Protecting Your Home & Auto

For most drivers, auto insurance is a necessity, and it may be required by state law as well as by your auto lender. There are different types of coverage available, and these types can protect you from liability, financial loss in the event of an accident or other mishap and more. Because it can protect you from financial loss, it is beneficial for all drivers even when it is not required. 

In most states, driver are required by law to purchase at least a liability policy, and some states have additional coverage requirements as well. Liability coverage will pay for the expenses of another party in the event you cause an accident. Auto lenders, on the other hand, may require you to pay for a replacement policy. This type of policy will pay for repairs or a full replacement on the vehicle that is insured, and this can prevent you from experiencing financial loss.

There are other types of coverage that may be required or that you can purchase as optional coverage. For example, some of these include towing service, rental car reimbursement, personal property coverage and others. When you are inquiring about optional auto insurance coverage that may be suitable for you, you can also inquire about different discounts and credits that you may qualify for. These vary by insurance company, but they may include being a student, being a safe driver without any recent blemishes on your driving record, bundling your insurance policies together and more. These discounts can lower your premium for savings. Another way to lower your premium is to raise your deductible, but always ensure that you have enough money in your savings or checking account to pay your deductible if you need to.

Automotive coverage is a necessity for most drivers today, and it can be very protective. However, avoid finding yourself in a situation where you are either over-insured or under-insured. You can work with our insurance agent to determine which type of coverage is best suited for your needs, and also inquire about the different types of discounts and credits available for savings.

A lot of people assume there’s a certain age that qualifies a vehicle as collectible, but that’s not necessarily true. We provide coverage for vehicles that are*:

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• Appreciating or maintaining a steady market value

• In good condition

• Kept in a secure, enclosed storage facility

• Not used for a daily or backup transportation

Why Specialty Insurance?

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• Lower premiums than standard insurance

• Coverage for the way you use your care

• Coverage that accounts for your car’s real value

• Claims handled by classic car experts

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What we are prepared to offer:

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• Guaranteed Value coverage – The policy guarantees your car’s value, with no depreciation

• Knowledgeable service – Available to help seven days a week

• Valuation expertise – Helps you get the right coverage for your car

• On-staff Claims adjusters trained in auto repair – they know how to make your car whole again

• Repair Shop – We can even pay you to do the work

• Flexible usage – Great cars were made to be enjoyed

• Coverage for travel, transport, spare parts and more – Everything a classic car owner needs                                     (*Additional program guidelines apply)

Condominium Insurance is a type of Property and Casualty Insurance that covers your belongings and in some cases part of the structure of the condo from damage or loss by many named perils, including fire, wind and rain.

Who It Is For?

Condominium Insurance is for anyone who owns a condo. If you live in your owned condo, you need to have insurance to protect your belongings and, in some cases, appliances and other fixtures. If you own the condo but rent it out, you may need both a condominium insurance policy and a landlord policy.

How It Works?

Insurance for your condo works much like any other type of property/casualty insurance. If you sustain damage from what you believe is a covered event, you will have to notify your insurance company, which will send out an Adjuster to evaluate the damage. Once the claim has been certified, you likely will be sent a cheque to cover your loss. If your unit is uninhabitable and you have loss of use coverage as part of your policy, your insurer will pay for you to live somewhere else.

Types Of Coverage:

The type of condo coverage you need largely depends on what type of condo master policy the building owner or homeowners association carries. If it is an all-in policy, it will cover everything that goes with the unit, including wiring, plumbing and appliances. In that case, your condo policy would only need to cover your personal belongings. If the master policy is a bare-walls policy, however, then your condo policy has to cover everything on the interior of the condo, including plumbing, wiring, carpet and appliances.

Major Benefits:

The major benefit of carrying condo insurance is that you are covered against loss in the event of a disaster. Another benefit is personal liability coverage to help cover you if someone is injured in your unit.

Flood insurance is an insurance policy that covers property losses incurred from a flood situation. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has defined flooding as a temporary and general condition where a portion or complete area of at least two acres of normally dry land, or at least two properties, has been inundated with an overflow of inland waters, mudflows, or a rapid and unusual accumulation or runoff of surface waters from any source.

