Insurance Tip of the Week: ASK FOR DISCOUNTS

If you don't ask your carrier for discounts, they may not tell you they are available to you. 

Young And Single? You may pay more for car insurance than your young, married friends (as this Forbes article shows). As you get older, your rates go down naturally because insurance carriers view you as less of a risk. But you don't have to sit around waiting for your next birthday to reduce your premiums. Whether you are married or single, 20 years old or 60 years young, there are plenty of other discounts you may be eligible for. But (and here's the point) you have to ASK.

ASK YOUR AUTO INSURER ABOUT DISCOUNTS. If you don’t ask them about discounts, THEY MAY NOT TELL YOU THEY ARE THERE FOR YOU. Many of you have probably never asked, and assumed you automatically received any discounts you were eligible for. The answer to that is NO.

Common Discounts

If you have been with an auto insurance company for five years accident and ticket free, you are likely eligible for a good driver discount (but again, if you don’t ask, you may not get it). If your carrier won’t offer the discount to you, it may be time to shop around.

If you are not working, or work from home, and don’t drive your vehicle the average amount (typically 10,000 miles a year or more), make sure your insurer knows this and you may get a discount for low annual mileage. Same goes for keeping your vehicle in a garage, versus parked on the street.

These days, every dollar counts—so check ask about discounts, and see how much you could save, based on things like:

 > Vehicle Equipment (airbags, anti-theft system, daytime running lights, etc.)

 > Driving History & Habits

 > Driver's Education

 > Driver Affiliations (military, federal employee, memberships)

 > Customer Loyalty (multi-car, multi-policy)

Bundling your auto and home insurance policies can help, but sometimes not as much as you think, so the best answer to a better policy rate is this: SHOP AROUND, and when you find a policy that aligns with your coverage needs and your budget, get a letter from your carrier for your homeowners policy, auto policy, etc. that LOCKS IN that deductible for a set period. This is smart because often if an area, for example, has several storms causing extreme damage, their deductible or premium (or both) may automatically be increased to account for the increased risk to the insurer, without a big fancy invitation alerting you to these changes. Many of us are guilty of not reading the fine print. So, CHECK ON YOUR POLICY YEARLY. Do an annual review. Ask questions. Ask for discounts. And if you need help, give us a call.

303-834-1001

NEW! Ask Us Anything: What you need to know about Cam Newton's car accident

(Todd Sumlin/AP/The Charlotte Observer)

Last month, we rolled out an Ask Us Anything column in our newsletter, so that you can send us your insurance "what ifs" and "how abouts," and we'll respond with advice and recommendations on how you can save money and protect all of your most important stuff…. All without having to ask your insurance carrier (who may note even hypothetical questions in your file. We know - sneaky!).

The first question is:  The news about  Cam Newton's car accident made me wonder what the repercussions will be for the driver who hit him. Were I to cause an accident and injure someone, famous or not, can you tell me the policy limits and coverage that I should have to protect me against injury, damage to vehicle, etc.

Our answer:  There’s really no short sweet answer to how much coverage a person should purchase. Some professionals will recommend analyzing your assets and purchasing liability limits that are of a similar value. I believe it is more complicated than that. The Cam Newton accident is a great example as to why. If the driver of this vehicle were found “At-Fault” and liable for the damages he caused, and Cam had been paralyzed (or just simply unable to perform his job any longer due to the accident), the at-fault individual would have been liable for millions of dollars. 

....Let’s see, Cam is 25 years old. In July 2011, NBC Sports posted that Cam Newton was signed to a $22 Million deal, meaning that's his market worth. That's a whole lot of money! Again, if the individual who caused the accident and injury had been found at-fault, and had he ended Newton’s career, he’d be bankrupt. Even if Cam only had to miss a few games, if those injuries cost the driver the salary Cam gets paid per game, that’s still a lot of money. In this case, both parties were lucky, with Cam being released from the hospital with only minor injuries. But it's best to protect yourself against any of these scenarios.

I’m of the belief and hope that it is rare for an insured person to sideline the career or someone like Cam Newton, Peyton Manning, or worse yet, Russell Wilson. That said, the insurance we purchase is there to protect us -- not only from everyone else on the road, but from ourselves and damages we may cause as well. 

