Collision Coverage

Three Ways Collision Coverage Serves You

• Pays for damage to your vehicle when YOU cause an accident:
  • If you wreck your own vehicle, your insurer will pay for the cost to repair the vehicle, or if the cost to repair is more than the value of the vehicle, they will pay to replace it based on its market value at the time of the accident.
  • Pays for damage to your vehicle when ANOTHER DRIVER causes an accident:
    • Your insurer will pay your damages and then go seek reimbursement from the other driver’s insurance.
    • Many drivers take advantage of this option when the at-fault driver’s insurer is being difficult or slow to act. You will typically have to demand your insurer take action in this scenario, but if you paid for collision coverage, you have these benefits.
    • Using this option should not raise your rates, since you were not at fault. Be sure to ask your insurance adjuster whether a scenario will or won’t affect your rates before choosing your course of action.
  • Pays for damage to your vehicle in circumstances not covered by other sections of your policy:
    • If you do not purchase comprehensive coverage for vandalism, acts of nature, theft, etc., then you can typically claim such losses under collision coverage.
    • For hit-and-run accidents or damage caused by a driver with no insurance, you can typically claim such losses under collision coverage.
    • Using collision coverage in these scenarios may raise your rates, as your insurer may assess such damage as if you were at fault or caused it yourself. This is why it’s best to carry comprehensive (COMP) and underinsured motorist (UIM) to pay for damage in any scenario.

Myth 10: "Out-of-state speeding tickets can't follow you home"

• 13% think it’s true (34% women, 66% men).
• Tip: Those tickets can follow you, and can affect your car insurance rates.  This myth had the biggest disparity between men and women among the survey questions, with far more men believing they could get away with speeding in another state. Taken from www.propertycasualty360.com

TIPS TO FIND A LOST INSURANCE POLICY

• By: Amanda Prischak
• September 8, 2014
• District of Columbia, Erie Insurance, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Life Sense, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin

It’s estimated that there is $1 billion worth of forgotten and lost life insurance policies in America. Could you be among the estimated 1 in 600 people who may be the beneficiary of an unclaimed life insurance policy?
If so, there are ways to find a lost life insurance policy. Here are some tips to help.

• Comb the house. Sometimes the thing we’re missing is right under our nose. So first go through any files or safe deposit boxes where the lost life insurance policy may be before launching a full-fledged investigation.
• Think back to the beginning. Which insurance agent may have sold it? Which insurance company may have issued it? What was the name and Social Security number of the person who bought it? Was the policy a term or permanent life policy? Any information you can remember will help the insurance agent and/or customer representative you contact. You might also have to contact any attorneys, financial advisors, accountants or other advisors who might have had something to do with issuing the policy.
  
  If the policyholder passed away relatively recently and you have the authority or permission, take a look at the deceased person’s bank statements for premium payments or policy-related material.
  
• Contact your state’s insurance department. By law, an insurance company that is unable to locate a policy’s beneficiary is required to turn over the benefits to the state’s unclaimed property office. Think about the state in which the policy could have been issued. Then visit the National Association of Insurance Commissioners website to learn how to contact your state insurance department.
  

Need Money? Business Loan Options For Entrepreneurs In 2014 Read More

What has your insurance agent done for you lately?

Obesity now accounts for almost 21% of U. S. Healthcare Costs

Obesity now accounts for almost 21 percent of U.S. healthcare costs — more than twice some previous estimates, reports a new Cornell University study. Read here

Death Toll, Damage Mount Tornadoes in Midwest, South

Across the South and Midwest, survivors emerged Saturday to find blue sky and splinters where homes once stood, cars flung into buildings and communications crippled after dozens of tornadoes chainsawed through a region of millions, leveling small towns along the way.
At least 38 people were killed in five states, but a 2-year-old girl was somehow found alive and alone in a field near her Indiana home. Her family did not survive. A couple that fled their home for the safety of a restaurant basement made it, even after the storms threw a school bus into their makeshift shelter. Read full article here

March 5 Deadline to Register for Virginia Quake Aid

Read full story here

Hartford's Biggest Stakeholder Wants to Split Up the Firm

Read the full story here

Insurance Journal Article - Worker's Compensation Turn a Profit

Fahgettaboudit! Read here