But I paid for 6 months...

If you are shopping around for insurance or have been approached with a better policy and with a lower premium, many people find themselves thinking they are in a contract with their current carrier.  What many people I run into do not know, is that you can cancel your current policy whenever you want with no repercussion, you can even get all of your unused premium back.

I wanted to quickly share some information about policies and what happens when you pay for your annual or 6 month policy all at once. Signing your agreement with your insurance company isn't a binding contract that holds you in until the expiration date. It can be cancelled at anytime per your request. A lot of people don't realize that when you decide to cancel a policy, even if you pay monthly, your prorated unused premium will be refunded to you. A ton of customers feel like they are trapped in a policy and can't start saving money on a new policy because they already paid for their policy upfront. Everyone should be aware that if you are not happy with your policy and are searching and find a better policy, you can switch at any time! If you call into your agent and tell him or her you are canceling, chances are it will get done fairly quickly and jump start the process of returning your premium to you. Most companies can get this done relatively quick and before you know it you could be with your new carrier and better policy and have nothing to worry about.

Just a short piece of information for all customers to be aware that they do have options and can always make a change, should the right opportunity present itself! Post some comments and questions below so I can know what you guys need answered!

KNOW WHAT FULL COVERAGE MEANS

I've talked briefly in some previous posts about the different coverages that are available to you and how they can have an extreme impact on your incidents in the future, should you have one. But lately I have been getting a lot of confused people that still to this day, after having insurance for well over 15 years, have never been educated on coverages and insurance in general. I want everyone to be aware of the dangerous language your agent could be using to confuse you.

The issue of, "Full Coverage". There have been a lot of people telling me. "well I have full coverage", when I ask them how high they would like their coverage limits to be. I receive the same answer when I ask how much coverage they have. This is great that you know you have coverage to cover your own car and coverage to protect yourself when you cause bodily injury to another, but this is just scratching the surface. Its like if I told you that your house was covered under any circumstances, only to hide that its only covered for half of its actual value. Full coverage is simply a term that states you have two parts to your policy. Coverage for your own vehicle, this is comprehensive and collision coverages, with their respective deductibles. The second part is where the confusion arises. 

Bodily Injury to others, Property Damage, and Uninsured/Underinsured coverage is that second piece of the full coverage pie. Just like your deductibles with comp. and collision, these coverages also have varying limits and coverages. The problem is that agents aren't explaining to their clients that the term "full" doesn't mean anything. You could have the state minimums for coverage and still be considered, "fully covered". Full just simply states you carry Bodily Injury and Property Damage coverage. Heck Uninsured and Underinsured aren't even required in states, and these coverages are in my opinion more important than the first two coverages. So simply stating that you have "full coverage", only tells a portion of the actual story. I will outline which each coverages meanings below;

• Bodily Injury: Covers injury caused to any person(s) as a result of your negligence, will pay for medical bills, lost wages etc.
• Property Damage: Covers any damage you cause to property, including damage to nearby buildings, light posts etc.(Also pays for legal defense costs)
• Uninsured and Underinsured: This coverage is not covering your negligence but rather another drivers. If you are hit by another driver who does not have coverage, who pays for you recovery and lost wages? This coverage will protect you in the event that another persons insurance is insufficient or nonexistent. That is why it can be more valuable to have this coverage in addition to the other coverages. It covers YOU and your health and wages. 

Coverage Limits are as follows:

• 25/65: $25,000 per person/$65,000 per incident (Utah State Minimum)
• 50/100: $50,000 per person/$100,000 per incident
• 100/300: $100,000 per person/$300,000 per incident
• 250/500: $250,000 per person/$500,000 per incident
• 500/500: $500,000 per person/$500,000 per incident

Property Damage coverage increases with one limit per incident:

• Coverage increases from: 15, 20, 25, 40, 50, 100, 250 and finally 500 and is represented in the thousands.

 As you can see there may be a lot to the story of limits and coverages that you aren't being told. You may indeed have full coverage but that doesn't always mean you have the right coverage for you. Look into your policy and stay educated on what limits and coverages you have to keep your self safe!

UPDATE ON RIDESHARING INSURANCE

In my previous post on rideshare coverage I briefly mentioned how I've had quite a few clients that have been told that they are indeed covered by their current policy, even though there is no actual endorsement or any clause that specifically states they are covered. After reaching out to The Rideshare Guy I received some valuable information for any ridesharers out there that might have also been told this same thing. 

In a recent memo sent out to State Farm agents the issue of ridesharing was addressed. In the memo the company stated, "that as long as livery wasn't the main use of the vehicle", there would be no grounds for cancellation or termination of your policy. Awesome news right? Not so fast. Yes this means if you drive less than 50% of your miles for ridesharing purposes you won't be dropped/ But this does nothing for you in terms of coverage. Just because the company has said no you will not be dropped, that doesn't translate into yes you are covered in an accident. While not being dropped is a great thing, not being covered in period 1 is still not any good news at all. The whole point of the ridesharing coverage is to insure you for period 1, the time when you are most vulnerable as a driver because there isn't a responsibility for any company to cover your loss.

