Local Nationwide Insurance Office Moves To Lakewood

Allow me to introduce myself, I am Mark Hofelich, an Insurance Agent, born and raised on the west side of Cleveland. I am moving my Nationwide Insurance Agency to the west end of Lakewood and I am really excited to be a part of the Lakewood Observer. I plan to submit a monthly column about something that I find very important, and something that the general public does not know much about… Insurance. My inspiration for the column is all of the stories we hear in talking to our clients; from minor car accidents, damaged roofs, lost wedding rings to wet basements.

Please join us at our open house to celebrate our new office at The Ferris Building, 18615 Detroit Rd from 3 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, December 13, 2011. Please stop by to meet the Hofelich Insurance team and/orfeel free to contact my office at 440.333.4750 or by email at hofelichinsurance@gmail.com.

A lot of people do not like insurance and I can see why, when we need our policies, they are not always there for us. As a consumer that can be upsetting. I believe the main reason for this is miscommunication between the carrier and the consumer. However, Insurance is very important protection that should not be overlooked. My hope is for this column to help bridge that gap and educate my readers and clients to avoid potentially costly and avoidable gaps in coverage.

For my first submission I would like to briefly talk about gutter and roof maintenance. One of the best ways to prevent any surprises is to properly clean and maintain your gutters and to check your roof for damaged or missing shingles. As we head into winter our gutters become filled with fall leaves and our roofs are subjected to the high winds of the fall storms.

The cumulative affects of improper home maintenance can leave our homes exposed to water damage and ice damming during the winter months as well as cause future damage to our homes’ foundation. A damaged foundation may lead to water in our basements and the mess it causes may not be covered by your insurance policy. I will touch on the difference between flooding, sewer back-up, and seepage through our basement walls in later articles but what I would like you to best understand from this today is that it is important to routinely clean and check our roofs and gutters as the damage that can be caused by deferring this maintenance may lead to issues that may not be covered by our policies.

The Hofelich Insurance Agency mission is to educate and provide the insurance products that best represent the needs of each individual client. I plan to echo and reinforce that with my monthly submissions so my readers understand how to avoid potentially costly issues just as our clients do.

Thank you, I am excited to be a part of the Lakewood community and look forward to featuring your insurance questions and providing solutions to your needs for all things insurance.