Personal Articles Floater(PAF), Insuring Individual Valuble Items

June 21, 2011 Leave a comment

A Lot of us when setting up homeowners insurance, forget a very important item on our policies. Personal article floater insurance. A lot of us have very valuable items, that we don’t insure. One of these very obvious items is mostly you or your spouses wedding ring.

In this blog, I am going to cover what a personal article floater insurance policy is, and why you might be cutting yourself by not insuring something important.

 

What is a personal article floater?

Since valuable things such as jewelry are limited on the amount of coverage a home owners policy’s will cover, the industry offers this policy. The industry offers policies for jewelery, guns, coins, stamps, golf clubs camera’s and other items. This all depends on what the insurance company offers. The policy insures the individual item. Both the insured and insurer agree on insuring at a certain amount. An appraisal or some sort of proof of value is required. Sometimes a deductilbe does apply, at usually a very low level.  The most common personal article floater policies are for jewelry, mostly wedding rings.

Is this policy idealistic for me?

This all depends on the client. If you have a valuable wedding ring worth 50 thousand dollars, yes you should insure it. That alone is a small investment and fortune. Sometimes people decide its idealistic to self insure. I know a couple of gun collectors who don’t insure there guns. Th reason is so much cost over time. Sometimes you are better off getting a really good safe, and locking up your valuables in there, or even getting a safety deposit box.

 

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Ordinance And Law Coverage On A Home Owners Insurance Policy

June 20, 2011 Leave a comment

home-insurance-homeowners-condo-insuranceHaving an older home or property, is almost sometimes like owning a beautiful antique. This could be your primary dwelling, seasonal property, rental condo or home. As newer homes are being built, your house keeps its individuality.  As we know, new code laws are either being updated or made to help try to improve, energy, safety, and other purposes. As a homeowner with your old house, this doesn’t effect you, because its most likely grand fathered in. Or Does it?

Most of the time it doesn’t effect the average homeowner. But when it comes to the possibility of a  insurance loss on your home or property, everyone can become vulnerable to new code laws. The chances are the older your home or structure, the less compliant they are with current codes. In the event of a total or partial loss of your property, for example due to a fire, when it is re-built it has to be compliant with all new county, city, city, state, federal and association codes.

This will cover you three ways:

  1. Loss to undamaged part of building or dwelling. (Example: The part of the undamaged building has to be demolished and rebuilt due to code.)
  2. Increased Demolition Cost: (Due to having to demolish and undamaged part of the building or dwelling)
  3. Increased Cost Of Construction. (Due to higher cost for compliance for new law codes)

Coverage is usually built in at, %10 of the structure/dwelling insurance amount. This can be increased with an endorsement or when a policy is started.

If you have any questions about your current policy, please contact us.

Feel free to leave a comment.

 

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A Nice Homeowners Insurance Inventory Check List- Courtesy Colorado DORA Division Of Insurance

June 20, 2011 Leave a comment

It is always good to take time and produce an inventory of your homes valuables and property. Here is a link to the Colorado Division of Insurance, courtesy inventory checklist. Please keep in mind that it is always a good idea, to store these documents externally. I would recommend Google Documents.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. We can write insurance in 45 states. Or Leave A Comment.

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Why State Minimum Limits For Auto Insurance, Is Not A Good Idea…

June 19, 2011 Leave a comment

In my previous blog, I discussed what is required by law in Colorado, for car insurance limits. In this blog, I am going to explain why the state minimum limits are not a good idea to carry. Not only does this information pertain to Colorado consumers, it applies to all consumers in the United States.

The reason why State Minimum limits are a bad idea, is because the policy seriously lacks coverage. In Colorado those limits are 25/50/15. This means your insurance has to pay out a maximum to a potential 3rd party of, $25,000 per person bodily injury, $50,000 total accident bodily injury, and $15,000 dollar property damage.

