`Do I Look Like A Chauffeur?’ - automobile insurance for car pooling - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included
In most cases, your liability coverage will protect you if you cause an accident while driving the car pool. But in rare instances, car-pool driving isn’t covered by your regular insurance policy. Instead, it’s considered business use of your car–especially if you receive gas money or a small fee for the service. In that case, you may need extra coverage, says Madelyn Flannagan, vice-president of research and education for the Independent Insurance Agents of America. The rules vary by company and may depend on where you live; ask your agent or company if you’re okay.
Even if your policy covers car pooling, you may want to beef up the medical-payments coverage. This coverage, which pays for injuries to you and your passengers no matter who is at fault, can speed up payments in a situation in which there is a dispute over accident liability. Donald Beery, an independent insurance agent in New Orleans, recommends that parents who carpool frequently boost their coverage from the standard $2,000 to $5,000 per person. That typically adds $20 to $50 to an annual premium. This coverage would also kick in if someone were injured getting into or out of your car.
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If you’re carpooling children as part of a home-based day-care business, or if you lend your van for team outings and somebody else drives, be sure to tell your company or agent. And make sure that you have an adequate number of child seats and seat belts to protect the children–and protect yourself against liability.
`Do I Look Like A Chauffeur?’ - automobile insurance for car pooling - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included
In most cases, your liability coverage will protect you if you cause an accident while driving the car pool. But in rare instances, car-pool driving isn’t covered by your regular insurance policy. Instead, it’s considered business use of your car–especially if you receive gas money or a small fee for the service. In that case, you may need extra coverage, says Madelyn Flannagan, vice-president of research and education for the Independent Insurance Agents of America. The rules vary by company and may depend on where you live; ask your agent or company if you’re okay.
Even if your policy covers car pooling, you may want to beef up the medical-payments coverage. This coverage, which pays for injuries to you and your passengers no matter who is at fault, can speed up payments in a situation in which there is a dispute over accident liability. Donald Beery, an independent insurance agent in New Orleans, recommends that parents who carpool frequently boost their coverage from the standard $2,000 to $5,000 per person. That typically adds $20 to $50 to an annual premium. This coverage would also kick in if someone were injured getting into or out of your car.
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If you’re carpooling children as part of a home-based day-care business, or if you lend your van for team outings and somebody else drives, be sure to tell your company or agent. And make sure that you have an adequate number of child seats and seat belts to protect the children–and protect yourself against liability.
Take cover: no need to panicâ€â€we’ve got tips to help you cut your car insurance costs
IS YOUR company’s vehicle insurance too high? The Insurance Information Institute reports rates are declining in some states, but medical costs are rising. Meanwhile, a recent National Highway Transportation Safety Administration survey reveals many drivers aren’t aware that their coverage is insufficient until after an accident. Here’s how you can reduce insurance costs:
* CHECK YOUR STATE’S DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE FOR MINIMUM INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS. Check out www.ican2000.com/state.html for basic rate comparison surveys.
* WITH YOUR EMPLOYEES’ WRITTEN PERMISSION, ask your local Department of Motor Vehicles for driving records if you insure drivers. Poor driving records mean higher insurance costs.
* STRESS THAT IF EMPLOYEES BREAK THE LAW–by speeding, for example–their actions can raise rates or cause lawsuits, putting your business in jeopardy.
* COMPARISON SHOP ON WEBSITES such as www.carsdirect.com and www.kbb.com. Use their on-screen calculators for free quotes. Be aware, however, that most sites work with specific insurance companies. If you use an insurance broker, ask if he’s an agent for an insurance company. Not all brokers will direct you to the best deals unless they represent them.
* CHECK FOR DISCOUNTS on safety equipment such as extra airbags, backup warning systems and theft alarms.
* IF YOUR SALESPEOPLE USE THEIR OWN CARS on business and you reimburse them for mileage, encourage them to add rental insurance to their personal policies–and reimburse them for the average annual premium of $25 as well. This preventive measure is less expensive than paying $300 to $500 a week for a replacement rental.
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* PICK THE HIGHEST DEDUCTIBLES you can afford to keep the rates low. Buy as much liability as possible to protect your assets if you are sued. On older cars, consider lowering or dropping collision coverage.
* FOR MORE ADVICE, check out www.iii.org, www.insurance.com and www.wiserdrivers.com.
Editor and consultant JILL AMADIO has been reporting on the automotive industry for 26 years.
Take cover: no need to panicâ€â€we’ve got tips to help you cut your car insurance costs
IS YOUR company’s vehicle insurance too high? The Insurance Information Institute reports rates are declining in some states, but medical costs are rising. Meanwhile, a recent National Highway Transportation Safety Administration survey reveals many drivers aren’t aware that their coverage is insufficient until after an accident. Here’s how you can reduce insurance costs:
* CHECK YOUR STATE’S DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE FOR MINIMUM INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS. Check out www.ican2000.com/state.html for basic rate comparison surveys.
* WITH YOUR EMPLOYEES’ WRITTEN PERMISSION, ask your local Department of Motor Vehicles for driving records if you insure drivers. Poor driving records mean higher insurance costs.
