Six Reasons Every Driver Needs Auto Insurance

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, there are over 254 million registered vehicles in the U.S. All of those cars, trucks, and motorcycles must be covered by insurance in order to be legally operated on public roads. Have you ever wondered why that is? Why must we pay for something we may never use? Here are six good reasons every driver should have auto insurance.

1. It's The Law

Depending on where you live, you could be subject to fines and suspension of your driving privileges if you drive without auto insurance. Some states may even impound your vehicle on the spot if you cannot produce proof of coverage.

2. It May Save You Money

If you are involved in a car accident that was your fault, liability coverage should pay for the other driver's expenses. This includes both damage to property (the vehicle) and medical costs if either party was injured. Without coverage, you must bear the entire financial burden of the accident yourself, which could be thousands of dollars.

3. It Speeds Things Along

Although accidents are always unpleasant, when you have auto insurance, your insurer will help you through the post-accident process. Not only will they deal with the other party's insurance company so you won't have to, they can also help you file a claim and even find a local auto repair shop. If you don't have coverage, however, you won't receive any help, advice, or instruction. As a result, the process could drag on for months, or even years.

4. Accidents Happen

Even if you're a great driver who has never been in a car crash, you still need coverage. Why? Well, most drivers are involved in an accident sooner or later. Whether it's your fault or the other driver's, you'll be asked to prove that you are insured. There are about six million collisions reported each year in the U.S. - that's over 16,000 accidents a day - so there's always a possibility that you'll find yourself dealing with one.

5. It Provides Supplemental Coverage

If you are involved in a serious car crash and you have a bad health plan (or no health plan), auto insurance may help. Because most policies require personal injury protection coverage, your auto policy should pay for some of your medical expenses. This safeguard can be a blessing if you sustain a serious, chronic injury that requires rehabilitation or long-term nursing care.

6. It Provides Non-Accident Protection

Even if you aren't driving, your vehicle can sustain damage from a break-in, vandalism, or Mother Nature. Depending on your auto policy, you may be able to file a claim with your insurer that will reimburse you for any damage or loss.

For these reasons, it is imperative that you carry auto insurance on every vehicle you drive.

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Five Tricks To Keep Your Auto Insurance Rate Reasonable

Auto insurance is a necessity, but it doesn't have to bust your wallet. Several resources you can tap into will allow you to pay lower upfront rates and spend less in case of an accident. Though budget-friendly plans are your goal, providers who offer incredibly cheap premiums aren't always worth settling for. The following are five tricks to take into account when shopping for car insurance.

1: Bundle Your Services

If you've just relocated to another state or county, you might want to investigate bundling your renters' or home coverage with your auto insurance. Many companies offer policy bundles at a discount, which can save you money annually. This strategy also caters to your convenience; you'll always know who to contact in case of a crisis involving your property. There's no need to keep track of multiple policy guidelines if you choose to consolidate your coverage.

2: Let Companies Bid For You

It's worth shopping around for the best policy. An attractive premium at the first company you investigate, or the lack of familiarity with coverage in general, can make settling a tempting prospect. Shopping around and letting providers know you're doing so will earn you a better rate in the end. Let companies bid for your business rather than the other way around. If you feel apprehensive about negotiating for better rates, get an insurance agent to score a good deal on your behalf. It is within your right to tell one business that another is offering you a lower rate and to give them a chance to counter that offer.

3: Look Into Low-Income Opportunities

Some states offer insurance programs for people at or below the poverty income level. If you fit into this category, or if your credit score is so poor that you have little chance at a decent rate otherwise, this route is worth taking. Insurance programs geared toward low-income candidates offer premiums around only 400 dollars. Certain states even offer this type of program at no cost.

4: Buy Your Car Based On Insurance Rates

Most people shop around for coverage after they purchase their car. Auto insurance as an afterthought can hurt your wallet, however. If you're in the market for a new car, it's worth investigating what rates are offered for each make and model in which you are interested.

Choose an older model versus a brand-new car if you can; the rates are always lower on prior models. Make sure it still includes necessary features. Some policy providers will offer discounts for cars featuring anti-theft alarms, motorized seatbelts, and onboard emergency systems.

5: Consider A Pay-As-You-Drive Policy

If you don't drive long distances, consider a policy based on your monthly or annual mileage. These plans allow your premium to fluctuate based on how often you get behind the wheel. Your mileage is tracked through annual or monthly reports you must make to your policy provider.

Insuring your vehicle is necessary, but it doesn't have to be expensive. A willingness to do some research and inquire about resources can go a long way when trying to score a lower annual or monthly bill.

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Why You Need Liability Coverage From Your Insurance Company

Designed to cover professional practitioners against claims of negligence made by clients or patients, professional liability insurance goes by many names. When used in the medical profession, it is commonly called medical malpractice coverage. Notaries public also require this security, but they refer to it as errors and omissions insurance. Real estate brokers, management consultants, and even website developers are all eligible for protection.

What's It For?

Insurance is used to protect people in case something unfortunate happens. Auto policies protect them in the event of an accident; medical policies protect them from unexpected illnesses; commercial policies protect them from a number of mishaps. If there is a fire, theft, or an accident on the job, the commercial variety will cover it.

Why You Need It

Few companies are fortunate enough to survive for a protracted period of time without getting sued by a client, customer, or employee. Liability coverage from an insurance company is the only shield most businesses have against litigious attorneys. This goes double when an employer competes in a risky industry like construction. Why?

