Buyers Beware! Free Windshield Repair could cost you!

Most of us are familiar with the adage.."Nothing in life is free", and if you don't live by this advice you usually end up becoming a horror story that warns others. Many people, especially after a hail storm or in a car wash, see the advertisement for FREE WINDSHIELD REPAIR. The selling point for this service is that your insurance company will cover the cost. What they don't tell you is that they repair company files a comprehensive claim on your behalf and it will count against your when you renewal comes around. Our brokerage just ran into someone that had a couple of these claims and if he gets one more claim he will be dropped and it will be difficult for him to get a competitive policy! Many insurance companies have a threshold of claims that they allow before they will drop the customer and each windshield repair counts as a claim against you. If you want to get it fixed, just pay the $50 bucks out of pocket and save yourself the grief of putting yourself at risk for a rate increase or worse. Be very very careful when coming across "free" ads and understand that these companies are not charities and they are getting paid from someone...usually YOU! 

Ways to cuts premiums for teen drivers...Finally

Many times parents of young drivers experience a little sticker shock when it comes to auto insurance. Lets start by saying...there IS a reason for this and no matter how great your kids are the statistics are not in their favor. The likelihood that a teen driver will receive a violation or be in an accident is higher than most "seasoned" drivers. However, there are some ways that you can lower the boom of that premium by implementing some pro active measures. Trust me, in the end the savings are out there you just have to grab on to them. Now if your hope is to have a full comp/collision policy for junior for $60 then you are in Dreamy Dreamtown...its not going to happen. However if you want to save 5% here and maybe 10% there then this is the blog for you. Also note that some of these discounts apply for adults so pay attention for ways YOU can cut costs as well.

Good Grades

The first discount that you can get for you new driver is a good grades discount. The type (A's, B's) of grades that are required varies within each company but you will save a pretty good chunk of change. Most carriers require brokers to show a report card or get a school administrator to sign off on the grades, but this is a great place to start getting those savings.

Safety Features

The second way that you can save some green is to make sure that your teen's car has as many safety features on their auto as possible. Airbags, anti-lock breaks, alarm, etc will make a difference when it comes to premiums. Make sure you articulate this to your broker when you are describing your auto. Whenever we are running a quote we have a checklist of safety features that we want to ask about to give a better chance of a better rate.

Defensive Driving

This is a good one for drivers young and old. By taking a defensive driving course you are communicating a increased driving awareness. This can make a huge dent in your premiums and is as easy as going to a website or taking a Saturday morning course. I have found online courses for $20 and you will make this back 10 fold in premium savings. Make sure you keep the certificate of completion to prove that you took the course

Shop Around

If you haven't shopped your insurance in a while...what are you thinking? There are a lot of companies out there that change their pricing fairly often. Make sure you are with a company that is going to stay competitive for your business. Even if you have a broker who has access to many different companies how do you know that you are actually being shopped around. I give a written handout of all the companies that we shopped it with and show them where they actually stand. Take a little initiative and find a broker that you trust to help you make the right decisions.

Reward Safe Driving

The best way to save money is to keep as much off your record as possible. One great way to do this is communicate the importance of safe driving with your teens and try rewarding them for safe driving. If they are on your policy..they affect your driving record and you want to protect yourself at all costs.

In the end..its expensive to have teen drivers, but by taking certain steps to lowering your payments you can rest easy. While the odds are not in your favor statistically for teen drivers by educating yourself and finding a good broker you can cut costs and keep more money for the non-insurancey things.

Life Insurance: How much are YOU worth to your FAMILY

I have heard life insurance called a lot of different things and most of them are not very positive. Some people say.. well, its really death insurance. Really? Life insurance is payable at death, but it protects the lives you left behind. Another term I have heard life insurance called is un-necessary or a bad investment. Well, I guess that depends on why you bought the insurance in the first place. If you bought a $100,000 term policy for your kids and paid $18/mo for 15 years you would have spent $3888. Now after the 15th year you get into a car accident and lose your life. Tell me another product that you can swap out $4000 for $100,000. I am a huge believer in life insurance because it is the most selfless product you can buy. The intangibility of life insurance makes it easy to procrastinate purchasing it because you think if I just put it off a few more weeks, months, years I wont waste all that premium. The problem with this argument is that hospitals and morgues are filled with people that had the best intentions of purchasing a life insurance policy but are now gone or un-insurable. If you haven't looked at term life insurance do it. If you have looked at term life insurance and keep putting it off, do it today. Term life insurance is a very very inexpensive option but will be a huge blessing for your family in the event that you are no longer with them. With any insurance product there are many different options (riders) you can add to the policy. I will cover these at a later time so I don't cloud the intention of the message which is to buy life insurance, NOW. Find someone that you trust, and someone that will help you shop around for the best product at the best price. The reason you should go through a trusted broker is because there are a lot of start up insurance companies that are a very unstable but they have "too good to be true" prices, like $8/year for $100,000 term! If it sounds to good it probably is. Also you want someone that can provide you with the resources to help you find the amount of insurance that is right for you. Buying arbitrary amounts is better than nothing but your family deserves better than that. If you want to know more about the different riders and options or want help shopping around you can get me at my office (972-930-7086) and I would love the opportunity to speak to you about something that I am very passionate about. The bottom line... get life insurance for you loved ones. You will never regret doing this for the people you love the most. At the end of the day ask yourself...is my families financial future more important to me than the montly payments.

Did you know you spell "pit bull?"........ L-I-A-B-I-L-I-T-Y

So we have found that a very popular question recently deals with homeowners insurance options for people with "aggressive breeds". I got the question.."will my homeowners policy go up if I get a pit bull?" Unfortunately, the question that they should be asking is "Am I going to be able to get insurance?" The fact of the matter is that very very few insurance carriers will allow you to have an "aggressive breed" at all. Here is a why..Over 90% of ALL liability claims on homeowners are due to dog bites. 75% of the bites were done by pit bulls, rottweilers, chows, dobermans, and wolf breeds. So it isnt hard to recognize why an insurance company would be hesitant to insure a homeowner that is going to pay $80 a month and have a possible million dollar lawsuit arising from a dog attack. I am not suggesting that pit bulls are bad dogs and I have know some great examples of how proper training is a bigger factor than breed, but that is not going to convince any insurance companies to put themselves into a liability exposure like that. Anytime you have a liability magnet on your property (ie. pool, trampoline, dog) you are going to pay higher premiums and/or get a cancellation notice. If you are thinking about getting a dog I suggest that you look at how much "mans best friend" will cost you in the long run when you have limited options for insurance and possibly put yourself into a position where you have to come out of pocket 100% for a lawsuit. Understanding your options before you make dog purchase will help you make the best decision for you and your family. If you have any additional questions as to your options if you already have an "aggressive breed" you can give me a call and I can hopefully point you in the right direction. My number is 972-930-7086.