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

June 19, 2011 by 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 by 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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Colorado Law Auto Insurance Requirements

June 11, 2011 by 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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What Is A Personal Umbrella Liability Insurance Policy?

June 8, 2011 by Leave a comment

When watching television we see lots of lawsuits taking place which could even involve you.  These lawsuits and advertisements thereof,  pay for a lot of airtime.  You have “Henry the Hammer” telling you how much money you can get for your car accident.  Unfortunately, you have a ton of frivolous lawsuits that are going against the insurance companies at which at the end,  drives up the premium for your vehicle insurance.  Unfortunately, it is the attorneys making the most money from this.  It is not the victim that wins, it is the attorney that wins.  This is why if you have assets, your life savings, money in bank, properties, you have to make sure you are protecting yourself from these attorneys because they will go after these assets.

Let us explain how an umbrella works.  First of all, umbrellas are purchased in increments of one million.  Our agency can sell a ten million dollar umbrella, but the average is one million.  Umbrellas protect you above and beyond your auto and home insurance liability.  Do keep in mind to qualify for an umbrella, you have to maintain certain underlying limits.  The United States average for these requirements is $250,000 per person, $500,00o for the total accident, and $100,000 for property damage for auto insurance liability.  For home insurance liability, it is a $300,000 minimum, this can include your renters, homeowners, landlord, or investment property.

Examples of how an umbrella will work:

1.  An auto insurance example:  you get into an at fault accident and there is one person in the car.  That person sues you managing to get a $500,000 judgement against you including fees.  At this point your limits have been exhausted on your auto insurance policy.  But you have wisely purchased an umbrella, so the one million dollars is more than enough to cover the judgement.  If you had not purchased an umbrella, your personal assets and estate would be jeopardized.

2.  A Homeowners example:  someone comes to your home and visits, slips and falls and sues you for $700,000 including fees.  That person wins and your $300,000 homeowners policy limits are exhausted.  Again, since you have purchased an umbrella, you are protected because you have at least one million to cover the judgement.

DO I NEED AN UMBRELLA?

A simple answer is, if you have money in the bank, own stocks, are a CEO, an athlete, a business owner or make an average income, you need one.  One easy way to figure this out, “how well established in life am I right now?”  You need one, but if you are a college student and don’t have a penny in the bank, you don’t need one.  A college student is usually lucky just to buy an auto policy covering the mandatory legal liability limits.

How much is an Umbrella?

The average price of an umbrella is $260.00 per year at our agency which includes two vehicles and one home.

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 Umbrella Insurance Quote!

We offer up to 6 personal lines companies for umbrella insurance. To get a insurance quote, please use our quick form, or contact us during normal business hours at (888)-270-0995. We will counsel you into how to receive the best price, for the most coverage. We will also advise on how to maximize discounts.

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Auto Insurance

June 6, 2011 by Leave a comment

It seems today that people seem to think, having a high deductible, can be bad, because you could be out a lot of money if something happened!!!

 

But in all reality high deductibles are good, in most case scenario’s. I will explain why, in my opinion, high deductibles are good!

 

No Fault Accident states:

In a no fault state, it pretty much means what it says. When you have an insurance policy it covers everyone. Including the driver and passengers that would most likely be at fault in the accident. Simply enough to explain, it doesn’t matter who is at-fault. To find out more if you are an at or no fault state, please visit this link. This blog is not going to cover or give advice for no fault states.

Liability in an at fault state:

Liability: Lets get down to some of the basics of your auto insurance policy. I am going to list the requirements and options of a Colorado insurance policy. In Colorado we are an at-fault state. This means all you have to carry is liability. This covers you against any possible third party damages. You and the insurance company are party A and B, everyone else is potentially party C or the third party.

In Colorado the requirements are to carry 25/50/15. This breaks out to 25k per person, 50k per accident, and 15k property damage. This will cover third party damages of, medical bills, pain and suffering, ambulance ride, lost wages, and if they sue you in court. This in itself is not very much coverage. We will cover that later on. You also have the option of buying more liability. He are the common increments. 25/50/15, 50/100/25, 100/300/50, 250/500/100 and the 500 and 1 million combined single lmits.

Medical payments: Is for covering the driver and passengers in the the at-fault car, in an accident. The amount is per person and can buy as little as $5000 per person all the way to $100,000 per person. This depends on the insurance company. It covers anywhere from an ambulance ride to medicals bills, and sometimes lost wages. Though this not the main focus of my blog, I wanted to go over this.

