29Nov

Umbrella Insurance for Greater Coverage

Filed in State Auto Insurance 3 Comments

When the amount of a claim against you exceeds the coverage provided by your home or policy, you are saddled with the prospect of settling this excess liability on your own. Your insurance company will not cushion you against this contingency. However, there is a way out. To overcome this eventuality, you can obtain an excess liability policy, or an umbrella policy.

This policy will give you the required cushion against any claim exceeding the amount covered by your normal insurance policy. For example, suppose your auto insurance policy covers claims of accidental pedestrian injury up to an amount of $20000. If an accident does occur, and a claim of $50000 dollars is adjudicated against you, the insurance company will only pay the $20000 agreed upon, and you will have to pay the balance $30000 out of you personal funds. If you do not have the cash or any other liquid asset, then your home, or some other fixed assets could be at stake. You may even be reduced to a state of bankruptcy. This is where an umbrella policy can help you. An umbrella policy will take care of the excess amount of $30000 dollars that you would have had to pay from you own funds.

The umbrella policy expands the coverage offered by your home or . You can purchase this policy for coverage of up to five million dollars. Moreover, the premium is very low and you may have to pay just $300 to $400 a year for this coverage.

When the amount of a claim against you exceeds the coverage provided by your home or auto insurance policy, you are saddled with the prospect of settling this excess liability on your own. Your insurance company will not cushion you against this contingency. However, there is a way out. To overcome this eventuality, you can take an excess liability policy, or an umbrella policy.

This policy will give you the required cushion against any claim exceeding the amount covered by your normal insurance policy. For example, suppose your auto insurance policy covers claims of accidental pedestrian injury up to an amount of $20000. If an accident does occur, and a claim of $50000 dollars is adjudicated against you, the insurance company will only pay the $20000 agreed upon, and you will have to pay the balance $30000 out of you personal funds. If you do not have the cash or any other liquid asset, then your home, or some other fixed assets could be at stake. You may even be reduced to a state of bankruptcy. This is where an umbrella policy can help you. An umbrella policy will take care of the excess amount of $30000 dollars that you would have had to pay from you own funds.

Further, many companies will not offer you the umbrella policy unless you have your home or auto insured with them. They may also require you to maintain a of liability on your home or auto insurance.

The umbrella policy does not only cover your cars and homes, but also offers personal injury protection which may include false arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, defamation, invasion of privacy, wrongful entry or eviction. The terms may vary according to each company, and from one state to another.

The umbrella policy is an excellent way to protect yourself against expenses for claims exceeding the coverage provided by your regular insurance policy. It can be bought for a very low annual premium, and proves very helpful in protecting your personal assets from lawsuits and legal action.

Joseph Kenny
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/umbrella-insurance-for-greater-coverage-72718.html

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05Nov

WA state auto insurance coverage question?

Filed in State Auto Insurance 2 Comments

say I am driving a friends car with their permission and I get in an accident. Who’s insurance covers it?

I hear that insurance follows the car. So this would mean that the friends insurance would cover the liability and physical damage of said accident?

Also, say I rent a car while in Hawaii. Does my insurance cover the liability, physical damage, towing, rental and PIP while driving this non-owned car?

I live in WA state. Thank you.
Thanks Brandon but I’m not sure you read my question correctly.

You need to look it up in your friends policy, or call his , In some policies a person driving your vehicle is fine as long as they have insurance and a valid license. Some policys will say a person driving your car must just have a valid license, so it depends on the policy.
As to your second question once again, you need to refer to your , usually with full coverage, you are covered completely when you are renting a vehicle (so call the agent, or read your policy exclusions) if you have liability only, the is not covered, which leaves you on the hook for any damages while you are in possesion. (like a hit and run for example)

Tags: policy exclusions, , , , ,

21Aug

Understanding Auto Insurance

Filed in State Auto Insurance 5 Comments

You are required by law to carry auto insurance in the state where your vehicles are registered (it is required in almost all 50 states). Everyone has it, but hardly anyone understands the provisions or coverages outlined in their policy. Auto insurance is extremely important, because it not only covers you and your vehicles, but it also covers your liability associated with damages you cause to other persons or property.