Then there is the second issue. Driving less than 50% of your miles for ridesharing could be quite difficult. If you are doing ridesharing part time or even just doing it on the side you could easily surpass 50% of your miles driven for rideshare purposes. Lets say you drive 3 days out of the week for a good amount of time. Those drives could contain a fair amount of miles driven. If you compare it to your everyday commute to work the other 3 days a week, you might find you don't put on too many miles for work, or "pleasure" commutes. Maybe your work is only a couple miles away from your home, meaning you only average about 30 miles to and from work a week. Those miles could be matched quickly while ridesharing. And forget about staying under 50% if you drive rideshare as a primary job. This could leave you in a situation where you could be dropped and even worse, find yourself uninsured in period 1. Taking all of the responsibility and risk yourself. 

Everyone who is ridesharing needs to be aware of what is explicitly stated in each of their policies and know the exact coverage in every situation. I don't want any driver out there to think they are covered because their agent said they were, when in reality the agent didn't disclose the while story to the customer. Please make sure to review your policy and feel free to reach out to me with any questions you might have regarding ridesharing policies. Drive safe everyone!

Marriage and Insurance

Recently I had the wonderful experience of marrying my High School sweetheart. It was a great experience that I was happy we could finally share together and move our relationship that much further. But now that we are back to work and real life we have the hassle of making sure our license gets submitted and then we will have to go through the pain of changing her last name with the social security division, drivers license division, credit unions and the list goes on and on. There is another thing that will also need changing now, and that is our insurance. We have not been on each others insurance thus far and we are now married so what should we do?

Well first thing is first to be on each others auto insurance or not to be? Technically since you are married and I assume you are living in the same household, both drivers should be listed in a policy. But that doesn't mean both drivers have to be rated in the policy. For us as young couples sometimes being on separate insurance policies and companies is the best choice. With me being a young male and having a couple of speeding tickets, my insurance is going to be very pricey. She on the other hand has no violations or incidents and is usually rated better, simply because she is not a male. I know it sucks, we pay the price for being dudes who like to drive fast on occasion. I could have a policy with my wife on it but excluded from it so that she can be on her own policy and possibly have a better overall rate for the both of us combined since my negative age, gender and driving history won't have any affect on her policy. This is not absolute though, as sometimes having multiple drivers and cars on policies saves quite a bit of money. It boils down to seeing where you can get the best rate for the right coverage, whether that is together or not.

Getting insurance on that bling is also important. Now that you have made it official and have that gorgeous ring you might want to make sure it is going to be covered in your policy in the event of a loss or theft. Most renters or homeowners policies have an automatic coverage for jewelry, but these usually have a sublimit amount of around $1,000 of coverage. Meaning if your ring is worth more than $1,000 dollars you might want to get a floater on the ring or simply increase the sublimit. If you add a floater the specific piece of jewelry will need to be appraised and this appraisal will provide the insurance company with the value of the replacement making sure you are covering the piece for its actual value and not a sublimit amount.

Your interest in your significant others life is now recognized, even by law. Now that you are married you have an interest in that persons life. Meaning getting a life insurance policy on each other is now and option because you have something to lose if that person is deceased. I would highly recommend getting an insurance policy on each other not only to make sure you are financially secure with your assets even without that person, but also having that money in the event that you lose your significant other will allow time to grieve and go through a normal letting go process by not being stressed with work and money issues. Losing someone you love is hard enough without all of the possible financial burdens. Make sure to sit down with an agent and have a needs analysis on both you and your spouse to determine the right amount of coverage for you.

Marriage changes a whole bunch of things, just make sure you're prepared for everything and plan ahead to secure this life you have with your partner. Planning now will save you lots of heartache down the road.

Personal Story About Being Under-covered

I recently wrote a blog about how important it is to know what your apartment complex will and will not cover. In addition to that you should be very aware of what your coverage limits really are, if your apartment complex is providing the insurance to you. In my post about renters policies found here I was writing about the differences in my coverage from when I had the apartments insurance vs my current renters policy. I was drastically off on my guesstimate of coverage that I was receiving from the apartment.

I found our old declaration page today while sifting through a bunch of junk papers and I was absolutely stunned by what I had seen. I will post the comparison photo below to show just how off I was on my guessing, but I'm going to break it down here as well.

Current coverage from my renters policy:

• Personal Property: $25,000
• Personal Liability: $300,000
• Loss of Use: $5,000
• Deductible: $250
• Monthly Payment: $14

Previous coverage from the apartment:

• Personal Property: $5,000
• Personal Liability: $25,000
• Loss of Use(Additional Living Expenses): $1,250
• Deductible: $100
• Monthly Payment: $11

As you can see from my blurry photo, I was severely under-covered. And I had absolutely no idea. this happens everyday to people. They pay a fee and expect that they are being taken care of and are covered the way they should be, but sadly that's usually not the case. Sometimes as a consumer you need to be proactive and make sure that you have the right coverages and limits, don't be afraid to ask questions. You should ask lots of them! I essentially now have; 6x more personal property coverage, 12x more liability coverage, and double the loss of use coverage. I took my limits up this much and only pay three extra dollars a month and have a slightly higher deductible. Sure I might not need the $25,000 dollars in personal property coverage but that liability coverage can dwindle down fast. Just like I talked about in my umbrella post, your liability coverage can be wiped out extremely quick. If I burnt down my whole complex imagine the amount of liability on my shoulders... 

