Insurance Information & Frequently Asked Questions
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Auto Insurance
Homeowner's Insurance
Insurance Fraud
Long Term Care Protection
Umbrella Liability
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Auto Insurance
Accident With a Borrowed Car
Rental Cars
What to Do After an Accident
Cellular Phone Coverage
Lease Loan Gap Coverage
New Car Selection
Ohio's Graduated Driver Licensing Law
Uninsured Motorists Insurance
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Accident With a Borrowed Car: Whose policy pays?
If you lend your car to a friend and your friend has an accident, it might be your insurance that's on the hook. It all depends on the insurance company that issued your policy. One company’s policy may state: "the insurance follows the car" while another company’s policy says the driver’s insurance is the primary coverage even though you own the vehicle involved.
Let’s take a look at the two different scenarios:
All these rules go out the window in many cases if the person borrowing the car happens to be a relative who resides in the same household as the owner. You should read your policy carefully to see what type of coverage applies to you.
Remember these two things: First, always exercise caution when it comes to lending your car. Second, if you're ever in doubt about whether you or another driver is covered in any given situation, please call us.
Rental Cars: Should you purchase rental agency coverage?
If you have collision and comprehensive ("other than collision") coverages on your own car, you are most likely covered if you're traveling in the United States, its territories and possessions or Canada (for example, travel in Mexico, the Bahamas or Europe would not be covered). Most policies (except business policies) cover any rental car that you drive at no additional premium. Business cars frequently require an extra premium to afford the same coverage. Give us a call before you leave for your "fun in the sun and/or snow" to confirm your coverage.
What To Do After an Accident.
You've been in an accident. Here are some general guidelines about what to do next:
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Stop at once. Never leave the scene of even a MINOR accident.
- Seek medical assistance and summon police.
- Do not admit fault. Do not comment about the accident to anyone but your insurance representative and the police. Never accept or make an offer of cash, check or "private" settlement.
- Gather accident information. Note the date and time of accident.
- Obtain information on the other driver including: name, address, phone number, make of car, vehicle license number, insurance company and agent's name and telephone number.
- Record a description of what occurred.
- Draw a diagram of the accident showing the direction of both cars and the point of the accident. Include street names and location of traffic signs/signals.
- Report the accident promptly to your insurance agent.
Cellular Phone Coverage
Since many of us now have cellular telephones, we thought it might be worthwhile to highlight a few points regarding how insurance applies to this technology:
If a cellular phone is stolen from your car (or along with your car if it is stolen), is the phone covered by your auto insurance?
No, it is not unless the phone is permanently installed and powered by the car's electrical system.
Is your portable cell phone covered by your homeowners or renters insurance?
Sometimes it is, but coverage is subject to the policy provisions and deductible in your homeowners or renters policy.
Can you buy broader coverage for your portable cell phone?
Yes, most companies offer a special, broader coverage for portable cell phones that can be added to a homeowners or renters policy. Call us for details.
What if you lease a portable cell phone?
If you lease a phone, check with the company you lease the phone from to see what (if any) coverage they may provide. You may then want to check with us to compare coverages and cost.
Lease Loan Gap Coverage
If you are thinking about leasing or buying a car, you might consider adding Lease Loan Gap (LLG) Coverage to your auto policy. LLG Coverage is an extension of your auto's physical damage coverage.
Note: Some car manufacturers may provide gap coverage as part of the lease agreement -- check your particular contract for details.
New Car Selection: Safety Counts
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has published a shopping guide for those wanting to buy a new car based upon safety features. While the guide does provide specific car lists (from station wagons to sports cars) it also reveals some overall safety basics to keep in mind.
Vehicle size
Air bags
Safety belts
Antilock brakes
Head restraints
Built-in child seats
Ohio's Graduated Driver Licensing Law
A graduated driver licensing law became effective in Ohio on July 1, 1998. Designed to provide new drivers under age 18 with additional experience and skills when behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.