There are several important coverages that you need to understand. The first coverage you will see listed is called bodily . This is the amount of liability coverage you have for injuries you cause to other people in an accident. It is sometimes listed as a split limit, in which case the first number is the amount of liability you have per person, and the second number is the maximum total your policy will pay for all injured persons. It is considered customary to maintain at least $100,000 of bodily injury liability per person, and $300,000 per accident.

Sometimes, bodily injury is grouped together with property damage liability (property damage is damage that you do to other vehicles or property in an accident) and listed as one number. This is known as a combined single limit. It is recommended to maintain $300,000 of combined single limit liability for your bodily injury and property damage.

The next coverage you will see listed is called uninsured/underinsured motorists liability. This number should be equal to the liability you have for bodily injury and property damage. This coverage is mandatory in most states. It covers you if you are involved in an accident and the other driver was at-fault, but that other driver either does not have insurance or their coverage is not adequate to compensate you for your damages. Uninsured/Underinsured motorist coverage kicks in to fill in the gaps.

After you should see something called personal injury protection (PIP). Some states required this coverage, some do not. In states that require it, it is best to maintain $250,000 of PIP coverage. Those states that do not require it may have different laws that mandate to cover any and all injuries associated with an auto accident. You should contact your agent if your policy is not clear on this; if PIP coverage is required in your state, make sure you have it.

Right underneath or in the vicinity of PIP you might see something called Additional PIP. Some states make this available while others do not. Additional PIP provides you with a certain level of income up to a certain maximum amount to help make up for lost wages if you are disabled as a result of an auto accident and unable to work. Additional PIP also includes a certain amount for funeral expenses that would be incurred by your family if you are killed in an accident. If you do not have Additional PIP coverage on your policy, call your agent immediately and find out if it is available.

The next items listed on your policy are comprehensive and collision coverage. Comprehensive covers you for damage done to your vehicle when caused by things such as fire, theft, a rock hitting the car, or hitting an animal on the road. Collision pays for damage to your vehicle when the cause is an accident involving a collision with another car or other object on or near the road. Comprehensive and collision coverage is normally subject to a deductible, which you should see listed on your policy.

The final two coverages listed on your auto policy are rental reimbursement and towing. Rental reimbursement pays you a certain amount per day to cover expenses associated with having to rent a car if your vehicle has become disabled following an accident. Towing coverage, as the name suggests, covers your towing expense when your car is towed following an accident.

I hope this has helped you to understand your auto insurance policy. Even though almost everyone who has a car has insurance, most people have no idea what it covers. Then when it comes time to file a claim, they find that their policy does not meet their needs sufficiently. Use the information that was presented here to help you make intelligent choices so you can be prepared if something happens.

Jim Pretin
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/understanding-auto-insurance-59498.html

Tags: auto insurance policy, , , , , ,

25Jul

Do You Need Commercial Auto Insurance

Filed in Auto Insurance Coverage 4 Comments

You get in a wreck and find your car insurance won’t cover you. What happened? If you were conducting business and you were not carrying a commercial policy, you could be in danger.

So, if you are a business owner, following up with the type of you have is critical as you and your business could end up being liable.     To start, you need the same kinds of insurance coverage for the car you use in your business as you do for a car used for personal travel — liability, collision and comprehensive, (known as personal injury protection in some states) and coverage for uninsured motorists. In fact, many business people use the same vehicle for both business and pleasure. If the vehicle is owned by the business, make sure the name of the business appears on the policy as the “principal insured” rather than your name. This will avoid possible confusion in the event that you need to file a claim or a claim is filed against you.

Whether or not you need to buy a business auto insurance policy will depend on the kind of driving you do. A good will ask you many questions about how you use vehicles in your business, who will be driving them and whether employees, if you have them, are likely to be driving their own cars for your business.

