Frequently Asked Questions
General Insurance Questions and Terms
What is an Independent Insurance Agent?
What defines an Independent Insurance Agent is our ability to shop your insurance through multiple carriers. Our job is help you create the best coverage package to meet your needs and then go to the market and find the most competitively priced insurance carrier for those coverages.
How does my credit score effect my insurance premium?
According to the Federal Trade Commission, based on the numerous studies that have been done on the issue of credit score and insurance premiums, there is a direct relationship between credit score and an individuals propensity to get into severe car accidents as well as cancel for non-payment.
This has lead 46 out of the 50 states in the US to allow insurance companies to use credit score when determining auto insurance and home insurance premiums.
For you the insurance consumer this means that it is important to have a good handle on your credit score and try to keep it as high as possible because a low credit score is going to mean higher insurance premiums in most states.
Does changing my insurance company affect my credit score?
Changing your insurance carrier has NO effect on your credit score. You can change as often as you like and it makes no matter to your credit score.
The only time that cancelling an insurance policy can effect your credit score is if you owe the carrier back premium and they take you to collections.
What is the importance of being the first named insured on an insurance policy?
The importance of having the first named insured listed correctly on any insurance policy is because of the rights and responsibilities associated with first named insured status.
The first named insured has the right to be notified upon cancellation and also is entitled to any refunded premium dollars.
Additionally, the first named insured is responsible for any premium obligations in the event there is money owed to an insurance company after cancellation.
Should I package my home and auto insurance with the same insurance carrier?
YES! If you can package your home and auto together with the same insurance carrier you should do it.
There are two reasons for this
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The first reason is simple, you get a discount on both your Home and Auto insurance if they are packaged with the same carrier.
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The second reason is when it comes a claim. When you are covered with the same carrier you can avoid dealing to find what company has coverage on a specific accident.
Auto Insurance
What is the difference between Bodily Injury coverage and Med Pay?
Bodily Injury liability insurance is coverage against You being at-fault in an auto accident in which there is bodily injury to a 3rd Party most often in another car.
Medical payments is a coverage designed to cover the medical expense of individuals within your car. Another interesting fact about medical payments… If you are under the influence of drug or alcohol your No-Fault coverage does not respond.
What is Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage?
An uninsured motorist clause is a provision commonly found in automobile insurance policies that provides for a driver to receive damages for any injury he or she receives from an uninsured, negligent driver. The owner of the policy pays a premium to the insurance company to include this clause.
What is covered by comprehensive physical damage?
Comprehensive physical damage coverage (also known “other than collision coverage”) is an added coverage to your auto insurance policy that covers damage to your vehicle.
Comprehensive physical damage coverage covers a loss from risks other than a collision including but not limited to hitting a deer, fall objects, water damage, fire, lightning, wind, vandalism and can also include glass coverage.
Remember that you must add comprehensive physical damage coverage to your auto insurance policy because it is not part of a basic insurance policy.
Home Insurance
What is renter insurance?
Renters' insurance, is an insurance policy that provides some of the benefits of homeowners' insurance, but does not include coverage for the dwelling, or structure, with the exception of small alterations that a tenant makes to the structure. It provides liability insurance and the tenant's personal property is covered against named perils such as fire, theft, and vandalism. It also pays expenses, when the dwelling becomes uninhabitable.
What is the difference between condo insurance and homeowner insurance?
One of the key differences between home and condo ownership concerns how much of your residence you have to insure. Buying a home means you own and are responsible for the inside and outside of your place, including the land it sits on.
Buying a condo, on the other hand, only leaves you solely responsible (usually) for the interior of your place. The outside land, condo building structure, and building common areas are all typically jointly owned by you and your fellow condo dwellers and insured by your homeowners association (HOA).
Do I need boat insurance or is my boat covered by home insurance?
The amount of coverage available under a homeowner's insurance plan for your boat can vary, and it is very limited. Typically, however, a homeowner's insurance policy will only cover damage to your boat that occurs while it is on your property.
Flood Insurance
Is flood covered under homeowners insurance?
Flood loss is not covered on your homeowners insurance. Flood is covered by a separate individual policy which can be written by standard insurance carriers but is run by the National Flood Insurance Program.
Do I need flood insurance?
You need flood insurance if you own property. It is your choice as to whether purchasing flood insurance makes financial sense or if you believe in the flood insurance product. But the truth of the matter is that a flood can happen anywhere, not just in traditional flood zones
How does my flood zone effect flood insurance premium?
There are four different types of flood zones mandated by the national flood insurance program, and they are A, B, C, X.
“A” rated flood zones are considered high risk and carry the most expensive premiums. Flood zones B, C, and X, however, are considered low to moderate risk and the premiums are much lower relative to zone “A”.
Business Insurance
Why does it take longer to get a business insurance quote than an auto insurance quote?
The reason that it takes longer to get a Business Insurance quote than an Auto Insurance quote is something as a Business Owner you should be thankful for, and that is with Business Insurance (in most cases) there is an actual human being reviewing your application. This can work in your favor pricing wise because a human can make pricing determinations based on your business’s specific risks and not the risks of similar businesses.
How is a business owners policy (BOP) different from general liability?
A business owners policy is a package of coverages designed to address the needs of a specific class of business in an easy to purchase format.
When you think of business insurance, what is the first coverage that comes to mind?
It’s most likely commercial general liability insurance. General liability insurance provides legal defense and insurance protection against things like slips, trips and falls as well as 3rd party property damage.
General liability is a very important coverage to your business, but it is only one of the many coverages that you need to properly protect your business.