To put this short, if you got into a bad enough at fault accident, your limits most likely won’t be enough. Chances are the other person is going to have more than 25,000 dollars in hospital bills, and if there was more than one person in the vehicle, chances are $50,000 isn’t going to be enough. On top of that, most cars cost more than $15,000 dollars. If  this was you in the at fault accident, chances are after you policy limits are exhausted, the 3rd party will personally come after you.

The reason that the state laws makes the limits so low, is to make sure car insurance costs stay low enough, so people can afford it. Having something is always better than nothing, especially is this situation.

How you can protect yourself from an under insured motorists, is by making sure you have sufficient limits on you auto insurance policy under insured motorists coverage.

Please contact us with any questions, we can write in 45 states.

 

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What Is Medical Payments Coverage, On A Car Insurance Policy?

June 19, 2011 Leave a comment

As we all know vehicle insurance can be very complicated at times. So I am going to go over medical payments coverage. Or also known in other states other than Colorado, personal injury protection. This coverage only applies to states that use an at-fault tort system.

What is Medical Payments?

Medical payments coverage pays for bodily injury, and other expenses for the at-fault party in an accident. Coverage is usually available in the following increments, per person in the at fault vehicle. $5,000,  $10,000, $25,000, $50,000 and sometimes as high as 100 thousand.  This will cover such things as medical bills, ambulance ride and most other expenses. There is no deductilbe. Keep in mind this coverage is only for when you are in a at fault accident.

Why It Is Good To Carry Medical Payments?

There are always two scenario’s, when medical payments is good to have on your policy. For one you might have a high deductilbe on your health insurance. Most of the time, medical payments coverage will pick up all out of pocket expenses in your health insurance. So for example if you have a 5,000 health insurance dollar deductible, and have $5000 in med pay. Chances are you will not have to pay anything out of pocket. The other scenario is if you don’t have heath insurance. At this point I would recommend buying a much medical payments coverage as you can. At the very least, $5,000 in coverage.

How Much Does Medical Payments Coverage Cost?

Med pay is usually a very inexpensive coverage on your policy. We have seen at as low as $15 dollars every 6 months. This all really depends on you driving record, past accidents, and credit. Other factors come in to play also. For more information on this coverage feel free to contact us. We can write insurance in 45 states.

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As A Landlord, Should I Require Tenant’s To Carry Renter’s Insurance?

June 14, 2011 Leave a comment

Having an investment property can be a great return on investment. But on the contrary, you do have the management aspect. This can include maintenance, leases, insurance and etc. One of them being your insurance policy. In this blog were going to cover why your tenants should have renter’s insurance, or better known as a homeowners policy number 4.  If you want to know more about landlord insurance, please visit this link.

What Is Renters Or Tenants Insurance or Known As A Ho-4?

A HO-4 policy, also known as renter’s insurance, covers only the tenants interest. This includes the following coverage,

  • Personal Property
  • Medical Payments
  • Loss Of Use
  • Personal Liability
  • Other Coverages are available

So Why Should I As Landlord, Require  My Tenants to have Tenants Insurance?

To avoid any legal problems or losses from your tenant.  A Renters Policy has a personal liability built in.  If your renter were to encounter any legal problems or losses, she/he is covered.  Here are some examples of what could happen.

-A renter invites a guest over and they slip and fall on the premises.

-They could accidentally start a fire in the premises.

With renters insurance, any type of law suits, or premises losses are going to fall on their policy. If your renter does not have insurance, you as a landlord are going to have to use your own policy.  Requiring your renter to have insurance can avoid huge headaches in the event of a loss or legal problems. The last thing you need to deal with as a landlord is getting sued for one of your tenant’s actions. In additon if a loss does occur on your policy, chances are your premium is going to increase on next renewal.

How much personal liability coverage should your renter have?

All you should be worry about on your tenant’s policy is their personal liability.  I would recommend a $300,000 liability requirement and it costs the tenant $15.00 – $30.00 per year extra.  This for the most part will cover most law suits that a tenant could encounter.  This for the most part covers the average cost of a dwelling or condo if were to completely burn to the ground.  If you feel that this will not be sufficient, your renter could go with a $500,000 personal liability or higher.