While major auto coverage is the same, a business auto policy differs in many technical respects. For instance, if you have a personal umbrella liability policy, there’s generally an exclusion for business-related liability. So are you safe?

Here are some examples of ways you may get into trouble without a commercial policy:

•    Pizza and newspaper delivery;
•    Catering;
•    Door-to-door consulting services;
•    Landscaping or snowplowing services
•    Day care/church van services.
•    Real Estate Agents

If your business uses a vehicle, or many vehicles, you will want to ask your insurance professional some important questions such as:

• What are my ? In general, a commercial auto policy can offer higher liability limits. Larger vehicles, such as delivery vans, can cause more damage than passenger cars.

• Does my personal policy cover me for issues specific to my business? For example, if you have a trailer that damages another vehicle while on a job, a personal liability policy may not cover the repairs. A commercial policy will.

• Do I have employees who drive my vehicles? In general, if other people drive your vehicles for work, you need a commercial auto policy.

You also need a commercial auto policy if your vehicle hauls tools or equipment weighing more than 500 pounds, makes deliveries or requires filings for interstate for for-hire trucking businesses.

Once you have taken all of the above into account, you can rest better at night knowing you are fully protected and no assumptions have been made.

gregchapman
http://www.articlesbase.com/cars-articles/do-you-need-commercial-auto-insurance-626709.html

Tags: Agents and Marketers, , , ,

10May

Before you Commit, Know About Types of Auto Insurance

Filed in State Auto Insurance Leave a comment

Auto insurance is designed to protect you financially in the event of a collision or loss. Every customer has different needs so an extensive array of products are available, each designed to cover a specific type of loss or damage. It is highly unlikely that you would need every single type of available insurance but you may need a few different types. Therefore it is helpful to understand what each type of auto insurance does.

Property Damage

Depending on jurisdiction, property damage insurance may also be called liability insurance or similar. This insurance covers damage that your vehicle may cause to someone else’s vehicle. Each state sets its own minimum requirement for how much property damage insurance you must carry, but the state minimum may not be enough in the event of an accident. If you cause damage that exceeds the limits of your insurance you may be sued for the difference. Always purchase as much property damage insurance as you can comfortably afford.

This type of auto insurance is also generally required by law. Personal injury insurance pays a portion (usually 80 percent) of your medical bills and a different portion (often 60 percent) of your lost wages if you are injured in an accident. A small is often attached in case you are killed in the accident. This protection might extend to relatives, household members or even anyone who happens to be in the car, depending on state requirements and the individual ’s policies.

Although bodily injury protection is not required by all jurisdictions it is highly recommended that this insurance be purchased. Bodily injury insurance protects you in the event that you are at fault in an accident. If the other driver is injured beyond the limits of his personal injury coverage, your bodily injury insurance will take effect. Otherwise, you could be sued for his medical expenses.

If someone else is at fault in an accident in which you are seriously injured, your expenses may exceed your personal injury coverage. If the other driver does not have bodily injury protection one option may be to sue. However lawsuits can be costly in both money and time, and if the other driver is unable to pay you may end up with an uncollectible judgment. Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is another option. This coverage will pay your medical expenses when you are injured by someone who does not have enough insurance.

Collision

Collision coverage is designed to reimburse you up to the actual cash value of your vehicle, less your deductible, if you are at fault in an accident. Collision insurance is usually required if your vehicle is financed. Premiums are high and the insurance is generally not worthwhile for older vehicles with a low cash value.

Comprehensive

Comprehensive insurance covers the loss of your vehicle to theft or acts of God. As with Collision insurance, Comprehensive pays the actual cash value of the vehicle less your deductible. Comprehensive is usually required on financed vehicles but not worthwhile on older low-value cars.

Other auto insurance products will cover everything from a rental car to medical payments beyond your personal injury protection. Most of these products are worthwhile but not strictly necessary. If you have any questions regarding your coverage options be sure to speak to your insurance agent.

Levi Quinn
http://www.articlesbase.com/insurance-articles/before-you-commit-know-about-types-of-auto-insurance-106334.html

Tags: , , Bodily injury insurance, ,

10May

What is Umbrella Insurance?

