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!

Introduction into Insurance And All

Welcome to my blog Insurance And All! I am starting this blog in the hopes of spreading knowledge regarding "Insurance And All" the ins and outs that every person should know about. I come across hundreds of customers who have never really had their coverages explained, limits explained or even what certain things in your policy mean when it comes time for a claim. I want to help the community become aware of all of the misconceptions and misunderstood myths about insurance. I want this to be a place of knowledge, discussion, and build a strong community for everyone to be apart of.

I am currently a Farmers Agent in the state of Utah. As a child and teen I always had a small idea with my sister that one day we would have our own Insurance Business and run it all ourselves. When it came time for college I was enrolled in the Pre-Business Undergraduate study but quickly found I really had no interest to go into Marketing, which is what I had decided I would bring to the table for our business. After going into Exercise and Sports Science I realized I was in school for all the wrong reasons. I wasn't striving towards a bigger picture and often was faced with the, "what will you do with your degree?", question and often times I had no idea what to even say. An opportunity presented itself and I jumped on it. My sister had recently become a Farmers Agent and thought that I should also become and Agent. Long story short, we don't own our own business per-say but she owns her own agency as do I. I guess all along it was just meant to be. Although I am not enrolled as and ESS student any longer I still love Fitness and the human body and continue to strive to be better physically and mentally. 

Now that everyone knows just a little bit about me I want to connect with people and know who they are and what they have questions about. I don't claim to know everything, who can, but I do know that I will do my best to help everyone out there get their questions and concerns answered with careful guidance and information. I look forward to helping out my community and helping families keep their hard earned assets secure! 

If you would like to connect with me on Facebook head over to my Page.