* STRESS THAT IF EMPLOYEES BREAK THE LAW–by speeding, for example–their actions can raise rates or cause lawsuits, putting your business in jeopardy.
* COMPARISON SHOP ON WEBSITES such as www.carsdirect.com and www.kbb.com. Use their on-screen calculators for free quotes. Be aware, however, that most sites work with specific insurance companies. If you use an insurance broker, ask if he’s an agent for an insurance company. Not all brokers will direct you to the best deals unless they represent them.
* CHECK FOR DISCOUNTS on safety equipment such as extra airbags, backup warning systems and theft alarms.
* IF YOUR SALESPEOPLE USE THEIR OWN CARS on business and you reimburse them for mileage, encourage them to add rental insurance to their personal policies–and reimburse them for the average annual premium of $25 as well. This preventive measure is less expensive than paying $300 to $500 a week for a replacement rental.
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* PICK THE HIGHEST DEDUCTIBLES you can afford to keep the rates low. Buy as much liability as possible to protect your assets if you are sued. On older cars, consider lowering or dropping collision coverage.
* FOR MORE ADVICE, check out www.iii.org, www.insurance.com and www.wiserdrivers.com.
Editor and consultant JILL AMADIO has been reporting on the automotive industry for 26 years.
Partner-perfect insurance: a household name among South Florida Hispanics, Estrella Group Holdings hopes to branch out from auto insurance into life insurance
For 27 years, Estrella Group Holdings Inc. has carved a niche for itself insuring low-income Hispanic families’ automobiles. CEO Nicolas Estrella thinks it is time those customers had life insurance, too, and he hopes his Miami-based company can help provide it.
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Estrella Group partnered with Virginia-based insurance firm Genworth Financial Inc. and Pompano Beach-based insurance broker R.H. Jones Financial Services Inc. in late June. Estrella associates will offer Genworth’s life insurance products to Estrella Group’s approximately 250,000 clients around Florida. R.H. Jones will train Estrella associates to sell life insurance.
“This relationship will elevate awareness among the Hispanic community on the importance of having a financial safety net as part of a family financial planning,” Estrella says.
Awareness is low, according to insurance industry trade group Limra International Inc. While half of the general population in the 25- to 64-year-old age group with household income of at least $25,000 has life insurance, only one-third of Hispanics in that demographic do.
Estrella also expects the life insurance business will add another revenue stream to the company, which already includes car insurance services through Estrella Insurance Inc., Value Underwriters Inc., Centrex Premium Finance Inc., Star Casualty Insurance Co. and Estrella Insurance Franchising Corp.
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In 2004, those businesses brought in $126 million in revenue, says Estrella group vice president Richard N. Estrella, Nicolas’ brother. He hopes to sell life insurance policies to around 100 clients a month, but neither he nor Nicolas speculate how profitable they think the venture will be. Richard Estrella did say that a 35-year-old man can buy a $100,000 life insurance policy for $7 a month, and a 30-year-old woman can get a $500,000 policy for $14 a month.
“Prices are really not much out of line. A normal monthly rate for a 30-year-old is $15 to $20,” says Melissa Gannon, vice president at Jupiter-based Weiss Ratings Inc., which evaluates the financial strength of insurers. “Genworth is a strong company and will not hurt them [Estrella Group] or the policyholder.”
With Genworth providing marketing dollars and Estrella Group merely acting as a distributor. Richard Estrella says, “We don’t have any [financial] stake in this case.”
John M. Wellborn, Limra’s corporate vice president, says the practice of mingling auto insurance and life insurance sales is as old as dirt. “One good example is State Farm Mutual Automotive Insurance Co. Anecdotal evidence states if you offer a customer two lines of business, they become more loyal. Therefore I do not see any risks to Estrella,” he says.
Estrella, Genworth and R.H. Jones officials believe the low-income Hispanic market is ripe for life insurance. Up to 75 percent of Hispanic struggle financially when facing a death in the family, says Javier Ismodes, Genworth’s vice president of Latino marketing. Meanwhile, US Census figures show the number of Hispanics in the United States growing from around 35,622 to nearly 47,756 in 2010.
Genworth hopes potential customers will be more open to hearing about life insurance from a company they are already familiar with. “Estrella has a great reputation. They are a perfect partner to help us reach a big part of South Florida’s Hispanic population,” he says.
Estrella is no stranger to selling life insurance. His first dabble in the business came in 1976, when he worked as an agent for Ohio-based Provident Mutual Life Insurance Co. Two years later, he left life insurance for auto insurance when he opened Estrella Insurance Inc., which showed revenues of $100,000 in its first year.
Ismodes says the partnership may seek to offer life insurance to Texas’ and California’s Hispanic markets, depending on how the Florida venture works out.
Estrella has other plans for increasing business the firm does with current customers. Another new venture, Estrella Telecom Inc., will soon sell a pin-free long distance service and calling cards in Estrella’s 45 locations. A pilot program offering financial services such as check cashing, money orders and payday advances will open in stores in Hollywood, Hialeah and Davie later this year, leading Richard one step closer to creating what he calls “a one stop shop.”