Filed in Low Cost Auto Insurance 6 Comments

At some point, you have probably heard of umbrella insurance, but have no idea what it is. Well, first off, it does not cover the umbrella you protect yourself from the rain. It is a figure of speech. An umbrella policy is designed to shield you from almost everything that your home and auto insurance does not, as well as fill in gaps in coverage when the limits of your regular policy are exhausted.

Every day, there are personal lawsuits filed against ordinary citizens, with the reasons ranging from the frivolous to the justified. When and if this happens to you, you need to be prepared. More often than not, people are sued and have no extra protection to block the plaintiff from going after their personal assets in the lawsuit. To protect yourself from such a quandary, you need to have umbrella insurance.

An umbrella is often referred to as excess liability. This excess liability coverage kicks in when the underlying limits on your home or auto policy have been exhausted, or if you are sued personally for something that neither your home nor your auto insurance covers. Depending on the company, you can purchase anywhere from 1 to 5 million dollars worth of excess coverage, sometimes as high as 10 million. The amount of coverage you select really depends on how much you are worth. If you have 5 million dollars worth of personal assets, you should get a 5 million dollar umbrella. It is not uncommon for someone to buy a 5 or 10 million dollar umbrella policy even if that number far exceeds their net worth, because the coverage is so cheap to buy.

will not offer you the coverage unless you have both your home and auto already insured with them. Also, the insurer will require that you maintain a certain level of liability on the home and auto policies in order to qualify for the excess policy. Usually, you must maintain at least $250,000 of bodily injury liability per person, $500,000 per accident, and $100,000 for for your autos, and $500,000 of liability for your home.

The coverage is cheap. It is possible to obtain 1 million dollars worth of excess liability for as little as $120 dollars. The more cars and homes you have, the higher the price for the insurance, but the cost is still low. In addition to your home and cars, liability associated with any other conveyances you may have, such as boats, motorcycles, and other recreational vehicles, may also qualify for coverage under the umbrella, depending on the .

You are probably wondering when the umbrella would actually come into play. Here is an example: If you are involved in an auto accident where you crashed into a pedestrian who was walking on the sidewalk, resulting in for that person that costed more than what your auto policy covered, the umbrella would be used. Or, if that pedestrian then decides to sue you for negligence and seeks punitive damages, your umbrella can be utilized to cover your legal expenses and to pay any judgements levied against you.

It is also important to understand that the excess liability covers you for all sorts of things that have nothing to do with your cars or homes. Things such as personal injury protection are covered. This includes false arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, defamation, invasion of privacy, wrongful entry, or eviction. Also, some umbrella policies provide coverage for you if you are sued in connection with any charitable boards or organizations of which you are a member. You may have to contact your insurance company and pay an extra premium for this type of coverage.

I hope this has helped illuminate to you the importance of having umbrella insurance. Without it, your personal assets are totally vulnerable in any lawsuit or legal action. Talk to your agent about it and ask how much it costs. Even though multi-million dollar lawsuits are not common, they can happen. So, an umbrella is probably worth it.

Jim Pretin
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/what-is-umbrella-insurance-63170.html

Tags: , ,

01May

Learning the Basics of Auto Insurance

Filed in State Auto Insurance 6 Comments

It can seem pretty overwhelming; there are a lot of things to think about when it comes to getting the right coverage for you and your automobile. Drivers are now required to have automobile insurance to be on the road, but knowing what kind of insurance to get, so that your car will be covered sufficiently, but that you can still afford to drive it can be a bit tricky if you aren’t at least a little bit educated on the topic.

Aside from our houses, our cars are often the most valuable and necessary material belongings in our possession, it’s important for all drivers to begin learning the basics of auto insurance if they don’t know them already, so they can hit the road with confidence and piece of mind.

Liability

Having at least some liability coverage is a requirement for driving in all states, the minimum amount necessary does vary a bit from state to state, but it’s good to have more than the minimum amount of coverage in the event that you are involved in a serious accident.

