Home Insurance

Have a Fireplace? Reduce the Risk of Accidental Fire

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If you have a home with a fireplace, chances are you appreciate the warmth and charm it adds to your living environment. At the same time, you may have concerns about your fireplace causing an accidental fire. A home insurance policy from George Ryan Jr. Insurance Group, Inc., in Bourbonnais, IL, will protect you against injuries or damage from fire. The following fireplace safety tips can help prevent accidental fireplace-induced fires from occurring on your property.   

1. Have your fireplace and chimney inspected and cleaned by professionals every year before using. A professional inspection will ensure your fireplace is up to par for the winter season.

2. Keep your fireplace clean at all times by removing ashes, vacuuming debris and washing fireplace floor and walls on a regular basis. Clearing flammable materials from your fireplace reduces the risk of accidental fires.  

3. Use only seasoned firewood in your fireplace to avoid creosote buildup on your chimney that could accidentally catch on fire.

4. Avoid using liquid accelerates such as gasoline to start a fire as accidental spills could result in your house catching on fire.

5. Don’t leave children or pets alone with a fire or leave your fire unattended for any length of time as it could lead to accidental fire.

6. Use a fire screen as protection against sparks or embers escaping from the fireplace and catching surrounding furnishings on fire. A fire screen will also keep kids and pets at a safe distance from the fire.

7. Extinguish your fire completely before retiring for the night.  

8. Make sure your home has working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to warn you of a house fire.

These fire safety tips combined with adequate insurance coverage from George Ryan Jr. Insurance Group, Inc., will keep your Bourbonnais, IL, home safe from the dangers of fire.

 

3 things you need to fix for fall on your home’s exterior

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The advent of cooler weather means it’s time for Bourbonnais, IL homeowners to get started on a list of outdoor chores. While it can be tempting to just skip these jobs, at George Ryan Jr. Insurance Group Inc we’ve seen how these relatively simple outdoor tasks can save our clients a lot of money on future home repairs.

  1. Start with your yard.  As soon as cooler weather arrives, trim back the tree branches that look like they could fall and damage your home or cars. For large branches, consider hiring a tree service rather than risk doing it yourself. Once this is done, mow the grass a final time and rake up leaves that will blanket and smother the grass over the coming months. 
  2. Put away the summer stuff. Take a few minutes to store your summer toys and patio furniture. Make sure these items are clean and dry before placing them in a garage or basement. Once winter storms begin, you’ll be glad that these items aren’t blowing around your yard and potentially damaging your home.
  3. Inspect and clean your roof.  Leaves, dirt, and other debris on a roof can mix with rainwater and snow and decompose fairly rapidly.  This releases acids that will eat through your roof shingles. Clearing this stuff off of your roof can prevent high repair bills arriving in the spring.  While you’re up there, clean out your gutters and get them ready for winter snow melt.

If you’re looking to save even more money, call the agents at George Ryan Jr. Insurance Group Inc.  They have years of experience helping Bourbonnais, IL homeowners find policies that fit their budget.

Finding the right home insurance in Bourbonnais, IL

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Located just south of the city of Chicago is the quiet community of Bourbonnais, Illinois, which is best known for being the summer training camp home of the Chicago Bears football team. Due to the fact that it’s outside the city but close enough to commute, it is ideal for those who want to have big homes and not spend an outrageous amount on them and also raise families in a quiet community. So if you do own a home in Bourbonnais, IL, you will want a specific type of home insurance to protect yourself from unforeseen issues, so you don’t end up paying a lot of money out of pocket.

FIRE INSURANCE

Every home owner needs fire insurance of some kind, as a fire is always possible everywhere. While Bourbonnais isn’t prone to massive forest fires or anything of that nature, you will undoubtedly want the house protected from any total loss or partial loss due to a fire that could break out inside the home itself.

TORNADO INSURANCE

While tornados don’t cruise up towards Chicago very often, it is important to keep in mind that Bourbonnais is in the Midwest, which is technically part of the infamous tornado alley. So storms do bring strong winds that sometimes turn into tornados and when that once in a century storm does strike and rolls through your Bourbonnais neighborhood, you will want to make sure your home is protected.

INSURANCE AGAINST CRIME

While Bourbonnais is incredibly safe and far enough away from Chicago that the chances of anything happening is quite slim, the truth is thieves and criminals can strike just about anywhere. So having insurance that protects your belongings inside your home is important, to insure that someone who chooses your place to break into doesn’t cost you a lot more in the future.

Reliable Packing Tips from George Ryan Jr. Insurance Group, Inc

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Owning a home gives you a sense of solidity and well-being and any homeowner wants to do their best to ensure the safety of their house and surrounding property. George Ryan Jr. Insurance Group, Inc provides residents of Illinois with auto, home, commercial, health, life, renters, landlord, condo and flood insurance.  They are there to provide for all of your insurance needs.

As an insurance company who cares, George Ryan also offers solid packing tips for people who are packing unused items or relocating. Here are several good tips below.

1. Get boxes from food stores

Why should you pay for boxes when you can get them from your local food store? Many food stores just throw away cardboard boxes after the items have been packed on the shelves. Just ask the shelf managers or store manager for the discarded boxes before they toss them. They will be glad to have someone dispose of the boxes for them.

2. Do it yourself

No one likes to get rid of or store unused items. If you ask any family member if they want this stowed away or that put up, chances are you will get a firm no; then you will be stuck with a pile of unused stuff cluttering up the house. Take the initiative and do the project yourself. Logically thinking, no one is going to give you a hand with it anyway.

3. Label your boxes

Packing is one thing; remembering where the items came from in the first place after you have sealed the boxes is another. Get some duct tape and paper to label which box came from where and also where it should be stored. You will save yourself a big headache when it is all done.