1719
Washington Boulevard • Belpre OH 45714
(740) 423-7871 Fax: (740) 423-9692
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Insurance Information
& Frequently Asked Questions
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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:
- If the insurance follows the car and you lend your
car to a friend, your coverage is considered the
primary coverage. If your friend has an accident, it’s your
insurance that will pay the claim. If the accident is serious
enough to use up all of your policy’s coverage, then your
friend’s coverage, which is considered secondary, might
also be used.
- If the insurance follows the driver, coverage is
provided the other way around. If you lend your car to a
friend and they have an accident, it’s their policy
that is considered primary coverage, meaning their insurance
company will pay the claim. In this case, your policy would
be secondary and wouldn’t pay for anything unless your friend’s
policy limits were used up.
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.
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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.
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What To
Do After an Accident.
You've been in an accident. Here are some general
guidelines about what to do next:
- 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.
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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.
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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.
Ordinarily, your comprehensive and collision coverages provide
you with up to the actual cash value (the vehicle's cost minus
depreciation) in the event of a total loss. When you sign
a lease or loan agreement, you may be obligating yourself for
an amount higher than the vehicle's actual cash value.
At a cost of approximately 5% of your current comprehensive
and collision premiums, LLG Coverage protects you from out-of-pocket
expense when such a "gap" occurs. Although there are some
limitations, LLG Coverage will pay up to your lease or loan
amount if your car is stolen or if the cost of repairs is greater
than its salvage value. Contact our office and we'd be happy
to discuss this coverage further.
Note: Some car manufacturers may provide gap coverage as part
of the lease agreement --- check your particular contract for
details.
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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 - Quite simply,
bigger means safer. According to the shopping guide,
"People in small vehicles are injured more often and more severely
than those in large vehicles." In relation to their number
on the road, small vehicles account for more than twice as many
occupant deaths as large vehicles. Small sport utility
vehicles have the highest death rates of all, in part because
of their greater involvement in fatal rollover crashes. "While
utility vehicles and passenger vans might go head-to-head in
a popularity contest, passenger vans have good on-the-road crash
experience --- similar to that of station wagons."
Air bags - Serving as a buffer between vehicle interiors
and occupants' heads and faces, air bags provide automatic protection
in frontal crashes. The Institute advises that although
"the speed and force of air bag inflation may occasionally cause
minor injuries such as abrasions, this slight risk is far outweighed
by the benefits." This type of injury can be reduced by selecting
a seat position that is not too close to the steering wheel.
Safety belts - Remember, the more comfortable
the safety belt, the more likely you are to always use
it. Even though shoulder belts allow some forward movement,
automatic crash tensioners and/or belt webbing grabbers can
reduce the chance of an occupant hitting the steering wheel
or dashboard in a serious frontal crash.
Antilock
brakes - Especially designed to avoid skidding and loss
of control, antilock brakes automatically pump several times
a second. Drivers need to become familiar with the difference
in braking style as antilocks require heavy braking pressure
to activate this safety feature.
Head restraints
- Required in the front seats of all new passenger vehicles,
head restraints prevent occupants' heads from snapping back
in a rear-end crash. Look for a fixed head restraint or
an adjustable restraint that is designed to protect tall and
short people even in the "down" position. Avoid a poorly-designed
adjustable restraint that would only protect the shortest occupants.
Built-in child seats - Several cars and vans
offer built-in child safety seats as options.
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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, this law:
- Allows 15 1/2 year-olds to obtain temporary instruction
permits which are valid for one year.
- Requires a parent, guardian or licensed driving instructor
to accompany the teen driver at all times.
- Requires the temporary permit to be held for a minimum
of six months before a license may be obtained.
- Requires permit holders to have 50 hours of driving experience,
including 10 at night, with a parent, guardian or licensed
driving instructor.
- Also changes driver education requirements effective January
1, 1999. New drivers must have 24 hours of classroom
and 8 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction.
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.
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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."
What is the difference between Uninsured and Underinsured
Motorists Coverage? Underinsured Motorists Coverage
covers you and passengers in your car for "losses unpaid because
sufficient bodily injury liability limits are not available
from the policy of an at-fault driver." In other words, Uninsured
Motorists covers you if the wrongdoer has no insurance while
Underinsured Motorists covers you in the event that the
wrongdoer has some coverage but not enough.
Many people wonder if UM is really necessary. After all,
isn't liability insurance mandatory? How can there be
any uninsured drivers out there? The problem is not everyone
obeys the law. The Office of Public Safety for the State
of Ohio recently quoted to us in a telephone interview that
7% of the drivers convicted of moving violations in a recent
six-month period were found to have no insurance. There
are upwards of 11 million automobiles registered in the State
of Ohio. If even 5% of them are uninsured, that's a frighteningly
high number!
Others question the necessity of UM in light of the fact they
have very comprehensive medical coverage. In the event
of an accident with an uninsured driver, they assume their own
medical coverage will fully protect them. Yes, medical
insurance would likely cover most medical expenses. But
it will not generally compensate the injured person for lost
wages, disfigurement, pain and suffering, mental anguish, and
changes in quality of life. For a person permanently disabled
following an accident, even things such as modifications to
make a home and a vehicle more accessible can cost tens of thousands
of dollars. UM can compensate the victim in these broader
areas.
