are covered with far more liability insurance. That makes it more likely that a serious accident won’t max out your coverage and force you to sell your assets to pay for medical bills. If a serious accident were to occur, you would have far more coverage to pay for it with an umbrella plan. 

Talk to an Insurance Agent

If you need more liability coverage and you don’t want to pay through the nose for it, call us at Dune Lakes Insurance in Inlet Beach, FL to make an appointment with an agent. We can explain more about umbrella policies to you and find out how much coverage you likely need to have enough liability protection. 

Flood insurance is something that is purchased through the NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program). It is available to people all over the country and the only requirement is your municipality participate in the program. Many different insurance carriers sell flood insurance. The price is controlled by FEMA so you can choose the one you think provides the best service. At Dune Lakes Insurance in Inlet Beach, FL, we are independent insurance agents and are locally owned and operated. 

Flooding is quite widespread in the United States, no state is exempt. It is one of the most dangerous and damaging of natural disasters. Floods are not covered by home insurance, renters insurance, or condo insurance. Simply stated if you have a residence and you have personal property that could be damaged or lost in a flood, you should have flood insurance. 

With warming occurring due to a changing climate, water levels are rising all over the world. Places that have never flooded before are now in danger. Weather patterns have changed and this has lead to more hurricanes and serious storms than ever. When hurricanes hit the United States it often results in serious flooding many miles away from the coast. 

Some areas are considered serious flood risks and people who own homes with a mortgage in these areas may be required to carry flood insurance by their lenders. Other floods are caused by small rivers and creeks that overflow their banks due to heavy rains or melting snow. Whole towns have been submerged. Even one inch of water in your home can cause an average of $25,000 in damage. Why risk it? 

If you are interested in learning more about flood insurance and how it can be of benefit to you contact Dune Lakes Insurance in Inlet Beach, FL. We are here to help.

Did you just start a new business, or have you expanded your venture? If so, then you’ll need commercial insurance. Commercial insurance is protection from any lawsuits that might come your way. Dune Lakes Insurance in Inlet Beach, FL knows all about how you can secure your future with commercial insurance.

Why Commercial Insurance is Important?

You need commercial insurance if you own a business that has a customer base. Even if you don’t directly deal with the public, you could sell a product that may injure someone. If the injured person sues you, then you could be liable for any expenses, including medical fees and lost wages. With insurance, you could be covered from out-of-pocket expenses.

What Commercial Insurance Covers

• Commercial General Liability. This liability coverage can protect you if someone is physically injured by your business.
• Business Owner’s Policy (BOP). BOP combines commercial general liability with property damage to protect you from injuries to property or persons.
• Commercial Auto Insurance. Is additional coverage you can add if your business uses vehicles. This coverage can protect the car and driver if the driver causes an accident while on duty.
• Worker’s Compensation. This is optional coverage for businesses that have employees. If you are self-employed, you most likely won’t need worker’s comp. If an employee is injured while working, they may sue you without coverage.
• Cyber Insurance. If your business runs on the internet, as many do, then you are at risk of compromising the security of your customers. With cyber insurance, you’ll be protected if hackers access your customer’s information.

Accidents can happen and if you own a business that is based on customer relations, you’ll need to get commercial insurance. Check with the insurance agents in Inlet Beach, FL at Dune Lakes Insurance to see how you can protect your business today.

Those that live in the Inlet Beach, FL area are going to have a lot of different insurance needs. One form of insurance that all people will need to have is umbrella insurance coverage. This is an important form of coverage that can give anyone additional personal liability insurance coverage. There are several reasons why someone should invest in this type of insurance coverage. 

Coverage for Unexpected Events

While you can get insurance coverage that will protect against some of the more likely risks, it can be hard to predict everything. Since there is always a risk that you could be found liable for damages for an unexpected event, you should try to get a coverage that can protect you as well as possible. An umbrella policy gives a very blanket form of liability coverage that can cover far more situations than what would be covered in other policies.

More Coverage

You also should consider getting umbrella coverage to receive more liability protection. The typical home and auto policy will have coverage limits that are enough to cover most situations and risks. However, there is always a risk that you could be found liable for a very bad accident. Umbrella insurance will provide you with coverage on top of your base policies in the event there is a very bad accident. 

There are a lot of situations when someone in the Inlet Beach, FL area should get umbrella insurance. If you think that this form of coverage is right for you and your situation, you should call Dune Lakes Insurance. Umbrella insurance is a very important form of insurance coverage, but is complex and comes with a lot of options. The team at Dune Lakes Insurance can simplify it for you to ensure you are able to pick the best policy that meets your needs. 

Flood insurance is an important type of insurance that most homeowners should consider regardless of their home’s location. Flood insurance is designed to protect your home and your belongings against damages caused by floods, and provide you with a peace of mind. Purchasing a flood insurance policy may be a complicated process with a variety of exclusions. In order to make it easier, Dune Lakes Insurance serving Inlet Beach, FL and other surrounding communities has prepared the list of things you should know about this insurance before purchasing it: 

• The amount of flood insurance coverage you get depends on the value of your home and also what is inside. There is an option to opt for a building policy covering floors, roofs, and walls. You can also add a content policy covering household valuables. However, it is important to know that neither policy covers the land on which the building sits. 
• Flood insurance has its limitations – there are certain things it does not cover. For example, it will not cover damages caused by moisture, mold, mildew, or overflowing sump pumps. Also, most coverages have limitations on covering basements and crawl spaces damages. 
• There is a waiting period of 30 days that every flood insurance policy has. This means that a flood insurance policy will not take effect until 30 days after it is purchased. For this reason, it is important not to wait until a rainy season and purchase flood insurance as soon as possible. 

 Florida is one of those states that are prone to experiencing flooding. Therefore, if you are thinking of getting a home in the Sunshine State, one of the first things you should consider is flood insurance. Dune Lakes Insurance serving Inlet Beach, FL is ready to assist you in finding a perfect policy based on your needs and budget. Give us a call today to talk to one of your professional insurance agents. 

Commercial insurance in Inlet Beach, FL covers a lot, but it won’t cover everything. While every insurer is different, there are certain exclusions that are fairly common from one insurance provider to the next.

Generally, insurance is there to cover likelihoods. It won’t cover certainties, it generally won’t cover things that are unlikely to ever happen, it covers things that happen to a lot of business owners, and that might happen to you.  This includes equipment breakdown. No matter how well you take care of equipment, if you use it every day, year after year, it’s going to break down. It might last a long time with regular maintenance and replacing parts as they become worn, but the breakdown is inevitable, so your insurer won’t cover it.

You won’t see a lot of commercial insurance providers offering coverage that overlaps with other policies. If you run a home business, for example, your commercial provider isn’t going to cover your home office. That’s on your home insurance provider, and, probably, so is your laptop, and your vehicle, even if you like to call it your "company car."

In agriculture, commercial insurance generally won’t cover things like hay, crops, and grain that are kept outside. Livestock may be covered, but other animals won’t be. If you use a dog to corral your sheep, the vet bills are probably going to have to come out of your own pocket.

Certain features of the commercial property itself generally won’t be covered. That includes sidewalks and foundations. And, your insurer won’t cover flooding or earthquake. Those policies need to be bought through specialty insurers.

Again, every insurer is different, and some specialize in providing coverage that others don’t. At Dune Lakes Insurance, our aim is to connect you with the insurance provider that’s right for your Inlet Beach, FL business. Get in touch with Dune Lakes Insurance and let’s see what we can do for you.