7 Tips to Selecting the Right Car Insurance Coverage

Better be prepared with car insurance before you buy your car and drive it off the lot. But finding the right car insurance coverage is not as easy as 1, 2, 3. There are many parts to the policy and many different types of coverage and limit options. Here are seven tips you can use when considering the car insurance that’s right for you.

  • 1. Know Your State’s Minimum Required Limits for Auto Insurance

In most states you are required to carry auto insurance and establish minimum liability limits, including Insureville, Idaho, of course. This protects you and the public. States do not generally require you to insure for physical damage. You should ask your independent agent what Idaho’s minimum required limits are and whether owning just the minimum is the right solution for you.

  • 2. Think about the Liability Limits You Buy

Most states typically have minimum liability limits of $25,000 bodily injury per person, $50,000 per accident and $20,000 for property damage. Just think about how little that amount is should you cause an accident and seriously hurt others or cause serious damage to someone’s property. How much liability limit you should purchase depends on a number of factors, such as the value of your personal assets. Your best bet is to discuss the appropriate limits for your needs with your independent agent.

  • 3. A Combined Single Limit is Better Than Split Limits

Just think about the split limit scenario above. Let’s say you injure four people in a car accident and two of the injured require $25,000 for medical care. If you have a $25,000 per-person limit with a maximum per accident of $50,000, you may be personally sued by the other injured parties. But if you had purchased combined single limits, you would then have a bucket from which to pay all injured parties up to the limit purchased. So, it may make sense to purchase a combined single limit.

  • 4. Purchase Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage

Just think of the minimum state limits most people purchase. If they cause an accident in which you are severely injured, would $25,000 be sufficient? Or what if they had no insurance? To protect yourself and your family, consider buying both uninsured and underinsured coverage with your car insurance.

  • 5. Protect the Value of your Car with Physical Damage Coverage

If you have an automobile loan or are leasing your car, you will be required to purchase physical damage coverage to protect the lending institution. If something happens to your car, physical damage coverage will pay to repair or replace your car. So whether you are required to by your lender or not, you should consider purchasing this coverage.

  • 6. Select a Suitable Deductible for Car Damage

The physical damage coverage portion of car insurance has a deductible. This means if any damage is done to your car, the insurance company will pay the amount to repair or replace your car and you pay the deductible. If you take a low deductible, like $250, the insurance company will have to pay more to have your car repaired and, consequently, you will pay a higher premium. The higher your deductible, the lower the premium. Consider choosing the highest deductible you can afford, but realize you will then have to pay if your car needs a minor dent repaired.

  • 7. Ask for Car Insurance Discounts

There are a number of car insurance discounts available to drivers. There is a discount for insuring multiple cars, for taking safe driving courses, for good student drivers, and there may even be a discount for having your car insurance policy with the same company that insures your home.

Not having the right limits and coverage on your car insurance policy can lead to the loss of your assets in case of an accident. As your independent agent, we can help you select the appropriate coverage and limits for you with the most competitive premiums from a variety of insurance companies we represent. Contact us today.

Smartphone Apps Help Document Your Claim

3 new smartphone apps have been released (all free) to help policyholders document their stuff so if a fire or theft happened, the app could be used to prove what they had to the insurance company.

The apps are: “Your Plan“, “III Inventory“, and “Scr.APP.bk“.

They all are a little different in what they do and each has features that are pretty cool:

  • Google Crisis Response is built into the “Your Plan” app.
  • “Scr.APP.bk” has a simple user interface and inventory entry system as well as a library of information you might need if you had a claim.
  • “III Inventory” is the most robust app and includes the ability to document several locations, search your inventory for specific items, photograph your belongings from within the app.

We use both the “Your Plan” and “III Inventory” and feel these take care of all our inventory and crisis planning needs.

MA Regulators Offer Advice to Drivers Who Are at Fault in Accidents

MA at-fault accident FAQThe Massachusetts Division of Insurance recently published a guideline for drivers who are found to be at fault in an auto accident.

Drivers involved in accidents need to know the ramifications of the accident on thier insurance cost. This FAQ guide answers many of the most asked questions.

Planning for Non-Traditional Couples

Non-traditional couples (NT) are defined as opposite sex couples that are not married and same sex couples (married or not). If you fall into either of these categories, you have advantages and (mostly) disadvantages as compared to traditional couples when dealing with tax and financial issues. We’ll highlight a few examples of each:

1. Federal tax code does not recognize NTcouples as a family and therefor does not allow assets to pass  tax-free to the surviving partner upon death of the other…estate taxes will apply.

2. Asset transfers from one partner to the other are subject to gift tax and lifetime gift exclusion rules.

3. Since partners are not related in the eyes of the tax code, one partner can sell assets to the other at a loss and use the loss for tax purposes (one of the few benefits you have over traditional couples).

4. Exclusion on Sale of Residence of $250,000 for an individual and $500,000 for a couple is restricted to just one exclusion ($250,000).

5. Passive Loss Limitation rules apply separately to each partner (one of the few bonuses for NT couples).

6. COBRA premium subsidy. If both partners are insured under a group policy at a company only one of the partners work at, the other partner is not a “qualified beneficiary” under the definition of the act and therefor not eligible.

7. Social Security. Don’t even ask.

8. Qualified Domestic Relations Order. If the NT couple split up and retirement plan benefits are included in the QDRO, an employer is under no obligation to follow the order since The Defense Of Marriage Act prohibits the recognition of same-sex marriage.

9. Property transfers between spouses/domestic partners. If a traditional marriage ends, any gains in value of property transferred between spouses to settle the divorce are not taxed. NT couples will pay tax on any gain over the cost basis of transferred property.

These are just a few of the financial and tax issues a NT couple faces which traditional couples don’t. Luckily there is a way to solve many of these problems using insurance or trusts. The most common trusts to use are:
-Grantor Retained Income Trusts
-Charitable Remainder Trusts
-Wealth Replacement Trusts
-Charitable Lead Trusts

The problem with trusts are that they cost money to create and maintain and the rules regarding trusts seem to change constantly. Life insurance is one of the best ways to transfer assets at death of one of the partners of a  NT couple and keep those assets from being taxed. Life insurance (with a Long-Term-Care rider) can also  make sure each partner has funding for nursing home or home health care available without worrying about bankrupting the other partner.

These are complex issues that every NT couple should deal with…earlier rather than later!

Ever rent your home or vacation home?

If you ever rent your home or vacation home, you need more coverage than the standard homeowner policy gives you. Homeaway Inc. (www.homeaway.com) now offers a supplemental insurance policy that covers those things that your primary home policy won’t. You’ll still need a homeowner policy but at least with this new type of policy you can save yourself the expense of buying a commercial policy on your home.

Car Sharing Gets Boost

Car sharing has gotten a boost with GM announcing its OnStar subscribers can now rent out their cars using the RelayRides car sharing service. There are many car sharing services…ZipCar being one of the first and most widely known. But many of the original sharing services owned their vehicles and insured them on fleet policies. This new model of car sharing, where the vehicles are owned by individuals, creates insurance problems. Depending on what state you live in, you may or may not be able to find insurance for your car while it’s being shared.

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2012/07/17/255932.htm