This type of insurance is applicable for any homeowner who may be at risk from potential flooding situations, including those at risk from hurricanes, landslides and other natural disasters. The NFIP offers two types of insurance coverage, one which covers building property up to a specific value, and the other which covers personal property up to a specified value. It is normally recommended that those at risk, purchase both types of these insurances, and some mortgage companies might require that homeowners purchase a specified amount of coverage.

The insurance works by paying for direct physical damage to insured property as a result of flooding, up to the lesser of the replacement cost of the damage/actual cash value or the policy limit of liability. The replacement cost value refers to the cost to replace a specific damaged portion of a building, without depreciation. However, the actual cash value refers to the replacement cost value at the time of the loss minus the value of the physical depreciation.

This type of insurance is extremely beneficial for protecting homeowners from financial losses incurred from flooding events. It is important for consumers to note that only physical damage to their building or personal property that has been caused directly by the flood is covered by the policy. The building property or personal property flood coverage does not insure losses such as living expenses from temporary housing, financial losses caused by business interruption, self-propelled vehicles, currency and property located outside of the building

One of the major responsibilities of owning a home is to insure it. If you have a mortgage on your home, your lender will require you to have insurance. But even if you owe nothing on your home, it makes sense to have insurance for it to protect your very large investment.

What It Is:

Homeowners insurance essentially has two components. The main component is property and casualty insurance to pay to fix your home or replace it if it is damaged or destroyed by an event that is covered by the policy. The second component is personal liability insurance that covers you for a number of things that may occur on and off your property, such as your dog biting someone, someone slipping and falling on your icy sidewalk or you crashing into and injuring someone on your bicycle.

Who It Is For:

Home insurance is for people who live in a home that they own. If you don’t own the home you live in or if you don’t live in the home you own, you need other types of insurance.

How Does It Work:

Homeowners insurance works like other types of property and casualty insurance. If your home is damaged by a covered event, such as a storm or fire, you need to contact your insurance company to make a claim. Your insurer will then send out an adjuster to make sure the event is covered by the policy and determine the extent of its liability. Once that has been determined, your insurance will kick in and start paying for things that are covered, including repairing the damage to your home and paying for you to live elsewhere for a time if necessary.

Different Types Of Coverage:

Homeowners policies are relatively standard in what they cover and what they don’t. Hail, wind and fire damage typically are covered while flooding and earthquake damage aren’t. Most insurers offer endorsements and riders to add coverage.

Major Benefits:

The main benefit of having insurance for your home is ensuring your protect your investment. A secondary benefit is the personal liability protection you get.

Landlord insurance is a very special and unique kind of Real Estate Insurance that is meant to cover the person who is legally defined as the landlord of a property. A landlord protection plan is, in essence, a commercial real estate protection plan. However, there may also be some personal protections ingrained into the property protection that would normally mark the end of a real estate insurance protection plan.

Who It Is For:

Anyone who is defined as a landlord under the law may benefit from having a Landlord Protection Plan. Even if you are not a professional landlord, you may be defined as such if you have rental properties in certain municipalities. In this case, you may benefit from having a landlord protection plan in place.

How It Works:

A landlord protection plan will usually pay out after any property that is under the supervision of a landlord undergo some sort of damage. This damage may include damage that a tenant creates, acts of God, arson or thievery. However, an insurance company will usually not be on the hook for any payment until the deductible of the landlord has been paid in full.

Different Types Of Coverage In Existence:

The landlord protection plan that is covering a person with a single property will definitely be different from a landlord protection plan that a commercial real estate tycoon has. People with many properties are considered less of a risk to an insurance company. They will receive preferential treatment because of the assets that they own.

Major Benefits:

Because many real estate deals are highly leveraged, a landlord would usually have very little cash on hand to fix damaged property. The landlord protection plan saves a landlord from having to come out of pocket every time something goes wrong with a property that he or she owns.

This type of insurance is utilized to cover any medical expenses that incur due to a pet’s medical needs. It protects the owner from having to pay a lot of money out of pocket at expensive veterinarian appointments. This type of insurance does cover most medical concerns that your pet may face, as well as most surgeries they may require. It is important to note that not everything is covered, however.

Who is it for?

Pet insurance is for owners of pets. Typically, owners of dogs and cats are the individuals who would most need this type of insurance. It is possible to get it for larger animals, however, if you own animals such as horses. It is a great type of policy to have in case there is a chance for unexpected illnesses or injuries.

