Category: Personal

Information for personal insurance clients.

Adequate Auto Limits are a Necessity

They really are. I’m not just making this stuff up

One of the things we spend a fair amount of time with is trying to talk new customer out of minimum auto limits. Now, I know what some of you are thinking. “They’re just trying to boost up their sales.” Trust me, for the few extra bucks we would get in commission it’s really not worth the effort. It’s a lot easier to just let our customers pick what they want and move on. However, we see the other side. We’ve seen customers that had an accident and chose to under insure. The minimum liability limits for California are 15/30/10. That’s $15,000 for each person, $30,000 for each accident, and $10,000 in property damage. Let’s look at that last number. $10,000 is all that would be paid if some else’s car was totaled. How many $10,000 cars are out there today? Not many. What happens if the limit isn’t enough? You pay. $15,000 isn’t much coverage for the medical and hospital bills of someone that gets hurt now is it?

The additional cost isn’t worth the anguish you’ll experience if it isn’t enough.

Mechanical Breakdown Policies

or…how to get a better deal from your dealer

Also known as extended warranties, Mechanical Breakdown Policies, have been available from independent agents for a long time. Problem is, most of the time we don’t hear about your new car until you’ve already finished the deal and so if you are the kind of customer that likes extended warranties you’ve already taken the dealer’s plan. Now, the dealer plans have their advantages however they can be very expensive. I know firsthand that there is a huge markup for the dealer in the prices they quote you.

Here’s a suggestion. Before you go to the dealer to finish the deal, give us a call. We can give you a quote on one of our plans. Then, when it comes time to make the deal you can use the quote to get the dealer to come down on his price. If he doesn’t, call us again and we’ll set you up on our plan.

Pay-as-you-drive Auto Insurance?

New legislation that allows insurance companies to monitor a drivers mileage in exchange for a better insurance rate recently pass the California Senate Appropriations Committee.

The legislation would allow insurance companies to charge a lower rate for mileage that they can verify. While privacy advocates have issues with it, it would be an optional program. The thing is, Insurance Companies need some sort of way to set rates and mileage is a major factor.

Source: http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2008/08/08/92605.htm