So, back to the question at hand: how much coverage is the right amount of coverage?  This is a risk tolerance and a cost analysis question that needs to be answered. What is your net worth, how much “risk” do you want to assume, and how much do you want to pay for the “risk transfer” (insurance jargon - blah!). The bottom line is, it’s a personal preference, and one that takes some thoughtful consideration. The majority of insurance buyers out there will spend 10 times longer determining how to get the most bang for their buck shopping for their next 65” curved LED TV than considering their coverage options. (Check this one out. Pretty sweet. I found that in 4.58 seconds…. BTW, did you know that’s Cam’s 40 yard dash time?)  ;o)

I hope this is somewhat helpful. For further clarification or help determining your personal net worth and the amount of risk you are able to assume vs. transfer to your insurance policy, give me a call. 

 

Have a question yourself? Send us your insurance questions and we’ll share our advice.

Understanding and controlling business auto costs

It’s easy to understand why prices rise for manufactured or commodity-based products. When prices for raw materials increase, the cost of the product goes up. It’s not as easy to understand the cause of higher prices in a service-based industry such as insurance. Many factors can affect the cost of insuring a business vehicle.

What can you do to hold down your auto insurance premiums?  
Read more of this post

by Mark Rose for The Cincinnati Insurance Companies

Hotel Charges $127 for 3 Bottles of Water (and other reasons to read the fine print)

Photo Credit: Thrillist.com

Thrillist.com recently ran this article about a hotel charging a customer $127 (or £75 GBP) for 3 bottles of San Pellegrino during a business meeting at their hotel bar.

Apparently the charge was thanks to the hotel's absurdly high per-person minimum charge policy. Although high, the charge wasn't what bothered the patron enough to email the hotel to complain and to tweet about it, adding #ripoff. His real problem was the sneaky hidden charge. He says the server never notified him of the minimum charge:

“I have no issue if they have a minimum charge, but they need to make it clear. It is the lack of transparency that I have a problem with."

This got us to thinking about reading the fine print.

Most people skim through contracts and Terms of Service for apps (we're looking at you, Android), doctors offices, drawing entries, social media profiles, and yes - even insurance policies - without reading the fine print.

We get it - reading the fine print isn't fun, it's not entertaining, and with so much legal jargon thrown in there, sometimes it's downright headache-inducing to understand. However, by skimming these contracts, we open ourselves up to expensive mistakes. Today it might be $127 for a few bottles of sparkling water. Tomorrow, it might be finding out that theft isn't covered under your auto insurance policy.

I wrote a blog post on Auto Insurance: Dirty Secrets In Your Policy when this happened to a friend earlier this year. She'd unfortunately bought car insurance online, and the carrier's quick-quote site had failed to inform her of the fine print detailing this gap.

Purchasing insurance online seems like a fast, convenient way to speed up an otherwise unappealing task. But it begs the question - why is the lowest quote so cheap? You get what you pay for, and insurance is no different.

An independent insurance agent, like a website quote calculator, does the legwork for you - shopping different carriers for the best price. This is where they differ: an agent makes sure you're getting the best coverage for that price. Meaning? You still don't have to read all of the fine print if you don't want to … But someone that you trust has, and will sum it up for you. Because the worst time to find out that you've been paying a monthly premium for a policy that doesn't cover much is when you file a claim.

Filing claims can double your auto insurance premiums

Before filing an insurance claim, drivers should consider the effect it can have on their premiums. 

Many people file claims for less costly repairs, like cracked or chipped windshields or small dents. We like this article because it serves as a good reminder to think twice before filing a claim for something small that may cost you less, in the long run, to fix yourself.

The same applies to Homeowners insurance as well. (Read this post we recently shared on Facebook for tips on when not to file a home insurance claim.) 

Insurance is designed to be used for catastrophic events, not to be used as a "maintenance policy." Often, it's in your best interest to check with your agent before filing a claim, and to actually pay it out of pocket instead of turning the claim in to your carrier. The reality of the matter is, most consumers want to get every penny that they can out of their insurance carrier, because they feel taken advantage of by paying so much into their policy premiums and getting nothing out of it. We can't tell you how many times we hear "that's why I have insurance," from our clients and friends. Still, our job as agents is to educate and have them think twice, and consider the consequences of turning in too many claims, which is not to their advantage and will cost more in increased premiums costs in the long run.

The 7 Essential Business Insurance Policies:

Liability insurance protects your business
from third-party lawsuits

There are so many commercial insurance coverage options out there, it can feel confusing or overwhelming trying to sift through them to determine which are necessary for protecting your business. To help you, we’ve made a list of the seven insurance policies that every business owner should have, regardless of business type or size (and we’ve even outlines some additional coverage options that are smart add-ons, or even essentials, depending on the type of business you own).