Under-insured/Uninsured motorists bodily injury: Covers anyone else who is fault and doesn’t have insurance and who possibly hits and runs. Also covers anyone who is under insured and doesn’t carry the standard limits of 100/300. This also covers you while your a pedestrian.

Towing and rental car reimbursement: in itself is self explanatory and is an optional coverage.

Comprehensive and Collision: This covers physical damage done to your vehicle. This includes, at-fault accidents, not at fault accidents, vandalism, theft, weather, riots and so on. You can buy the deductibles in 100, 250, 500, 1,000 and sometimes 2,500 and 5,000.

So my point is why carry high deductibles for comprehensive and collision on your vehicle? Well first of all, 85 percent of the time, these coverages are the most expensive on your policy. You would be surprised the price difference in premium from a 100 dollar deductible to a 1,000 dollar deductible. Over time you will save enough money to pay for your deductible twice. Also if something happens and you have a high deductible, shops will usually work out a pay plan.

You also want to take the money you saved off high deductibles, and BUY more liability with it. But I know your saying “Mark, I can’t pay that much money for a high deductible, if I got into an accident!” That is a good point. But you shouldn’t worry about your car in an accident. If your at fault in an accident you should worry about the person you just hit! For all you know, there could be a baby in the other car! Or even worse, you could have just killed a father of 3, that supports his family and is worth a couple of million dollars. Are you worried about your car now? I am not. I am worried about someone I could kill or injure really bad. You can always replace a car, but you can’t replace someones spine, or even the person them self. A 1000 dollars might seem like a lot, until they’re suing you for a million dollars. And if you have the state minimum liability, then you pretty much screwed.

My advice is to pull out your policy and take good look it. Its usually a wash when you raise both your liability and deductibles. Maybe its time to bump up your coverages or start looking for a new company. If your worth a lot of money, then you need to carry an umbrella on top of your auto insurance liability. These policies are cheap and protect you quite extensively. It is a separate policy by the way. If your a broke college student and only can afford the state minimum, that’s probably okay. And as always if your in the Colorado area, your more then welcome to call me, get advice and get a quote.

Cheers, Mark.

 

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How Much Liability Does Your Auto Insurance Have?

June 1, 2011 by Leave a comment

It seems like every time that we turn on our Tv’s, there is an ad of a personal injury lawyer, telling you how much money he could get for you form a car accident. Unfortunately the reason they can afford the expensive commercials, is because they end up getting big settlements from insurance companies. Usually at least 30 percent. At the end this effects all consumers, because the insurance company now has to charge everyone a higher premium to pay for frivolous law suits and judgements.

It is now spring is this is an excellent time to check you auto insurance liability limits, since we are all now traveling a lot. As we all now when you drive more, there is more of a risk you might get into a car accident. So this is a very good time to pull out your declaration page and to see how much liablity you have. We do recommend that you have at least a 500k combined single limit. If you have any questions please visit out website.

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What Is Sr22 Insurance?

May 15, 2011 by Leave a comment

Well lets first start out with the fact if your reading this blog and had to have it, you already know what it is and its not fun, and puts a dent in your pocket book. Also people think that all you have to do is pay an sr22 fee, on top of the insurance rate. But it also increases the overall premium.

The reason why you would need sr22 insurance is because, you got a serious moving violation, such as a DWI, DUI, driving without insurance and so on and so forth. At his point the DMV determines, that in order to maintain or reinstate your license, you must maintain sr22 insurance, for the stated time they determine.

The process is pretty simple in how it works, when you purchase a policy, the insurance company will notify the DMV, that you are maintaining auto insurance. This is all done electronically these days. In the event that your auto insurance is canceled for any reason, the DMV is notified. This could be for such reasons as not paying your insurance premium or the policy is being non-renewed. If you don’t maintain sr22 insurance the time the DMV requires, they will most likely suspend your license. From here you will have to file again, to re-instate your license.

In Colorado, the DMV will make you get sr22 insurance sometimes, even if you don’t own a vehicle. At this point you would need to purchase a non-owner policy. Pretty much it means, you have insurance, with out owning a vehicle. Also in this case its based strictly off your record.

I know this was simple short blog, but if you have any questions please contact us.

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