How much does Renters Insurance cost my tenant? 

Depending on how much coverage the tenant decides to go with besides your liability requirements, it can run as low as $80 per year all the way up to $300.  A lot of this depends upon the renters credit, previous losses, and how much other coverage they decide to buy and etc.

How do I get Proof Insurance As A Landlord?

You should get a Certificate of Insurance or Coverage Confirmation from the company or agent writing the insurance policy. I would also recommend getting listed as an additional insured on the policy if possible. That way you are always getting notified on any major policy changes, but mostly if the policy is being cancelled for any reason. Just like the insured, you get a policy packet  in the mail with detailed coverages, and notifications just like the tenant would.

Please contact us with any questions or for any quote requests for both Landlords and Tenants.

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What Type Of Insurance Policy Do I Need For A Rental Property?

June 13, 2011 1 Comment

Rental property’s can provide great residual incomes, and right now with the rental market in demand, a lot of people are putting their house’s up for rent or buying investment properties. Before you do this, your insurance policy must be written correctly, or else you could have some major gaps in coverage.

First of all lest highlight some of the most common types of properties.

  • Apartment Building
  • Condo
  • Dwelling

Apartment Building Insurance

This policy is designed for a building that houses multiple units, usually more than 3.  The policy includes building coverage, a general liability, business personal property coverage, loss of use, crime coverage and more.  This policy is strictly designed for apartments.

We usually write these policies through Travelers, Philadelphia or Middle Oak.

Landlord Condo Insurance

This policy is built for someone who owns a condominium and rents it out. It includes interior dwelling coverage, loss of rent, medical payments, and landlord liability. You can add things such as extended liability coverage, and loss assessment. This policy is usually written under Dwelling Fire Policy Form 8.

Landlord Dwelling Insurance

Investment houses are either written under a DP-1 or a DP-3. Or known as a dwelling fire policy. Most policies are written under a dp-3, because it gives you replacement cost coverage on the dwelling, which is better than the dp-1 actual cash value coverage on a dwelling. Always make sure you have the following coverages on your dwelling rental property.

  • replacement cost on dwelling(dp-3)
  • extended dwelling coverage, at least 120 percent
  • landlord business property(stove top, dishwasher, fridge, washer dryer, etc)
  • other structure coverage
  • loss of use, for at least 12 months
  • landlord liability
  • sewer back up
  • Ordinance & Code Coverage

If you have any questions or want a quote contact us.

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Colorado Law Auto Insurance Requirements

June 11, 2011 1 Comment

We all know that by law in Colorado and most states, that we are required to carry auto insurance by law. Or known as financial responsibility, which in other words if you can’t self insure yourself, you must by car insurance. So what exactly is required by law. Since were an at fault state, the insurance required to buy, is to put it shortly, not very much.

Colorado Vehicle Insurance Requirements

All that is required in Colorado is to carry compulsory auto insurance liability of 25/50/15. Liability only covers the 3rd potential party. So for example, you are considered at fault in a car accident. You are the first party, the insurance company is the second party, and the person you were at fault for in the accident with, is the 3rd party.

What Does 25/50/15 mean?

25/50/15 or 25-50-15 means liability policy limits are as the following, in which an insurance company is responsible in costs, judgements, lost wages and pain and suffering in an at fault accident, representing and defending you.

  • 25,000 dollars per person in bodily injury
  • 50,000 dollars per total of accident in bodily injury
  • 15,000 dollars property damage.

Is there anything else required or optional?

