Schmalz Insurance Agency

01/10/2024

01/06/2024

Thank you all for allowing us to serve you for the last 40 plus years!

10/21/2023

08/30/2023

08/30/2023

If you need to call in a Flood claim do it ASAP Most adjusters should reach out within the next two days - if possible do not remove any items from the residence if you need to - TAKE VIDEOS & PHOTOS FOR THE ADJUSTER to present proof of property damaged - stay safe & our hearts go out to all involved with this mess today - have your flood policy Number with you when you call

Progressive (ASI) flood claim phone #
1-866-274-5677

Selective Flood # 1-877-348-0552

Wright Flood has a texting option text claim to 727-777-7066 you can follow up with texting status- if you do not have your policy # they can still help at
800-725-9472

08/28/2023

Here is an AMAZING list of hurricane preps my family uses. (Save or share)
1. Charge any device that provides light. Laptops, tablets, cameras, video cameras, and old phones. Old cell phones can still used for dialing 911. Charge external battery back ups. ( Glow sticks also provide light for a few hours. Stand them upright in a glass or jar to make a lantern.)
2. Wash all trash cans, big and small, and fill with water for flushing toilets. Line outdoor trash cans with trash bags, fill with water and store in the garage. Add bleach to sterilize.
3. Fill every tub and sink with water. Cover sinks with Saran Wrap to keep it from collecting dust. Fill washing machine and leave lid up to store water.
4. Fill old empty water bottles and other containers with water and keep near sinks for washing hands.
5. Fill every Tupperware with water and store in freezer. These will help keep food cold longer and serve as a back up water supply.
6. Fill drinking cups with water and cover with Saran Wrap. Store as many as possible in fridge. The rest you can store on the counter and use first before any water bottles are opened. Ice is impossible to find after the storm.
7. Reserve fridge space for storing tap water and keep the sealed water bottles on the counter.
8. Cook any meats in advance and other perishable foods. You can freeze cooked food. Hard boil eggs for snacks for first day without power.
9. Be well hydrated before the storm hits and avoid salty foods that make you dehydrated.
10. Wash all dirty clothes and bed sheets. Anything dirty will smell without the A/C, you may need the items, and with no A/C, you'll be sweating a lot. You're going to want clean sheets.
11. Toss out any expiring food, clean cat litter boxes, empty all trash cans in the house, including bathrooms. Remove anything that will cause an odor when the A/C is off. If you don't have a trash day pickup before the storm, find a dumpster.
12. Bring in any yard decor, secure anything that will fly around, secure gates, bring in hoses, potted plants, etc. Bring in patio furniture and grills.
13. Clean your environment so you have clear, easy escape routes. Even if that means temporarily moving furniture to one area.
14. Scrub all bathrooms so you are starting with a clean odor free environment. Store water filled trash cans next to each toilet for flushing.
15. Place everything you own that is important and necessary in a backpack or small file box that is easy to grab. Include your wallet with ID, phone, hand sanitizer, snacks, etc. Get plastic sleeves for important documents.
16. Make sure you have cash on hand.
17. Stock up on pet food and fill up bowls of water for pets.
18. Refill any medications. Most insurance companies allow for 2 emergency refills per year.
19. Fill your propane tanks. You can heat soup cans, boil water, make coffee, and other stuff besides just grilling meat. Get an extra, if possible.
20. Drop your A/C in advance and lower temperatures in your fridges.
21. Gather all candles, flashlights, lighters, matches, batteries, and other items and keep them accessible.
22. Clean all counters in advance. Start with a clean surface. Buy Clorox Wipes for cleaning when there is no power. Mop your floors and vacuum. If power is out for 10 days, you'll have to live in the mess you started with.
23. Pick your emergency safe place such as a closet under the stairs. Store the items you'll need in that location for the brunt of the storm. Make a hand fan for when the power is out.
24. Shower just before the storm is scheduled to hit.
25. Keep baby wipes next to each toilet. Don't flush them. It's not the time to risk clogging your toilet!
26. Run your dishwasher, don't risk having dirty smelly dishes and you need every container for water! Remember you'll need clean water for brushing your teeth, washing yourself, and cleaning your hands.
27. Put a small suitcase in your car in case you decide to evacuate. Also put at least one jug of water in your car. It will still be there if you don't evacuate! You don't need to store all water in the house. Remember to pack for pets as well.
28. Check on all family members, set up emergency back up plans, and check on elderly neighbors.
29. Remember, pets are family too. Take them with you!
30. Before the storm, unplug all electronics. There will be power surges during and after the storm.
31. Gas up your car and have a spare gas container for your generator or your car when you run out.
32 . Use plastic cups and paper plates. 👍 You need water to wash dishes....👎
33 . Also if you run out of water tap your hot water heater it can have up to 30 gallons stored in there.
34 . Put water in balloons and store in freezer.
35 . If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown Flush it down!💩
If you can, take a video of your house and contents....walk room to room--open cabinets/drawers and closets. This will help if you need to make a claim later. It will show proof of items and help you list all the items (help your memory, so you don't forget anything)...I highly recommend!!!
I also heard you should freeze a cup of water, place a coin on top after it is frozen...keep this in your freezer to help you gauge the temperature if the power goes out. If the coin stays on top, the food is staying frozen. If the coin falls into the water, the freezer thawed out and most food will likely need to be thrown away. This is super helpful is you have to leave and come back, as it may appear everything is still frozen, but if the coin is in the cup--you will know!!
Finally, anything that you want to try and preserve, but you can't take with you---place it in a plastic bin and put in your dishwasher, lock the door---this should make it water tight in case of any water intrusion into your home. But of course, take all the important/irreplaceable items you can!!