The two sections of liability coverage cover bodily injury and property damage.

Bodily injury liability will cover the medical expenses and potentially the lost wages of people injured during an . If your liability coverage is too low to cover the medical expenses of a person you injure in an accident, you may be held responsible for the remainder of the money due – this is precisely the reason that higher liability coverage is better than lower liability coverage.

Property damage covers the cost of repair the damage you do to other peoples property in the event of an accident, this could include their automobile, their motorcycle, bicycle, house or whatever else happens to be on the receiving end of the accident.

Comprehensive and Collision

If you own your car outright, then neither comprehensive or is a requirement to operate your vehicle, but depending on your driving record or the neighborhood you live or work in, it may be advisable to at least carry some comp and collision coverage.

Collision will cover the damage sustained to your car in the event of an accident that you are deemed the cause of. The amount of your chosen deductible and the level of your collision coverage could have a pretty large affect on your premium – the higher your deductible, the lower your premium and vice versa, so to keep your monthly payment down while still carrying a decent level of collision insurance you’ll opt for a higher deductible.

will cover any damage sustained to your car that wasn’t directly the result of an accident. Acts of vandalism, attempted theft, damage from fire, acts of God and are the types of things that comprehensive insurance will take care of for you.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Even though a minimum amount of automobile insurance is a requirement to have your vehicle on the road, that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone operating a vehicle will have it.

Uninsured motorist coverage is a requirement in most states and will cover the damages to your vehicle as well as bodily injury in the event that you are struck by a motorist driving without insurance.

Personal Injury Protection

Personal injury protection coverage covers the cost of treatments for injuries and funeral costs for you or other passengers in a car, or as pedestrians, involved in an accident. At this time personal injury protection coverage isn’t required in every state, so depending upon your residence it may not be something that you’ll have to worry about.

Those are the basic minimum requirements to drive your automobile legally in any state, and though it may seem like a lot to digest, taking a quick overview of your particular vehicle, the environment you operate it in, the amount of driving you do and your personal driving record should allow you to pick out the best possible plan of coverage for your automobile that will have you on the highway without putting too much of a dent in your wallet.

A. Nutt
http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/learning-the-basics-of-auto-insurance-673625.html

Tags: , , , , , , little bit

18Jan

Basics About Auto Insurance

Filed in Auto Insurance Coverage 5 Comments

Auto insurance financially secures the automobile of a person from the case of an accident. It is not mandatory for everyone to purchase auto insurance but for the sake of the safety of their automobiles, everyone purchases an automobile insurance policy along with their vehicle. But there are several states in the U.S which have mandatory rules of insurance and no car can run on the road without having insurance papers with them. These states have made it compulsory for all the car owners to insure their cars in order to keep their vehicles financially safe from any accident and hence there is no loss of money for the owner of the car if there is any damage occurred to the vehicle. Moreover, the owner of the car has to show the government that he has enough money to buy car insurance along with the car and then only he is allowed to buy a .

There are several conditions during which a person can claim an auto insurance repayment to the . These are bodily injury liability, medical repayments, property damage coverage, personal injury protection, comprehensive, collision, and uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. There is a special type of auto insurance that is called . In liability insurance, if a person is at fault in causing an accident then the insurance company would pay the entire amount which that person needs to pay to those persons whom he has caused damage both to their vehicle and the people. Moreover, the insurance company also pays all the legal bills that are to be paid to the lawyer during the legal transactions. So it is suggested that everybody should go for a liability insurance as you never know that when you might cause damage to anyone.

Collision coverage insurance is just like liability insurance but the difference is if a person causes an accident then the collision coverage insurance would repay the entire amount that is required to repair the person’s vehicle. But the disadvantage of this type of insurance is that the person cannot collect an amount exceeding the of the car at that time. People always keep on finding cheap auto insurance and hence they must find high deductibles. High deductibles help people to lower their monthly installment that they have to pay their insurance premium. So with lowered insurance premiums, they will be able to get the cheapest insurance available in the market.

