Dec 18, 2015
Umbrella insurance isn’t just for the rich and famous. Whether it’s a serious auto accident involving expensive medical bills or an incident on your property, you can quickly find yourself responsible for damages that exceed the limits on your auto, homeowners or boat policies. An expensive judgment is the last thing you want to worry... read more
Dec 18, 2015
Insuring to market value/purchase price may not be enough to cover the expenses to rebuild your home, remove destroyed parts of your home, preserve parts of your home that remain and/or discard debris. Reconstruction cost is not influenced by the selling price of a home, cost of land, desirability of location or number of homes for sale in an... read more
Dec 18, 2015
Efforts to delay some flood insurance reform-related rate hikes are picking up steam. The bipartisan agreement reported on in last week’s Agent Headlines article quickly morphed into the Homeowner Insurance Affordability Act of 2013. The bipartisan and bicameral legislation was introduced this week in Congress. It would postpone targeted provisions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, including the implementation of phase-outs of “grandfathered properties” that are primary residences and pre-FIRM subsidies for primary residences that are sold or have new policies. The delay would last until two years after FEMA completes a study on the affordability of NFIP policies. While Biggert-Waters requires this study, FEMA recently announced it would not be completed for another two years, meaning the new bill would amount to a four-year delay of targeted provisions. The new legislation also would require FEMA to address a host of issues that have arisen from its implementation of measures under... read more
Dec 18, 2015
If you ask a bunch of kids who their family members are, they’ll certainly name their mommy and daddy and their brothers and sisters. If you ask grown-ups, they’ll list their children, grandchildren (if any), parents and possibly their brothers and sisters. They may even expand the list to include nieces and nephews. However, in the wonderful world of insurance, it’s not that simple. We may call them family members, but our Homeowners’ and Personal Auto insurers may disagree. Our definition of a family member and the definitions found in our insurance policies are definitely not the same. credit-based insurance score is useful as a rating factor, but in those states where it is used, it is only one of many that are used. Because your personal credit history affects your credit-based insurance scores, it is important to regularly review it and make sure it’s accurate. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows you to order one report for free from each of the major credit reporting agencies each year. You may also purchase a 3-in-1 report to review your scores from all three major credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian and... read more
Dec 18, 2015
One of the issues that usually causes some confusion is employees driving their personally owned autos, company-owned autos or rented autos on company business. Which policy applies – Personal Auto, Business Auto or both? Who’s covered by the employee’s Personal Auto Policy? Who’s covered by the employer’s Business Auto Policy? Those are the usual questions. I have to assume that employees and their employers don’t understand how their auto policies apply to the business use of employee-owned autos, company-owned autos or rented autos. When employees use their autos, company autos or rented autos on business, we may have to rely on both the Personal Auto and Business Auto policies for coverage. But, who’s covered by each policy? credit-based insurance score is useful as a rating factor, but in those states where it is used, it is only one of many that are used. Because your personal credit history affects your credit-based insurance scores, it is important to regularly review it and make sure it’s accurate. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows you to order one report for free from each of the major credit reporting agencies each year. You may also purchase a 3-in-1 report to review your scores from all three major credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian and... read more