The Ohio Insurance Institute supports this new graduated driver licensing system. Similar systems in other states have reduced the number of crashes involving teens. Call our office or stop by for your free copy of The Driving Challenge - A Guide to Ohio's Graduated Driver Licensing Law published by the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Or for further information call the Department directly at 1-800-462-2269.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage: Do I Really Need It?
You're driving your son to soccer practice when you are rear-ended at a stop sign. Dealing with the initial trauma of the accident and injuries and the subsequent disruption of a period of medical recovery and the inconvenience of car repairs is bad enough. What if the injuries are serious? And what if the at-fault driver has no insurance? Where do you turn?
This is where your Uninsured Motorists (UM) Coverage comes into play.
What is UM Coverage? The Ohio Insurance Institute defines it as coverage that "pays the policyholder and passengers in his/her car for losses sustained by reason of bodily injury ... caused by the owner or operator of an uninsured automobile or a hit and run driver."
Call today for more information.
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Homeowner's Insurance
Tornado Damage
Volunteer Activities
Earthquake, Flood and Sewer Back-up
Your Home Business
Money Saving Tips
Covering Bizarre Losses
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Tornado Damage: Are you covered?
Does windstorm include tornado?
Since the policy specifically refers to windstorm as a covered cause of loss, some residents have wondered what exactly windstorm includes. Tornadoes, hurricanes, high winds, thunderstorms and blizzards are all included in the definition of windstorm. Your homeowners policy also provides 'loss of use' benefits to cover additional living expenses while repairs are being made to your home.
Volunteer Activities: Are you covered?
You are a volunteer soccer coach, a 4-H advisor, a chamber of commerce committee member, on the church board, or you helped raise contributions for the last United Way campaign. Perhaps you have volunteered hundreds of hours this year without a thought of insurance coverage. If someone is injured, who pays for any legal action brought against you in these volunteer activities? If you serve as a board member and are sued for breach of duty, imprudent investments, discrimination in hiring or wrongful termination, are you covered? To answer these questions, there are two places to check: your home insurance and the organization's insurance. Let's look at them:
Your homeowners insurance policy gives you liability protection for bodily injury and property damage to others in non-business activities, like a child who is injured when you are the volunteer soccer coach or 4-H advisor. On the other hand, no protection is provided if your volunteer activity is related to a business (chamber volunteer, union, trade or professional association representative, etc.) or if you receive any compensation. Any legal action other than bodily injury and property damage is not covered (an exception: some homeowners policies cover personal injury --- libel, slander, false arrest, false imprisonment, etc.).
Also check for coverage under the organization's policy. Ask the organization leadership for proof of insurance for general liability, directors and officers liability, and employment practices liability. Also check to see if volunteers are covered (named as additional insureds) under those policies. Some other potential loss situations could include:
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Failure to examine documents signed
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Silence with respect to improper conduct of fellow officials
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Improper rejection of bids
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Failure to exercise diligence in management
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Incurring unnecessary expenses
Communities are fortunate to have so many volunteers donating their time in a host of different areas. This discussion is not meant to discourage any present or prospective volunteers. Rather, our intent is to help individuals be well-informed, comfortable and adequately protected when it comes to volunteering.
Earthquake, Flood and Sewer Back-up
While not wanting to dampen your anticipation of this long-awaited season, it is a good idea to review some optional coverages you may wish to add to your current homeowners policy. Flood insurance as well as the sewer back-up and earthquake endorsements are worth a brief examination.
Flood- Since flood damage is excluded under your homeowners coverage, you should be aware that flood insurance is available from the National Flood Insurance Program. Most Ohio communities have qualified for the program that provides coverage for surface flooding only. Structural and contents protection are offered. A $500 deductible applies.
Sewer Back-Up- This endorsement provides protection for direct loss caused by water that backs up through sewers, drains or sump pump wells. Just as flood insurance excludes coverage for sewer back-up, this endorsement excludes any coverage for damage due to flooding. Coverage is subject to a deductible.
Earthquake- Coverage is available with the premium determined by the structure of your home or building. Because it will better withstand an earthquake, a frame structure is less to insure than a masonry one. A substantial deductible (often a percentage of the amount of insurance that applies to the destroyed or damaged property) is in effect.