Alien
http://www.articlesbase.com/insurance-articles/basics-about-auto-insurance-627139.html

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16Dec

Auto Insurance Quote question?

Filed in Free Auto Insurance Quote 2 Comments

What does the 250/500/100 on the premium policy mean?

Here’s the :

1999 Honda Accord LX [ assume a 20 year old male with and Accident - Free for 3 years]

Quote:

Premium with Comprehensive and Collision ($500 deductible) With Multicar and Multiline Discount

1999 HONDA ACCORD TERR:003
,AFD3YR, VSD2
RG:04 CL:5B GS – PREM
BIPD 250/500/100 = $284.74
WITH P1
PIP P4 = $4.00
COMP $500 DED = $52.79
COLL $500 DED = $162.39
ERS = $2.60
R1 80%/500 = $11.60
U 250/500 =$19.40
S 1 AT 5000 =$1.20
NEW PREMIUM =$538.72

—————————————————–

If you can’t read the above, then what’s 250/500/100 liability coverage on a premium policy mean?

250/500/100 means $250,000 per person bodily injury/$500,000 per accident bodily injury and $100,000 . This is liability which means damage you cause to others. So, if you have an at fault accident and there are injuries and property damage, your policy will pay up to $250,000 per person for their bodily injury no matter how many people are injured (it looks like you are in a PIP state which pays the medical bills so this would likely not include medical depending on the PIP limits). Your policy will pay up to $500,000 in bodily injury total per accident no matter how many people are injured. They will also pay up to $100,000 in property damage no matter how many vehicles are damaged (or building, pole, etc).

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08Dec

Arizona Auto Insurance Quote – How to Get the Best Rate

Filed in State Auto Insurance Leave a comment

Arizona auto insurance rates can be absolutely astronomical. I should know. I live there. But there are ways to get a cheap Arizona . Here’s how …

Arizona Auto Insurance Requirements

In order to license your car in the state of Arizona you’re only required to have liability insurance.

Liability Insurance

Liability insurance pays for and physical injury claims made against you from an accident that’s your fault.

The minimum bodily injury liability coverage you must carry in Arizona is $15,000 per person with a $30,000 maximum per accident. The minimum property damage coverage is $10,000.

If you don’t have a lot of assets to lose from a lawsuit, this minimum coverage, expressed as 15/30/10, may be all you need. But if you do have a lot of assets, you should get enough coverage to protect yourself from personal injury lawsuits.

Personal Injury Protection

Personal injury protection (PIP) pays for reasonable and necessary for you and your passengers when you’re involved in an accident. Though the sate of Arizona does not require that you carry this coverage, it’s a good idea to carry at least the minimum coverage, especially if you don’t have medical insurance.

Uninsured Motorist Protection

This pays you and your passenger’s medical expenses and property damage expenses caused by an uninsured driver, an underinsured driver, or a hit-and-run driver. I highly recommend you purchase this protection because one-quarter of the residents in Arizona are driving without auto insurance.

Comprehensive and Collision Insurance

Comprehensive insurance pays for damages to you car from theft, fire, vandalism, hail, etc. Collision insurance pays for damages to your car when you’re involved an accident no matter who was at fault.

To save money on comprehensive and collision insurance get the highest deductible (what you pay before your insurance kicks in) you can afford to pay.

How to Get the Best Rate

Getting the best auto insurance rate in Arizona is simply a matter of comparison shopping at a insurance comparison website. In a matter of minutes you can get quotes from a number of companies and choose the . Some Arizonans have saved as much as $1,000 on their insurance by comparison shopping.

Visit http://www.LowerRateQuotes.com or click on the following link to get Arizona auto insurance quotes from top-rated companies in your area and see how much you can save. You can get more car insurance tips by checking out their “Articles” section.

ryan@thesatellitetvguide.com
http://www.articlesbase.com/insurance-articles/arizona-auto-insurance-quote-how-to-get-the-best-rate-118496.html

Tags: , , uninsured driver, , , ,

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