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Your daughter is playing in the yard with friends. Suddenly she runs in, crying that her best friend fell and appears to be hurt. You rush out to find the young girl lying on the ground, screaming, and holding her arm that seems to be broken. Just then her mother runs up — and, as she scoops up her daughter, snaps at you angrily, “I hope you have good insurance!” She then rushes her daughter to the emergency room. Although the mother was clearly speaking in anxiety and anger arising from seeing her child hurt, she has raised a good point.

Fortunately, your Homeowners insurance comes into play in a situation like this, Every Homeowners policy includes Medical Payments (or “med pay”), which covers medical expenses from an injury to a person on your premises with your permission, regardless of who was at fault.

By stepping up immediately to help with medical expenses, admitting no more than that the child was in your yard at the time of the injury, you might well avoid a lawsuit for damages. Rather than infuriating an already angry parent, med pay allows you to show your concern and offer financial support in a stressful situation.

Note that med pay coverage does not apply to everyone injured on your property. For example, it won’t pick up the medical expenses of someone insured under the policy (such as a family member) or for an injury arising from a business conducted on your premises (such as a day care center).

Your Homeowners policy helps protect you against a wide variety of losses. Give us a call and our insurance professionals will be happy to fill you in!

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), of the more than 5.4 million auto accidents in the U.S. during 2010, 1.54 million resulted in injuries, killing 32,788 Americans. Although improved vehicle design and tougher road safety standards have reduced these figures dramatically during the past two decades, they remind us of the need to stay safe behind the wheel.

A high percentage of accidents and deaths behind the wheel take place on the nation’s freeways, for obvious reasons. To reduce your chances of becoming a victim or harming others on the freeway, we’d recommend taking these precautions:

• When you merge onto the freeway, get to the average traffic speed as soon as possible.
• When you’re in the right lane of the freeway and see drivers merging from an on-ramp, move one lane to the left. If you can’t do this, slow down to give the entering driver more room.
• Allow plenty of room between you and other vehicles. Driving experts usually recommend using the “two second rule” — when you see the vehicle in front of you pass a fixed object, count “one thousand one, one thousand two.” If you reach the fixed object before “two,” you’re following too closely.
• Try to maintain average traffic speed. Vehicles going much slower or faster than the flow of traffic are a recipe for an accident. However, also use common sense in observing posted speeding limits.
• Use extra caution when driving at night or in bad weather; many drivers don’t adjust their driving habits for weather or road conditions.
• Avoid any sudden moves; give other drivers time to react.
• Scan the road ahead continuously for signs of trouble, such as construction and traffic slowdowns.
• Be aware of the positions of other drivers, particularly beside you or slightly to the rear. Adjust your rearview mirrors properly before you drive your car.
• Remember that your reaction time and overall driving skills decline as you get tired. It’s essential to take a break every two hours or so.
• When exiting the freeway, signal well in advance. Do not slow down significantly until you start to turn off the freeway.

Do you have the right amount of insurance on your home? To begin with, your Homeowners policy should have coverage for at least 80% of “replacement cost” — the amount needed to repair or replace damage to the building and furnishings with items of like kind and quality. Some insurance companies require coverage of 90% or more under a “guaranteed replacement cost option,” which will pay for replacing your home without depreciation and often without a maximum reconstruction payment.

Unfortunately, all too many homes are underinsured. Dwellings insured for long periods with the same company might have nowhere enough coverage, due to increased building costs, remodeling, or improvements. If your home is underinsured, not only will you lack full protection for total losses, but you might also lack full protection for smaller losses (under the “coinsurance clause”).

On the other hand, many homes are over-insured. Home mortgage companies often require homeowners to buy insurance at least equal to the balance of the mortgage — which is often far higher than the replacement cost of the dwelling. If that’s the case, meeting this requirement would mean buying more coverage than needed.

Don’t make the mistake of insuring your home for its market value — which, in most cases, does not mean replacement cost. For example, market value also reflects both the cost of the building’s foundation and the underlying value of the land, which usually remain unchanged if your house needs to be rebuilt.

Our insurance professionals would be happy to offer advice on determining the proper replacement cost value and coverage amount on your home. Just call or e-mail us.