Just wanted to share my personal story about how this kind of thing happens to everyone and we all need to make sure our agent is taking care of use as well as you taking care of yourself. 

ALL TOWNHOUSE/CONDO OWNERS MUST READ

There is quite a bit of uncertainty here in Utah when it comes to how you insure your condo or townhouse. I've ran into potential clients that have reached out for a comparable quote for insurance only for me to discover that they were being wrongfully insured. 

When someone goes to buy a townhouse or condo the HOA is most likely involved. This community you are buying into can have some weird stipulations and requirements, which can change and cause some confusion surrounding multiple issues. The insurance of your unit always seems to pop out at me when getting quotes for my potential clients. My clients either don't know how their unit is insured, or they don't know how they want it insured. 

In 2011 Utah State Legislation passed a law titled, “Condominium and Community Association Revisions”. This is something all agents should currently be aware of, because this law directly affects your insurance on your unit. The HOA calls the policy required by law a "master" policy which the HOA is required to provide to you. The policy essentially covers the building, including the "betterment's" and "improvements" installed by you the unit owner. What is NOT covered is your personal property and your exposure to liability claims. 

Simple enough, where is the confusion? The problem lies with agents who are unaware or choose to ignore these new requirements. The way the insurance used to work is the HOA would cover the outside walls and you had to cover all of the inside walls in addition to the personal property and liability. I know, it sounds ridiculous. "We will cover the outside walls" how dumb does that sound? Anyways, now that the law requires the full building to be covered you need to make sure you are paying for the right insurance! 

Now a days if you have an HOA policy you would want a unit owner policy on your townhouse or condo. This policy is very similar to a renters policy in the way that you don't actually cover the building but rather the contents inside and your liability as the owner or occupant. The only difference is you can add additional endorsements to this policy which are not found in a renters policy, and most importantly, you own the building. 

The importance of being aware of this, is subjective. If you don't mind paying more money for an old policy that is double covering you for what is already covered then there is really no problem. But most people I know want to pay for only what is necessary and don't like to overpay. The situation I have found is an agent gives a policy to the unit owner and they give them the requirements of the old policy. So now the owner is covered by the HOA for the whole building in addition they themselves are paying to cover the inside walls, which is already covered... Please be aware of this requirement and make sure you are paying for what is needed and that you aren't paying more money for something that is already covered, it could save you a couple of hundred of dollars every year!

To read more on the Utah Legislation head over to this Utah.Gov PDF. 

My apartment covers my stuff right?

One of the big mysteries is often renters insurance. I know that when I signed my first apartment lease they asked if I had renters insurance or if I wanted to buy it through them. I'll admit I was pretty clueless about the whole thing. They basically said here you can have insurance through us for 11 dollars a month. Well obviously I knew we should probably buy insurance naturally we did. But I had absolutely no idea what exactly I was spending 11 dollars a month on. I had no idea what my coverages were, what they covered or why I even needed them.

Soon after we signed our lease my sister wanted to write a renters policy for me and have it be through her agency. Of course I was up for it and let her but in the process she showed me exactly what the renters policy did and did not do and why the freak I even needed the dumb thing.

Making the switch was easy and simple, canceled the apartments insurance and sent them proof of my new insurance. It was costing me only a few dollars more per month but I was getting significantly higher coverages and also on top of that being educated on what in the heck the policy did.

The main things to note in a renters policy are the personal property coverage and the liability coverage. In my opinion this are the two most important things to look at. The personal property is exactly what it sounds like, it covers all of your personal property. If your apartment is burnt to the ground and destroys all of your belongings then your personal property coverage will jump in and replace it all. On my original policy with the apartment I had about $15,000 in coverage. High but not typical. Typically when I write a policy I give $25,000 or more in coverage. This was one jump in coverage I made.

The second change I made was to my liability coverage. With the apartment I believe I was at around $100,000 in coverage, again high but not enough. I now have $300,000 in coverage which still could be too low but is closer to what everyone should have. This liability coverage is put in place to cover any damage you cause to other surrounding apartments by your negligence. Lets say I leave the stove on and cause a fire, that fire is quickly put out by my sprinkler system inside of my apartment but now I have flooded the apartment and its seeping down into the apartments below. The worst part, I live on the third floor. Now not only have I flooded my own apartment but the other apartments below me. I am responsible for the damages to their apartments and most importantly the building! Think of how pricey the repairs could get. Thankfully though I am educated and have a high liability coverage limit that will cover me in this situation.

If you rent you should own a renters policy. For protection from being held responsible for damages you cause and to cover all of your valuable property that you have worked to get. The apartment is covering their buildings, they don't care about your stuff or about your future earning that could be lost in the event that you cause damage that isn't covered. They do not have your best interest at mind. Make sure that you do and that you agent does as well.

Anyone reading; I would love your feedback and to get some questions on what you want answered, feel free to share the post if you found it useful and be prepared for the worst!