07/14/2023

07/12/2023

To know her is to love her!!
Happiest of Birthdays from all of us back at the ranch!!

06/26/2023

While much of this is from around the country, you can see how high our premiums are in contrast

Auto Insurance Rates Soar With Little Relief in Sight
BY JEAN EAGLESHAM of the Wall Street Journal

A 40% increase by Allstate in Georgia, a 32% rise sought by Nationwide Mutual Insurance in California, an 11% bump by State Farm in New York. Insurers are imposing steep increases on auto insurance rates, with many state regulators doing little to stop them.
Even states with consumer-friendly laws and the power to veto increases are allowing rates to rise. California agreed this year to more than a billion dollars of car-insurance premium increases, according to consumer advocates.
Insurers are getting big bumps because they have suffered big losses. Car insurance premiums could keep increasing through the end of 2024. “Rates need to rise probably [5% to 10%] in each of the next couple of years because the loss trends have gone up so much,” said Dale Porfilio, chief insurance officer at industry group Insurance Information Institute.
Premiums are increasing at a faster rate than other inflation-hit items, such as rent and food. Car-insurance rates increased 17% in the 12 months to May, more than four times the 4% rise in overall inflation, Labor Department data show.

Auto insurers have said their rate requests are driven by necessity, not greed. The cost of claims has soared since the pandemic due to more accidents, higher repair costs, bigger medical bills and increased litigation. Car insurers lost last year on average of 12 cents for every dollar of premium written, according to S&P Global. State Farm, the country’s biggest car insurer by premium volume, lost 28 cents for every dollar written last year, posting a $13 billion underwriting loss for its auto arm.
“It’s probably the worst period for auto insurers it’s been in 30 years at least,” said Neil Alldredge, chief executive of industry body National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies.
State regulators’ influence over car-insurance rate increases varies a lot. Their powers range from states such as California, where increases can take effect only after they are approved, to Wyoming, where insurers don’t have to notify the state about rate changes.
New York is one of the toughest policers of car-insurance rate requests, industry executives said. The state in the past 12 months has agreed to a 6.8% increase for Geico and a 10.6% rise for State Farm after the companies originally requested rises of 11.1% and 12.5%, respectively, according to S&P Global.
The New York Department of Financial Services declined to comment.
In Florida, another state where regulators have to preapprove any increases to car-insurance premiums, rates have risen 15% year over year to an average $3,183 for full coverage, according to personal finance website Bankrate. That makes the Sunshine State the most expensive in the nation for auto insurance, the Bankrate study found earlier this year. Big auto insurance losses from last year’s Hurricane Ian are one reason.
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation is required by state law to ensure rate increases are “adequate to maintain insurer solvency and pay claims,” while also preventing excessive pricing, a spokeswoman said. A few states are pushing back. North Carolina’s insurance commissioner has set a fall hearing date to challenge a 28.4% increase requested by a group representing the state’s auto insurers. In Georgia, a new law will give the state increased rights to review rate requests. That follows an increase by Allstate of more than 40% in its rates last year, which Georgia’s insurance commissioner said “exploit[ed] a loophole” in the existing rules.
An Allstate spokesman referred to a statement from the Insurance Information Institute, saying “there was no loophole in Georgia,” and insurers had followed the rules. “Making the regulatory process of implementing rate increases more burdensome [under the new law] will make it more difficult for insurers to take on risk,” the statement said. Insurers said states that push back too hard can end up hurting consumers by causing companies to either pull back or ultimately need much bigger increases than those initially requested.
California’s insurance commissioner didn’t grant any personal car-insurance rate increases between March 2020 and last fall. Under state laws, insurers can’t stop offering new auto policies if they want to stay in California.
The companies sidestepped that requirement by making it harder for customers to get policies. Some closed offices or removed their details from agents’ software. Allstate reported a 37% drop in new applications in California in the three months through March.
Now that California’s commissioner has started agreeing to car-insurance increases, some insurers are asking for big numbers. Nationwide has requested 32.3%, for example. State Farm has a request for 24.6% pending, having already had a 6.9% increase approved earlier this year, state records show.
A Nationwide spokesman declined to comment. A State Farm spokesman said that after sustaining unprecedented underwriting losses last year, “we continue to adjust…to make sure we are matching price to risk.”
Denneile Ritter, a vice president at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, laid the blame for the double-digit rate requests in the Golden State at the door of the regulator. The big rate increases can be traced back to the long hiatus when no increases were approved, she said.
Michael Soller, California’s deputy insurance commissioner, said it was the big insurers who in effect put rates on hold by failing to request rises until the end of 2021 or even later. “Our department’s experts have decades of experience in the insurance industry…but they aren’t mind readers,” Soller said. “We will not accept blame for situations… when insurance companies did not step forward.”

06/24/2023

Call us now before flood season gets ugly!

05/07/2023

Oldsmar is easily one of the most peaceful places to live in Florida. See for yourself what makes this Tampa suburb so special.