We all know the importance of having a smoke detector in our home, but what about a carbon monoxide detector?

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that can be lethal. Carbon monoxide can build up in your home whenever you burn fuel from a stove, grill, furnace, fire place or from your vehicles in the garage. Obviously, we need to use these appliances every day, as well as drive a vehicle, so how can we keep safe?

Simple tips to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning

• Install a carbon monoxide detector on every level of your home. Check the batteries every 6 months, however, it should alert you with a beep with batteries are low.
• Ensure you get your fuel burning appliances checked every year by a qualified technician. You should get in the habit of looking for rust on vents or loose/disconnected pipes on appliances like your water heater, heating system or any other gas, oil or wood/coal burning appliance.
• Use portable gas stoves or burn charcoal outside only.
• Keep generators outside and away from open windows only. Using them in a garage or carport can be dangerous.
• Don’t attempt to heat your house temporarily by turning on your oven or gas stove.
• Get your chimney checked every year. Debris can block your chimney and cause carbon monoxide to build up in your home. You can check your chimney yourself for any cracks.
• Never leave your car running while it sits in the garage.

Did you know they make a battery operated combination detector for both a smoke and carbon monoxide? Combination detectors can save space and batteries in addition to lives.

Even a single carbon monoxide detector in your home could save lives. If you rent a home or apartment that does not currently have a carbon monoxide detector, ask your landlord to provide one. Many states require that homes have them installed. Review your state laws here.

If you have questions about your home or renters insurance, contact our agency. We can go over your current coverage or provide you with an insurance quote.

You’ve worked hard for your assets. Whether it’s purchasing your home, an investment property or vehicle or saving for retirement, it has taken years and years of consistent hard work to build what you have. Did you also know that your future income can be considered an asset too? So, how can you protect your assets?

By purchasing an umbrella insurance policy.

But, I have insurance for my home and vehicles? Yes, we need insurance for our car and home. But, there are limits on how much you are protected. For example, you get into a car accident where you are at fault. Your insurance policy covers you for $250,000 in 3^rd party damages. However, the other individuals in the car accident needed medical attention & their car was totaled. The total damages for the other party cost $350,000.

You are responsible for the remaining $100,000. If you have an umbrella insurance policy, it would then kick in to cover this excess liability. If you don’t have an umbrella policy, would you be able to foot the bill? If you cannot pay for the remaining balance, a court may issue your future wages to be garnished or they may target your other assets.

Would you prefer to rest easy knowing you have an extra layer of insurance coverage to protect your assets?

There are countless ways to exceed the limits of your home or auto insurance policy. Get peace of mind with an umbrella insurance policy. It eliminates the gaps and insufficient limits on your insurance policies. You’ll be amazed at how affordable coverage can be.

Four levels of protection:

By purchasing an umbrella policy, you increase the limits of liability on:

• Bodily injury: Medical bills and settlement for injuries sustained to the third party.
• Property damage: Damages sustained to the property of a third-party.
• Other damage: Libel & slander, other claims expenses.
• Legal fees: Hiring an attorney can be expensive. An umbrella insurance policy helps cover the cost.

If you have questions about purchasing a personal umbrella insurance policy, contact our agency! Our licensed agents can go over coverage options or simply provide a free quote.

More and more people are taking advantage of the extra income they can make by doing an AirBnB, VRBO or other rental out of their homes. This is a great way to save money for college, pay off your mortgage, pay for a remodel or just make extra money for your savings. But, before you commit and jump into it, consider the risks associated with being a landlord.

Short-term vacation rental properties such as AirBnB, VRBO, HomeAway and others require special insurance. Regardless of whether it is just a room in your house, a trailer or even a separate house, be sure you match your insurance policy to the risk you’re taking on. Believe it or not, you’re a landlord!

Doesn’t AirBnb or VRBO Provide Insurance?

Yes, they do provide liability and property damage protection for third-party claims when they are booked through the AirBnB website. However, you are only protected up to their liability limits. Like many types of insurance policies, there can be gaps that are created.

Example 1: You become chummy with a previous house guest that booked through AirBnB. You exchange numbers and they text you to book a stay instead of booking through the AirBnB website. During the stay, they’re injured. Because they didn’t book through the website, you’re on the hook for the liability.

Example 2: You use Craigslist to get renters into your short-term rental because there is a big local music festival and it will be easy to rent it out for more money during this time. The renter trashes your property and because of repairs, you can’t rent out the property for months. You lose out on income.

Example 3: An excessively bad bodily injury occurs on your property. The medical bills exceed what the short term vacation rental company provides in insurance coverage. You are stuck with the remaining balance of the medical bills.

It’s common to want to make some extra cash from your short-term vacation rental, but we want it to be a safe endeavor for you. By calling an agent in our office, we can help you eliminate the gaps that exist with insurance that may be provided and get you a policy that is the perfect match for you and your family.

A Message from Dawn LeDoux Roberts

Let’s take a little bit of a stroll…..

Back in 1979, a “young” (cough) lad had this brilliant idea, “I want to open my own insurance agency and help people.” Now most of you know, you really don’t grow up with the desire to be in insurance, you sort of fall into it. Whether it’s because of family, a friend said you should try it out, or maybe it was a stepping stone that lead to better things. For this lad, it wasn’t any of those things. Before 1979, he started with life insurance and realized that, not only was he good at selling (and maybe a little bit of B.S.ing), but he genuinely enjoyed helping people. It wasn’t long before he opened his own agency on May 29th, 1979 and called it LeDoux Insurance Agency. His primary focus when he opened was selling life insurance. By the early 80’s, he came to the realization that he could do so much more to help people so he started writing non-standard auto insurance. I believe the first company was Viking Insurance, known today as Dairyland.

Through the years the agency would grow and more companies were added, more staff was added, and by the late 90’s, we opened our 2nd office.

During the ups and downs of the business, the economy, changing of staff and companies, one thing was certain- the customer ALWAYS came first no matter what. Calls were picked up within two rings, no one waited, no one was ever busy and EVERYONE was greeted with a smile. There was a time we had our office closed for a Christmas party (late evening by the way) and he would open that door to help someone that needed auto insurance RIGHT NOW! No potential client was ever turned away regardless of their need. It was not out of the norm to get a call during Sunday dinner from a prospect needing insurance and he’d have to rush down to help that person.

There is a reason LeDoux Insurance is still going full force today, and that reason is… BOB LEDOUX.

Yes, he may buy us too much junk food when we are trying to watch our waist lines, but I think we all end up feeling a little relieved when we have had a “day” and head to the kitchen for that much needed piece (or two or three) of chocolate, rice Krispy treats, hostess cupcakes, Costco muffins, granola bars, butter cookies, or peppermint patty’s.

Today, he can be proud to say that he has built one of the largest agencies in Oregon with now 5 locations, 30+ employees and too many insurance companies to list……I say, the ride is JUST beginning, here is to 40 more years!!

Thank you Bob, Boss, President, CEO, and Dad for building a place I know I am proud to have belonged to for about ¾ of these past 40 years.  You have taught me more than you realize, the good, the bad and the ugly. i appreciate you giving me this opportunity to share in your journey.

AND Thank you to ALL of the amazing staff-you keep the wheels turning!!