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Twin Bridges Insurance Agency

1881 Western Avenue, Suite 210
Albany, NY 12203

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Which roofing materials qualify for discounts while buying home insurance in Albany, New York?

Are you an Albany area homeowner and wondering how you can reduce the cost of your home insurance premiums? Making upgrades to your home is a good way that you can win the favor of insurers and reduce your rates. The roof is a key area you should focus on when making insurance-reducing upgrades. The roof is your home’s last line of defense during a storm, and the materials that your roof is made of determine how well your roof will stand up to stress over time. Make your home safer and your insurance premiums lower with the following impact resistant roofing materials.

Class 4 Roofing Materials

Roofing materials are categorized into classes that measure their impact resistance. Class 4 materials are the sturdiest and can qualify you for the best discounts on your homeowner’s insurance. Class 4 materials are highly resistant to hail and should protect your roof from cracking during a storm.

In the order of strength, Class 4 roofing materials include asphalt, wood shake, metal, and synthetic shingles. Of these materials, asphalt is the strongest material you can purchase.

Class 3 Roofing Materials

If Class 4 roofing materials are cost prohibitive, you may opt for Class 3 roofing materials. While these materials won’t impress your insurers as much as Class 4 materials, you may still qualify for a substantial discount. The two Class 3 roofing materials you can choose from are concrete or clay.

Qualifying for Your Discount

Before spending all of your money on upgrading your roof, contact your New York insurer to determine what documentation you need to obtain to qualify for a credit on your homeowner’s insurance. An experienced contractor can help you identify and select Class 4 and Class 3 roofing materials for you house.

If you are between policies or searching for your first homeowner’s insurance policy, an independent agent in the Albany area can help you find a carrier with generous credits for roof upgrades. Independent agents like us carry policies from multiple insurance companies and can help you obtain the best plan to reduce the price of your homeowner’s insurance.

What coverages are included in a collectibles insurance policy in Albany, NY?

Did you ever think about insuring your most prized possessions? Well, if you are a “car person”, you of course have insurance for your automobile. However, if you are into collecting smaller items, you may have a possible financial disaster on your hands. What would you do if your prized collectibles were destroyed in a fire, stolen or otherwise lost? Not only would you lose the items themselves, but you would lose the equity you have in them—possibly harming your overall financial standing.

Luckily, there are forms of collectibles insurance available that can protect you from these types of disasters. If you own extensive collections of nearly any type of item in Albany, Schenectady, or Saratoga Springs, New York, you may want to look into one of these types of insurance policy.

One question that comes up time and again is “What does a collectibles insurance policy cover, anyway?” Well, this is not a simple question, and as such there is not a simple answer. The policy can be adjusted to cover nearly anything. If you have specific needs, the best thing to do is to get in touch with an independent agent.

Working with an independent agent makes sense, especially when you have a more complex type of policy such as one that covers collectibles. An independent agent can look through all the different options and make sure you find one that will keep you well covered and keep you from spending more than you have to. If you work with us, we can provide live comparative rate quotes from multiple insurance companies. This is one benefit that you won’t find just anywhere. Comparing rates in this way is the absolute best way to insure your collectibles are covered and you get a great rate too.

Does having a part time job affect while buying a car insurance policy in Albany, New York?

As you shop for auto insurance in Albany, you might be wondering about the things that could potentially impact how much you pay per month for coverage. If you’re one of countless New York residents under part-time employment, you might be wondering if you’re able to successfully buy the coverage your vehicle needs to remain legally registered on state roads.

Regardless of whether you have a part-time job or a full-time job, your employment status won’t have much of a bearing on buying a New York car insurance policy, outside of how much you’re willing to spend on premiums each month, of course. In fact, there are many other things that would have a bigger impact on your ability to purchase auto insurance. A clean driving record, your age and marital status, current address and the type of car you plan on ensuring are more likely to affect your total premium.

Unlike health insurance plans that offered through an employer, you don’t have to worry about your part-time or full-time employment status affecting your auto insurance coverage. After all, it’s not like you’re getting your car insured by your employer.

In the end, the only thing that matters when buying car insurance in Albany is your ability to maintain coverage by paying your premiums every month. Having full-time employment will only help your ability to afford more coverage and add more options to your current policy.

It’s a good idea to shop for the best rates you can afford and adjust your auto insurance coverage accordingly, within your legally mandated state coverage limits, of course. As your independent agent, we can help you make the right choices when it comes to streamlining your car insurance budget.

What Happens if my New York State Vehicle is not Inspected?

In the state of New York, residents are required to obtain an annual vehicle inspection. Even if residents are new to Albany or other areas of the state, an inspection is required within ten days of registering the vehicle. When an inspection is overlooked, Saratoga Springs or Schenectady residents can face unexpected consequences.

Fines

The obvious consequence of avoiding a car inspection is the fine. When a police officer notices that a vehicle is late on an inspection or does not have an inspection sticker, a ticket is given to the driver or owner of the vehicle. The cost of the ticket will depend on the delay on the inspection process.

Fines will generally range from $25 to $100 in the state of New York. It will cost $25 if the inspection is late by 60 or less. If the vehicle is not inspected for a longer period of time, then residents will need to pay $100 in additional fees. The state will also charge $55 in surcharges, which are added to the basic fine.

Losing the Right to Register

If the car is not inspected after receiving a ticket, then the state reserves the right to refuse to re-register the vehicle in the future. This will usually only happen if the offense is repeated or the inspection is put off for a long period of time.

Although auto insurance can seem like the most important consideration when driving a motor vehicle, it is only one aspect of the process. Residents will also need to register the car with the state and go through the emissions inspection to avoid unnecessary fees. To learn more about New York inspections and state laws, contact us to speak to an independent agent today.