For clarification of your current policy or information regarding the above coverages, please contact us. We welcome the opportunity to evaluate your present needs and to discuss possible insurance improvements for you and your family.
Your Home Business: Know Coverage
Test your knowledge of your homeowners insurance:
Are you covered?
While caring for a child for a fee, the child is injured in your home. The parents expect you to cover the hospital bills.
You replace your friend's car brakes for a "few bucks" and the car is damaged or your friend is hurt in some way. He expects compensation.
A friend slips on an icy walk or trips on a toy while picking up the craft item she paid you to make. She expects you to cover medical bills.
You use your detached garage for a small woodworking business and the garage is damaged in a windstorm. You want your garage rebuilt.
You do word processing for a fee from your home. Your computer is stolen. You want it replaced.
You are a self-employed sales representative with an office in the home. While entertaining a client in your home, the client is injured and expects compensation.
In each situation described, the answer is probably "not covered" -- unless you have added specific coverage to your policy for this home business. Take away the compensation, or business aspect, and each would probably be "covered." Situations like those described can be covered in one of three ways:
- Your employer may cover it if your business is conducted on behalf of your employer.
- A business insurance policy may be purchased to cover it.
- Your home insurance policy can sometimes be broadened to cover it.
Money Saving Tips
Controlling household expenses is something we all try to do. We want to help you reduce your home insurance costs when possible. Here are some points to consider:
Smoke alarms.
Higher deductibles.
Delete unneeded coverage.
Central station alarms.
Combine home and auto insurance in one company.
Please give us a call today for more information.
Homeowners Insurance: Covering the Bizarre Losses
Just how broad is your insurance coverage? Will it cover sunken tractors? This true story has occurred several times: our client parks his riding mower on a hill, dismounts, and the tractor slips out of gear and rolls into the pond. Covered? Only if you have an HO15 endorsement on your policy.
You don't have a riding mower or a pond you say? The HO15 endorsement broadens a homeowners policy so that it also covers other personal property lost due to extraordinary situations.
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Insurance Fraud
Be a Fraud Buster!
Fraudulent insurance claims cost us all money. Toll-free numbers are available for reporting information concerning fraudulent insurance claims. The caller's identity is kept confidential and an individual may talk with a trained investigator or leave information anonymously on a telephone answering machine.
Funds spent on fraud detection are a good investment. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the property/casualty industry is recovering $3.50 for every $1.00 it invests in detecting fraud.
If you want to report insurance fraud, please call our office. You can also contact the National Insurance Crime Bureau at the number shown below. Be a fraud buster. We can all help fight insurance fraud.
NICB Fraud Hot-Line: 1-800-TEL NICB
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Long Term Care Protection
With costs approaching and frequently exceeding $30,000 annually, this is an area of concern to all, especially those who have been successful in accumulating significant assets.
Extensive planning is often done to conserve these assets and protect them from high estate taxes. It is equally important to consider the effect a long-term stay in a nursing home can have on an estate. Death taxes and a long-term illness can exhaust accumulated assets. To avoid having to "spend down" assets before government programs (Medicaid) will pay for long-term care, a long-term plan may be purchased that will provide the dollars necessary for care. As with most types of health insurance plans, the premium increases as we age and the risk increases. The following chart shows representative annual premiums for $100/day, 60-day waiting period, 5% compound inflation benefit at various ages.
- Issue age 50 - $ 552/year
- Issue age 55 - $ 723/year
- Issue age 60 - $ 993/year
- Issue age 65 - $1437/year
- Issue age 70 - $2097/year
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Umbrella Liability
Why have it? What is it? Who needs it?
Skyrocketing court settlements and medical costs can cause uneasy feelings about the adequacy of insurance protection. Liability insurance pays for injuries to others due to negligent acts by you or another covered person on your policy. Although the liability insurance provided under a home or auto insurance policy is adequate for most situations, in a few instances large lawsuit settlements do approach or exceed the limits of these policies.
*The umbrella can also increase the liability limit for your boat, rental property, motor home, recreational vehicle, motorcycle, vacation home and others.
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