How Does Pet Insurance Work?

When you purchase insurance, your price will depend upon factors such as the species of pet you have, the age of pet you have and the location where you live. There will be a waiting period from the purchase date as well to allow for the policy to kick in. In most cases, you will also be required to take your pet for a check-up to kick the policy to start as well.

Different Types of Coverage in Existence

There are typically three types of insurance. Accident coverage is for injuries that happen by accident and not by a pre-existing medical condition or insect bite. Accident and illness coverage is for accidents like those mentioned in accident coverage as well as illnesses that may occur in your pets. Finally, accident, illness and routine care coverage covers the two aforementioned coverages as well as vaccines, check-ups and other routine appointments.

Major Benefits

This type of insurance for your pet has some major benefits. As mentioned above, it prevents you from having to pay large out-of-pocket expenses for unexpected veterinary visits. It is relatively inexpensive to purchase as well, with yearly premiums typically only being a few hundred dollars.

When an individual obtains renters insurance, they are not only protecting themselves but also their property. This insurance is important because, in the event of an emergency, a landlord will only cover their property or possessions and not their tenant. In addition to paying a monthly premium for their plan, renters are also required to pay a deductible once they choose the amount of their coverage.

What Is Typically Covered?

Often, like homeowner’s insurance, this type of insurance typically offers coverage for damage related to weather, fire, theft, utility (electricity or plumbing) malfunctions, vandalism, or other hazards. Two hazards are typically not covered by renters insurance. They include earthquakes and flooding because, if you live in areas prone to these natural disasters, specific policies are necessary.

How Much Coverage Is Necessary?

When renters choose their coverage, it’s solely dependent on the value of their possessions. Under some circumstances, a few thousand dollars in coverage is enough, while in other cases that are not nearly sufficient. The best thing to do is create an estimate for the value of the property on the rental property, and then determine how much coverage is necessary. This effort prevents undervaluing or overvaluing policies.

Personal Liability:

Some policies also offer coverage for personal liability depending on budgets, as well as how much protection the renter feels they need. If an accident occurs on the renter’s property, such as a slip or fall where an injury occurs, and the renter faces litigation, this liability coverage offers the protection they need.

How Does Rental Insurance Work?

There are two different policies renters can choose from including one that is actual cash value (ACV) or replacement cost for their possessions. When using an actual cash value (ACV) policy, renters will receive a reimbursement for items lost only by their current value. When using a replacement cost policy, renters receive a reimbursement for the retail value of their possessions lost.

The Benefits Of Inventories:

Renters who choose insurance should take inventory of their possessions when obtaining their insurance policy. While this record doesn’t need to be a detailing of every single item in the rental unit, all items of value should be on this list. Renters should begin their list with their most valuable items, keep their purchase receipts in a file, and take photographs of everything. Photographs should also be taken of every room in the rental property, including the inside of closets and cupboards. As a safety precaution, renters can email this inventory to themselves or store it in a “cloud” storage system to prevent it from becoming destroyed during a hazard.

Umbrella insurance is a type of secondary coverage that provides extra liability insurance above and beyond your auto and homeowners insurance. In some instances, it may act as the primary coverage if your other insurance excludes coverage for an incident, such as libel or slander.

Who It Is For:

Anybody can benefit from having umbrella coverage, but it is especially important for homeowners and people who have a lot of assets that could be at risk from a lawsuit.

How It Works:

Say you get into a serious car accident that injures another person. That person winds up in the hospital and racks up $300,000 in medical bills. It turns out that you have a coverage limit on bodily injury in your auto insurance policy of $250,000. If you have an umbrella policy, it would kick in at that point and pay for the additional $50,000 that is above your policy limit. If you think your umbrella coverage might be needed, it’s a good idea to contact your insurer to see about the steps for filing a claim.
Types Of Coverage:

Umbrella policies are all very similar and typically cover the same types of liability, including personal injury, property damage and instances of libel or slander. Policy limits usually are in the range of $1 to $5 million, but you may be able to get more coverage if you are willing to pay for it, depending upon the net worth.

Major Benefits:

The top benefit of umbrella insurance is the additional liability coverage you get, which covers you should an accident you are responsible for cause damages that exceed the limits in your other policies. Another benefit is that umbrella policies are relatively cheap for the amount of coverage you get.

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