Protecting your investment is one of the most important strategies for your success. Managing your risk is the best way to ensure that the inevitable mistakes that occur along the normal lines of doing business (schedule or shipment delays, accidents and injuries, damage to inventory) don’t compromise your business or your profits. The right insurance policies help safeguard your profits and your possessions.

If you’re just starting out, these business insurance basics are essential to your future success. If you own an existing business, you should already have these coverages to protect the profitability of the business you’re working so hard for.

Seven business insurance policies that you shouldn’t do without:

1. General Liability Insurance – This covers damage to persons or property caused by a business's product or premises (sometimes referred to as “slip and fall” insurance). Maybe the most important coverage you can get in our litigation-looped society, this can protect you against a wide range of lawsuits, from the postal worker who slips and falls in your parking lot to the consumer injured by your product. You need this type of coverage before you ever sell a single product or service. There are several different types of liability options that can be included in your policy depending on your business type, including general liability, product liability, liquor liability, advertising liability, on and off premises liability, and many others. Product liability, for instance, protects you if your business makes a product that could conceivably harm someone else. (Food and beverage related businesses that produce a consumable product need this type of coverage.
2. Commercial Property Insurance – Property insurance covers damage to your building and the items within it, including inventory, loss of income, and furniture/electronics. It

   

   Commercial Property Insurance protects
   your premises and the items inside it 

   also covers any improvements or customizations that you make as a tenant, if you rent your space.
3. Commercial Auto Insurance – This will cover collision and liability for the vehicles that are owned by you, your employees, and rented vehicles.
4. Workers Compensation – Bodily injury to yourself or your employees.  Whether you have one employee or a hundred, you need Workers Comp included in your policy. Workers Comp is a state required benefit that will help take care of medical become ill while working at your brewery. 
5. Excess Liability/Umbrella Insurance – An umbrella policy provides excess coverage over your already existing policies. It is a much more affordable way to increase your limits and extend your liability than increasing limits of every liability policy in your insurance plan.
6. Employment Practices Liability Insurance – Coverage for defense costs and damages related to various employment-related claims, including allegations of Wrongful Termination, Discrimination, Workplace Harassment and Retaliation deriving from the employer-employee relationship.
7. Crime – Protection against loss from crime covers employee theft, forgery and alteration, theft of money and securities, computer fraud, funds transfer fraud, and loss from accepting in good faith money orders and counterfeit money.   

Additional coverages to consider, based on your business needs:

• Data Compromise and Identity Theft Expense Coverage – Provides for certain expenses after a covered loss to help you respond and protect your good name. It also includes access to services to help you prepare for such events.

• Equipment Breakdown Coverage – Extends your property policy to cover loss to real and business personal property from the sudden and accidental breakdown of machinery and equipment used in your business.

• Supply Chain Insurance – A problem with your supply chain can cause major losses, from a problem with a key supplier to a temporary halt in production, unless your supply chain insurance policy kicks in and balances out your profits.

• Errors and Omissions Insurance – Also known as professional liability insurance or professional indemnity insurance, this is a form of liability insurance particularly important to service or advice-oriented businesses that protects you should you make a mistake or neglect to do something correctly or on time that causes your client money or harms their reputation. (A prime example would be a doctor's or dentist’s medical malpractice insurance, but this coverage is equally as necessary for a wedding photographer whose film gets damaged, or a printer whose machine breaks down in the middle of a big deadline.)

• Business Income Insurance. This is disability coverage for your business. This ensures you get paid if you lose income as a result of damage that temporarily shuts down or limits your business.

• Directors and Officers Liability – Financial coverage for defense costs and damages (awards and settlements) cause by allegations and lawsuits brought against an organizations’ board of directors and/or officers (and the decisions made by these individuals). This is more typical for publicly-traded companies and nonprofits, that have boards and/or multiple investors.

Rule of Thumb: Never settle for inadequate insurance for your business (or for yourself). If you started out with $200,000 in property insurance and your business has successfully grown worth of well more than half a million dollars, you need to update your coverage so that a fire, flood, theft or another misfortune won’t leave you at a destructive loss. It can be hard to imagine the worst happening when business is good, and hefty insurance premiums are low on your preferred expenditures list. But while a low quote may look good on paper, lesser coverage can make or break your business should an accident occur.

Shop Carefully: Insurance policies come in a wide variety with many different features, benefits, and prices.  Talk to an agent you trust and go over your policies with them so that you understand your coverage and its cost, and ensure you choose policies that adequately cover your business needs.