There are ways insurance dollars can be
saved, but paring down or going without UM is one we strongly
discourage. The largest claim in our agency history is not
a huge fire loss or a big liability settlement. It is,
you guessed it, a UM claim.
Uninsured Motorist
Property Damage Coverage
It is estimated that one out of every 20 motorists is driving
uninsured. Although this figure represents only 5% of
today's drivers, uninsured motorists are responsible for approximately
13% of all auto accidents. If you become involved in an accident
with an at-fault driver of an uninsured motor vehicle there
are coverage options available to ensure that you are adequately
protected:
- UMBI- Uninsured Motorists Bodily Injury Coverage
provides bodily injury coverage for you and for the occupants
of your vehicle. Most policies already provide this
coverage.
- UMPD- Uninsured Motorists Property Damage provides
coverage for your vehicle. Vehicles without collision coverage
have no protection for damage resulting from an accident
with an uninsured driver. If the optional UMPD coverage
is added to your policy and you find yourself tangled in
an accident with the at-fault driver having no insurance,
you won't be left to pay for the damage to your car out
of your own pocket.
Please contact us if you want to check into how your particular
company's UMPD coverages are structured and priced.
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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.
Please call us with any specific questions regarding your property
coverage. We are always happy to review your current coverage
needs.
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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:
- Failure to examine documents signed
- Silence with respect to improper conduct of fellow officials
- Improper rejection of bids
- Failure to exercise diligence in management
- 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.
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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.
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Your
Home Business: Know Coverage
Test your knowledge of your homeowners insurance:
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Are you covered? |
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While caring for a child for a fee,
the child is injured in your home. The parents
expect you to cover the hospital bills. |
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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. |
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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. |
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You use your detached garage for a
small woodworking business and the garage is damaged
in a windstorm. You want your garage rebuilt. |
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You do word processing for a fee from
your home. Your computer is stolen.
You want it replaced. |
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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. |
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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.
If you have any concerns about a business-type activity in your
home, call us. We'll be happy to discuss it with you.
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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.
Check your policy or contact us to see that you are receiving
a discount. If you don't have alarms, get them.
Not just for the discount, but for your family's safety.
Higher deductibles. The standard deductible today
is $250. If yours is lower, you are paying an added charge.
If you choose a $500 or higher deductible, more savings are
available.
Delete unneeded coverage. Review
your policy. There may be jewelry listed that has since
been sold, endorsements for businesses in the home that are
no longer in operation or other unnecessary coverages.
Central station alarms. Fire and burglary alarm
systems that automatically dial a central station can provide
both good security and a significant premium savings.
Combine home and auto insurance in one company. Companies
often offer a discount on the home and auto insurance or both
when carried by the same insurer.
In addition to these money-saving tips, some companies offer
discounts if you have fire extinguishers, deadbolt locks or
a loss-free record. Check with us to see if your plan
offers any of these options.
Remember, under insuring is not a recommended way to save
premium as it can lead to serious problems settling a claim.
Whether it's a question about cost or coverage, we're always
willing to review any insurance concerns with you. Please
call us.
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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.
Consider these other covered losses:
- Lost jewelry or gemstones falling out of jewelry not specifically
insured (subject to a policy dollar limit).
- Loss in value when a gemstone is scratched or cracked
(subject to a policy dollar limit).
- Cameras or other personal items falling overboard from
a boat or a capsized canoe.
- A hot iron falling on and scorching an area rug.
- A deer crashing through a sliding glass door causing extensive
damage to household contents as it struggles to deal with
the unfamiliar surroundings of a family room.
- Raccoon damage (rodents and vermin are not covered).
- Lost hearing aids, eyeglasses, telescopes, cameras, etc.
- Spillage of paint, India ink, nail polish, acid, bleach,
and other chemicals that damage household contents.
Most home insurance policies list 17 or 18 different perils
of coverage for household contents that do not include the above
or numerous other bizarre possibilities. The H015 will
cover most of these --- subject to your policy deductible.
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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
Other optional benefits such as home health care are available
for an additional premium. As in any estate planning situation,
with long-term care the earlier one starts in planning the solution,
the lower the cost.
Individuals who have been successful in accumulating an estate
should be careful in planning for estate taxes and long term
care costs. We would be happy to talk with you about the
need, the benefits and the costs as they would apply to your
situation. Please give us a call.
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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.
An umbrella liability policy is designed to give you peace of
mind from this concern. It adds one million dollars (or
multiples of $1 million) of protection to the liability limits
of your home and auto insurance policy. * Should a judgment
against you exceed the limits of that policy, the umbrella picks
up the unpaid portion up to the umbrella policy limit.
Persons most likely to purchase an umbrella policy are:
- "Likely "targets" for a large lawsuit--professionals,
business owners, property owners, higher income individuals,
etc.
- Those who want greater peace of mind knowing that their
life savings will be protected from a financially devastating
lawsuit.
Coverage cost varies, but it is generally $115 to $150 per year
for a $1 million limit. If you would like more information
on this topic, please call us. We will be happy to discuss
it with you.
*The umbrella can
also increase the liability limit for your boat, rental property,
motor home, recreational vehicle, motorcycle, vacation home
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