Nothing else is required to be carried.  Optional coverages include:

  • Higher Liability Limits of 50/100/25, 100/300/50, 250/500/100 and 500 csl.
  • Medical Payments
  • Uninsured or under insured motorists.
  • Uninsured motorists property damage.
  • Physical damage, which includes comprehensive and collision.
  • Rental Car Reimbursement
  • Towing

What We recommend

Everyone is always a case by case scenario. That’s why I never recommend buying a policy through the internet. We always take time with our clients, to find out what is best for them. We first of all would recommend higher liability limits. The limits required by law are very low. You are usually cutting yourself by buying these limits. My saying is cheap rates get you cheap coverage. We also make sure that every policy has uninsured or under insured motorists. If you don’t have health insurance, medical payment coverage is very important. If you have any questions, we can write in 45 states, and most of all, our home State and City, Denver, Colorado.

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Wedding Insurance, Why It Is So Important.

June 10, 2011 Leave a comment

  • Your Wedding is probably one of the most important dates in you life. There are all kinds of things that you need to prepare for. You have the rehearsal, you have food and catering, the brides dress, and the grooms suit. But one of your most important things is actually your wedding insurance. For your wedding should be worry free.

The biggest risk at a wedding is alcohol. Most of the time, alcohol is being served at weddings. As we all know people become a lot different after a couple of drinks, or even some times drunk. There are always safety nets you can put in to prevent alcohol related accidents. Such as providing transportation for the way home, or even offering a hotel room to all of your guests. But still at the end, alcohol related accidents happen to much.

A couple of examples of incidents that could occur during or after your weeding are; a person gets to intoxicated and drives home from your wedding. The person gets in at-fault accident and seriously hurts someone else. The next day later you find out, that they got into an accident leaving your wedding. A week after your getting find out, your getting sued by the third party they hurt. Another incident could be, after both of you leave the after party(groom and bride), your buddy Johnny gets into a fist fight with another guest because he’s drunk. A week later your getting sued by that guest that got injured by Johnny.  Ultimately, they say the groom and brides wedding after party, was to irresponsible with serving alcohol.

Before the weeding you were smart enough to purchase One of Our Travelers Wedding Insurance Packages and you are covered for all of this. Lets see the highlights of this program.

Cancellation and other wedding insurance coverages

The Wedding Protector Plan® offers quality wedding insurance at an affordable price, underwritten by Travelers.

Wedding insurance can offer the following coverages for your special day.

Special Event Liability Insurance

Affordable, no deductible Wedding Insurance

Liability Insurance is an optional coverage and can be added as an endorsement on to your Special Event Insurance Policy. It offers you protection in the case of an incident from an event you host including to add liquor liability insurance.

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Camp Operators Insurance | Get A Free Business Insurance Quote

June 10, 2011 Leave a comment

Camp Operators Insurance Program

Camp operations is one of the most fun and experiential things that children, family and friends can experience. They learn skills and learn to build social skills. On the other side there are many risks involved with camps. That is why create a uniquely designed insurance policy to fulfill a wide range of special needs for the Camp Operators or Owners. We help protect camps from the “unknowns”.

Our Business Owners Policies Go Above And Beyond The Industry Standard

We pride ourselves with our company’s insurance products. We know our policies have comprehensive coverage which most insurance policies do not have.  Take a look a break down of coverages we offer.

  • General Liability
  • Building
  • Business Property
  • Inventory Coverage
  • Special Equipment Coverage
  • Loss Of Business Income
  • Excess/Umbrella Liability
  • Workman’s Compensation
  • Commercial Auto Insurance
  • Employee Dishonesty
  • Accounts Receivable
  • and more!

For more details on our Business Owners Policies, Please Click Here.

Our Companies Claims Process Is Excellent

We only write insurance with companies that have an excellent claims process. A claim can be complicated, but our companies will treat you fair and keep the process as simple as possible.

Personalized Service

Our agency is family based and understands insurance. You will work one-one-one with an experienced agent who will find a policy that best fits your business needs. We believe in “good old-fashioned customer service”.

Get A Free Business Insurance Quote

Please contact us during normal business hours at 1-888-270-0995. Or use our quick form and we will contact you right away. You will work with a licensed experienced agent, who will work with you, to get a free competitive quote.

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