A construction site is arguably the most dangerous working environment on earth. Not because people are careless, but because making something, anything, is risky. Workers fall down stairs; they trip on cords; they cut themselves. Builders must assume this risk and purchase the right amount of coverage from their insurance company to protect them from financial ruin. But that's not all.
These policies not only shield the employer, but they also safeguard his workers. If an electrician falls off a ladder or a carpenter cuts himself, a liability policy will pay his medical bills. Commercial coverage will also cover most attorney fees and court costs if someone files a suit against you.

How Much Do You Need?

As you might expect, the size of the policy often depends on the size of the business. Most actuaries recommend at least one million dollars of professional liability coverage for small businesses. Large businesses and corporations obviously need a lot more and often carry huge policies. Because lawsuits are quite common in the medical profession, malpractice insurance is the most common form of liability coverage.

Most doctors have several million dollars of malpractice coverage at all times. When they work in a large practice, that figure might be five or even ten times as high. Lawyers and accountants must also carry liability because of the high rate of litigation in their fields. But what about everybody else?
Numerous Benefits

Any business that can be held financially responsible for failing to complete a project on time may need to purchase a professional liability policy from their insurance company. This includes general contractors, architects, builders, and many, many more. These policies also cover personal injury, breach of warranty, intellectual property, and security. In short, any company that has more than one employee should have liability coverage.

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Don't Invalidate Fire Insurance

Don't invalidate your fire insurance policy.
I find this a very strange case but it just shows how important it is to read the small print as if you ignore the conditions of the policy your policy could be invalidated.

In this case it was a condition of the FIRE insurance that the SECURITY Alarm was maintained and monitored. Times had been tough for the insured and he let the maintenance of the security alarm lapse and as the ARC had not been paid for 6 months they stopped monitoring the site.
Vandals broke in and set fire to the factory. It was a furniture company and they incurred losses of over £750,000.

The case went to the High Court, the judge had nothing but sympathy for the Directors of the Company and he took 'no pleasure' in ruling that as it was a condition of the combined insurance policy that alarm was to be monitored by an external firm, the Insurers did not have to meet the claim.

There are often conditions attached to the insurance policies we take out which relate directly to the risk. We need to make sure our cars have valid MOTs in order not to invalidate the policy. We are required to notify the insurance company if we get a speeding fine but, to my mind oddly, you do not have to tell them if you decide to do the Speed Awareness Course rather than pay the fine.
I have just come across a case, now in front of the insurance Ombudsman, where an insurance company voided the policy and returned all the premiums because the policy holder had unwittingly exceed the value of the 'valuables' within their contents insurance. They had insured the contents of their house for £60,000 but there was a clause stating that the value of the valuables should not exceed 66% of this.

They had to rush their daughter to hospital, and while they were out the thieves struck taking goods and damaging the property to the value of £70,000. When assessing the claim the loss adjusters calculated that the value if the valuables in the house exceeded £40,000. Normally claims would be 'averaged' to reflect the under insurance, but the insurance company in this case argued that the under insurance voided the policy. As I said this case is in front of the ombudsman as I write.
Back to case in hand where a fire insurance claim was dismissed as a security alarm and monitoring were allowed to lapse. Clients of ours run a hotel and there is someone on reception all the time so if the fire alarm is activated there was always someone on duty to respond. We came round to the time when the annual contract with the ARC [monitoring station] needed to be renewed. The Hotel Manger wanted to cancel it as it was considered an unnecessary expense. I said I agreed but asked him to check with his insurers to make sure they had no objections. The Insurers confirmed; monitoring was a condition of the policy.

Often with in the insurance policy there is a clause that the fire alarm is maintained in accordance with British Standards. It would be interesting to know whether a similar claim has been dismissed as the Fire Alarm has not been adequately maintained.

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Core Agency Values - What Are They and Why Are They Important

Let's begin with the question; why are agency values important? Agency values are important because they will likely determine the success or failure of your agency. Now that gets my attention.
Whenever the success or failure of a business venture rests on one concept, it warrants the time and effort to understand what's behind the question; what focus or concept do we believe will best produce the result we desire. So, one might ask; just exactly what are some agency values.

To begin, Values are what drives effort and effort is what produces results, good or bad. Effort in the wrong places seldom produces the right results. So there are really two things here that are important-Effort and Direction. While both are important, Effort comes first-you gotta have some before you can direct it. Today we are only talking about Effort, Direction is for another day.

An example of how values drive Effort is often and most visibly played out in sales. A lot of sales activity (Effort) often produces more sales but possibly not the right sales (Direction). Now here is the exciting part-You can really, control your effort by choosing the right Values and matching the talent of new hire to those Values. The key here is to understand that people work to satisfy their values, not yours and don't try to put into someone something that is not already there. All that boils down to looking for and hiring people who have values that match the agency needs.

So now it is beginning to get clear. Why do we want to know your agency values? Answer; so you can hire people with values similar to those of our agency. Now what are some agency Values of importance?

1. Theoretical Values- those who value knowledge and continuous learning or intellectual growth.
2. Traditional Values- those who value the tradition inherent in social structure, rules, regulations and principals.
3. Utilitarian Values- those who value achievement, results, and rewards for their investments of time, resources and energy.
4. Individualistic Values- those who value personal recognition, freedom and control over their future and the future of others.
5. Social Values- those who act to enhance the well-being of others.
6. Aesthetic Values- those who pursue a balance in their lives, who are creative, self-expressive and have a love for beauty and nature.
And here is the real important stuff, after 40 years of research and working with agencies, of all sizes, we know the values most likely to produce success in any situation.

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