Pure Risk Solutions specializes in commercial insurance, assuring customized coverage related to your unique business. Our goal is to help protect your exposures at an affordable price, whether you are in the startup phase or want to review your existing policies to make sure your thriving business is protected the way it should be.

For specific questions related to your business, or for a free quote or policy review, reach out to me,  John Jacquat, at (303) 834-1001 or at  john@purerisksolutions.com.

                 

Auto Insurance: Dirty Secrets In Your Policy

If you’re buying your insurance in “15 minutes or less,”
you’re missing something. Your agent should be spending
more than 15 minutes reviewing your individual information
to make sure you’re covered the way you think you are.

Does your policy cover theft? Hail damage? Falling objects? Your pet?

You pay your premiums every month, but may be surprised to see what items are NOT covered by your auto insurance if you don't have a comprehensive policy. Read on for questions to ask about your coverage, to make sure that saving a few bucks on your premium won't cost you hundreds or thousands when you make a claim.

Many people are surprised to learn that their liability only auto insurance policies include car insurance exclusions that limit coverage under certain circumstances. It's important to read your policy carefully, or work with a trusted agent who can make you aware of your policy’s exclusions.

Comprehensive Coverage Is Smart For Most People:

Comprehensive car insurance covers (non-collision) damage, can help pay for your car’s repair, and can help you replace it entirely in the event of a total loss like theft, but does not cover collision, towing/roadside assistance, rental, and personal property.

In terms of optional coverage, comprehensive is one of the last you should give up.  Comprehensive coverage – coverage for anything other than a collision – only amounts to a small portion of your auto insurance bill, but protects you against a wide number of events, including most of those listed below.

Be Aware of These Common Exclusions To Your Standard (Non-Comprehensive) Auto Insurance Policy:

Standard auto policies do not cover theft

• Theft: 23% of auto policies don’t cover theft. If you don’t have comprehensive coverage, your policy doesn’t cover auto theft. With a vehicle stolen every 28 seconds in the U.S. (according tot the FBI), this is an important exclusion to consider when choosing coverage. Yet still, nearly one quarter of auto policies do not include comprehensive coverage, and so are not covered in case of theft. This is a very common misconception. Many people forgo comprehensive coverage as their cars age and depreciate, in order to save money. A friend recently became aware of this exclusion the hard way, after her insurance carrier denied coverage following the theft of her car, reminding me that this is a major exclusion that many people aren’t aware of (especially those who shop for car insurance online and don’t get the guidance of an agent). Her story illustrates the value of not just price shopping, but also reviewing everything with a broker to understand your coverage and gaps. 

• Falling Objects, Fire, Vandalism, Natural Disasters: If you’ve ever had your car keyed, had a branch fall on your hood, or had your car broken into, you’ve leaned this one the hard way. Damage caused to your car (like a key taken to your paint job or slashed tires) by a break-in won’t be covered by your policy unless you have comprehensive coverage. Nor will anything not originally included in your vehicle, such as a detachable GPS or other portable electronics, your laptop, wallet, after-market sound system, etc. These devices may be covered under your home or renter’s insurance instead.

• Glass Damage: Glass damage caused by a break-in, a rock hitting your windshield, or Mother Nature herself, isn’t covered under the average policy.

• Pet: Injury to a pet from an accident you’re involved in may or may not be covered by your policy. Check with your insurer to see if you have this protection available.

• Hail: Almost 70,000 total claims in Colorado alone were filed due to hailstorms last summer, and nearly half of those claims were for vehicles. The Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association (RMIIA) estimated that more than $85 million of the damages from those storms were vehicle-related. Hail claims are an example of optional coverage that compensates policyholders for weather-related damage. In light of recent reports on increasingly severe weather across the U.S., choosing comprehensive coverage or an added hail policy is likely a smart move.

• Time Limits: If someone is injured, report the claim immediately! Your policy limits the period of time in which you can file a claim, usually beginning from the time you are aware of the damage.

Buying Insurance Online: Beware of Gaps and Exclusions:

With the recent news that Walmart is entering the auto insurance business, many people may be attracted by the claim on their partner site that they offer customized coverage, unbiased provider comparisons, and simplicity in shopping for a policy. This is, however, the same service you get with a reputable independent broker.

What you should consider before buying online is that you’ll have to spend a LOT of your own time reading and educating yourself on your policy coverage and any gaps or exclusions you may be selecting along with the lowest price quote. Without an agent who is well educated in the insurance industry to guide your purchase, you may end up with a good price, but at a higher long-term cost.

Your agent can guide you through the exclusions on your policy and help you to choose one that ensures you’ll be well covered.