Personal Perspective

Divorce is a fact of life.

If you should find yourself needing to divvy up assets and liabilities during a divorce settlement, you’ll have to consider insurance coverage for your kids.

Determining how to deal with your teen’s auto insurance can create problems because there’s no set formula. The decision should be something that’s negotiated between both parents. If Mom has sole custody, the teen driver should be on her policy. However, if Mom and Dad share custody, both should include the teen under their coverage.

The premium you pay for your teen’s auto insurance will depend on where you live. When setting rates, insurance companies look at the claims history in the locale where the car is garaged. Premiums vary from city to city, and even among ZIP codes in the same city. So, if you’re moving from a rural to an urban area or from a low-crime neighborhood in a city to one where there are more vehicle thefts and auto burglaries, your premiums will increase.

Homeowner insurance is linked to ownership of the property and who is listed on the mortgage. If the home is in both parents’ names, coverage would also be under both names. In this case, you should have a written agreement dividing responsibly for mortgage and insurance payments.

If you move from the family home into an apartment, you’ll need renters insurance to cover your belongings, as well as your children’s personal items and additional liability protection – even if you’re still named on the homeowners policy.

To receive expert advice from our agency’s personal lines specialists during this difficult period, free of charge, please feel free to give us a call.

As traffic increasingly approaches gridlock in urban areas, and higher housing costs cause workers to push their homes ever further from work, it’s no surprise that commuting times have lengthened considerably. Longer trips to work mean that more and more car-bound commuters are looking for ways to pass that seat time either productively or pleasantly. Hands-free cell phones, enhanced stereo systems, laptop computers, PDAs, and (hopefully only in the back seat) DVD players and video games are standard equipment in many vehicles.

Have you considered how your Personal Insurance coverage will cover losses to these often-expensive additions?

To determine how much coverage, if any, your Auto or Homeowners policy will provide for these tech “toys,” you’ll need to determine:

• The value of the device.
• Whether it’s “built-in” to the vehicle, or powered through an adapter.
• The value of any media (such as CDs, DVDs, or game cartridges) used with the device.
• Whether the device is for personal or business use, or both.

Be sure you have the coverage you want before a loss reveals a possible gap in your protection. Contact one of our Personal Insurance professionals today.

If a burglar trying to break into your home has to work in the light, take a longer time than desired, or just can’t seem to gain access without making a racket, he’ll probably mumble to himself, ” That wasn’t an easy mark!,” just before slipping away.

Research from the Insurance Information Institute shows that if it takes more than four or five minutes to break into a home, most burglars will go elsewhere. One warning: When improving the security of your home, don’t endanger your personal safety by making your home a fortress from which you and your family would be unable to escape in the case of fire or other emergency.

Here are a few tips on how help to protect your home from burglars:

• Take the time to “case” your house or apartment, just as a burglar would. Where is the easiest entry? How can you make it more burglar resistant?
• Trim trees and shrubs near doors and windows, and think carefully before installing a high, wooden fence around your back yard. Although high fences and shrubbery can add to your privacy, they can also shield burglars from curious eyes. Consider trading a little extra privacy for some added security.
• Force any would-be burglar to confront a real enemy: light. Exterior lights and motion detectors mounted out of easy reach can reduce the darkness a burglar finds comforting.
• Install basic security devices (nails, screws, padlocks, door and window locks, grates, bars and bolts) to increase the amount of time it takes to break into your home.
• Invest in a burglar alarm. The most effective ones also ring at an outside service.
• If any of your valuables – paintings, a silver collection or a computer – are easy to see from outside, rearrange your furnishings to make your home less inviting to criminals.

As an added incentive, most insurance companies provide Homeowners premium discounts of 2% to 15% for installing home protection devices. To see how much you can save, just get in touch with us.

Drivers who have been getting away with texting behind the wheel because of weak enforcement will soon find that this is no longer the case, thanks to Uncle Sam – and getting caught might well kick up their Auto insurance premiums.

Although 39 states prohibit texting while driving, these laws have been tough to enforce; many people have been able to scoff at the law unless they’re involved in an accident while texting.

To help state authorities catch texting drivers in the act, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued $550,000 in grants.

The impact of texting behind the wheel on Auto premiums varies by state. If a state penalizes these infractions as moving violations, a citation will add points to the driver’s record – which means that insurance companies could raise rates For example, according to an analysis of quotes from two leading Auto insurers, motorists in New York State who receive tickets for texting while driving will pay an annual premium penalty of $59 to $74 when they renew their policies. However, in states that don’t add driving points for this type of misbehavior insurers will not be able to hike premiums.

