Common FAQs About Insurance Policies

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.

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.

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.

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 antilock brakes 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.

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.

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

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 and others.

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.  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.