Let’s hope that the new federal grants, together with the pocketbook pain of higher Auto premiums, will help curb texting by thoughtless drivers – and make the nation’s streets and highways safer!

The two most commonly cited sources of a home’s value are usually useless for insurance purposes.

Most people base the perceived value of their home from a benchmark of the original purchase price, and then adjust it over time based on current home sales or tax assessments. However, even realtors will tell you that such values are educated “guesstimates,” subject to wide variation.

For example, “appraised value” is an estimate of the property’s worth in the current marketplace derived from an analysis of the home, the community, and the recent sales prices of similar homes in the area. The local taxing authority determines “assessed value” to levy property taxes. To confuse the issue further, state and local laws and regulations often require capping or discounting taxable assessments well below the full value assessed by the authority.

However, neither of these values might be practical for insurance purposes. If your home is severely damaged or destroyed, the true value you need will be the cost to rebuild it, not what it might sell for or its tax assessment. Too many people have made the mistake of relying on assessed or appraised values to determine if they have enough Homeowners insurance only to find, much to their chagrin, that their coverage fell far short of true construction costs.

Give us a call today; we’re ready to help you develop a solid estimate of your reconstruction costs.

Although the political slogan used to be “a chicken in every pot,” a more accurate modern equivalent might be “a laptop in every home.” As these devices have spread into every corner of our lives, the amount of personal information stored in them has increased exponentially. Credit cards, bank accounts, financial records, legal documents, work projects, home businesses, and our kids’ pictures reside as digital data in smartphones and tablets. As the amount of such stored data has exploded, has our ability to protect ourselves from the fallout from the damage or destruction of this data kept pace?

As professional insurance agents, we recognize our responsibility to protect clients from losses. After all, the best claim is the one that never happens. When the possible loss involves electronic data, insurance might be among the least effective solutions. Talk with one of our personal risk staff about protecting your digital valuables through other alternatives, such as anti-virus software, firewalls for your home network, and updated backup procedures. For example, did you know that the DVD disks offer a high capacity backup for storing copies of your most valuable data?

Don’t risk deleting by delaying — call us today!

Although many people think that the real danger to their retirement comes from not having enough money or Social Security when the time comes, financial planners say that a far greater risk is making mistakes that squander the resources you have when you leave the workplace. Terence L. Reed, CFP, author of The 8 Biggest Mistakes People Make with Their Finances Before and After Retirement, offers this advice on avoiding four of the most common mistakes:

1. Put your plans in writing. If you’re married or with a partner, be sure that they contribute equally. Retirement isn’t a do-it-yourself project. Written plans are less likely to overlook key elements. Be certain to address every aspect of retirement, such as spending, allocation of expected retirement benefits from pensions or Social Security, provision of insurance, and plans to live or travel.
2. Be realistic about your willingness to take risk. Sure, the stock market has been crazy. But does that mean that it’s time to put everything into CDs or that jar buried in the backyard? Be realistic about what returns you need, and the type you can expect. Highly aggressive investors aren’t likely to turn into lovers of bonds — however, highly conservative investors can’t assume that they’ll win the lottery. Keep your needs and investments in balance with your other sources of income.
3. Don’t close the door on Long Term Care insurance. If you stay healthy, you can buy coverage even into your 80s; however, it’s more affordable to lock in the premiums as early as possible. According to health experts, people 65 and older have a 40% chance of spending an extended time in a nursing home. Now is a good time to consider how you can best afford that potential cost.
4. Don’t assume that you’re too old for (or no longer need) Life insurance. Life coverage is not just for growing families. For example, you can use a Life policy effectively — even at the higher rates common to older age groups — for charitable bequests. If you’re healthy, the premium will almost always be less than the death benefit, thus increasing the amount you can leave at your death beyond what you could leave in your will, providing funds to care for a special needs child or grandchild, or freeing your surviving spouse from huge medical bills or housing costs.

Our insurance professionals would be happy to help with your retirement planning risk needs. Give us a call today so you can relax tomorrow.

A great way of avoiding those pesky little Homeowners claims is to loss-proof your house. Here are a few helpful tips from a recent insurance trade report:

• Fix minor roof leaks quickly and keep rain gutters clean.
• Trim dead branches. Also, remove dying trees from your property before they fall and cause unsightly, expensive damage.
• If you’re in a high-wind area, install windstorm shutters.
• Improve overall drainage around the house. If your basement tends to flood, install an automatic sump pump with a battery backup, in case of a power outage during a major storm.
• Check your roof and heating, electrical, and plumbing systems every few years. It’s best to let a professional do this.
• If you have a fireplace, keep your chimney clean and unobstructed!

For the best Homeowners policy to meet your needs, contact us.

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.