Want to lower your auto insurance? Here are some inventive ways to save
Dan Lewis gets a migraine when he thinks about the $3,000 he pays annually in car insurance, but he’s actually a darling to insurance companies. He’s had no accidents and only one traffic ticket in the last decade–all on four cars: a Lincoln Navigator, which he drives for nights out on the town, a Chevy pickup for hauling items, a Toyota Camry, and a Hyundai Accent, which he drives when he wants to save money on gas.
“It’s important to me to get every discount available,” says Lewis, 45, owner of D.L. Enterprises, an investment firm in Jonesboro, Georgia. “With the present state of the economy and owning my own business, I take every opportunity to save money on car insurance.”
With escalating insurance costs in every industry, consumers such as Lewis relish any type of available discount or incentive. Farm Bureau insurance gives Lewis a multicar discount and the best rate for his good driving record. He also gets discounts for renewing his contract and having antilock brakes and an antitheft device. Those are a few of the major discounts that drivers can expect to receive. But there are plenty of others.
Progressive Direct (www.progressive.com), the No. 3 auto insurance company in the nation with 9.5 million personal auto policies, is offering its customers $50 for every six months of data they share through the TripSensor device. In order to help the company more accurately assess the type of driver you are, TripSensor captures information such as the miles, speed, and time of day your vehicle is driven.
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In addition, according to Insure.com (www.insure.com), drivers can lower their premiums by comparison shopping at their state insurance department’s Website, considering higher deductibles, dropping collision and/or comprehensive coverage on older cars, and researching group insurance and corporate discounts through organizations such as AAA or your alma mater. Also ask about discounts for air bags, automatic seat belts, antitheft alarms, antilock brakes, driving school attendance, and safe vehicles.
Some insurance carriers offer specialized discounts. According to Horace Mann (www.horacemann.com/insurance), your agent can do a lot of the leg work to get you the discounts you deserve. If you’re insured with a large company, however, you may not have an individual agent. So be sure to inform your insurance carrier of the following things that may impact your rates: moving, your military service, and your occupation or any professional affiliations.
Auto Insurance Discounts
The next time you review your car insurance policy, see if you’re eligible for the following discounts:
* A higher deductible
* More than one car
* No accidents in three years
* No moving violations in three years
* Driver training courses
* Defensive driving courses
* Antitheft devices
* Low annual mileage
* Air bags
* Antilock brakes
* Daytime running lights
* Student drivers with good grades
* Auto and homeowners coverage with the same company
* College students away from home
* Longtime customer
Want to lower your auto insurance? Here are some inventive ways to save
Dan Lewis gets a migraine when he thinks about the $3,000 he pays annually in car insurance, but he’s actually a darling to insurance companies. He’s had no accidents and only one traffic ticket in the last decade–all on four cars: a Lincoln Navigator, which he drives for nights out on the town, a Chevy pickup for hauling items, a Toyota Camry, and a Hyundai Accent, which he drives when he wants to save money on gas.
“It’s important to me to get every discount available,” says Lewis, 45, owner of D.L. Enterprises, an investment firm in Jonesboro, Georgia. “With the present state of the economy and owning my own business, I take every opportunity to save money on car insurance.”
With escalating insurance costs in every industry, consumers such as Lewis relish any type of available discount or incentive. Farm Bureau insurance gives Lewis a multicar discount and the best rate for his good driving record. He also gets discounts for renewing his contract and having antilock brakes and an antitheft device. Those are a few of the major discounts that drivers can expect to receive. But there are plenty of others.
Progressive Direct (www.progressive.com), the No. 3 auto insurance company in the nation with 9.5 million personal auto policies, is offering its customers $50 for every six months of data they share through the TripSensor device. In order to help the company more accurately assess the type of driver you are, TripSensor captures information such as the miles, speed, and time of day your vehicle is driven.
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In addition, according to Insure.com (www.insure.com), drivers can lower their premiums by comparison shopping at their state insurance department’s Website, considering higher deductibles, dropping collision and/or comprehensive coverage on older cars, and researching group insurance and corporate discounts through organizations such as AAA or your alma mater. Also ask about discounts for air bags, automatic seat belts, antitheft alarms, antilock brakes, driving school attendance, and safe vehicles.
Some insurance carriers offer specialized discounts. According to Horace Mann (www.horacemann.com/insurance), your agent can do a lot of the leg work to get you the discounts you deserve. If you’re insured with a large company, however, you may not have an individual agent. So be sure to inform your insurance carrier of the following things that may impact your rates: moving, your military service, and your occupation or any professional affiliations.
Auto Insurance Discounts
The next time you review your car insurance policy, see if you’re eligible for the following discounts:
* A higher deductible
* More than one car
* No accidents in three years
* No moving violations in three years
* Driver training courses
* Defensive driving courses
* Antitheft devices
* Low annual mileage
* Air bags
* Antilock brakes
* Daytime running lights
* Student drivers with good grades
* Auto and homeowners coverage with the same company
* College students away from home
* Longtime customer
Insurance 101: a guide for dealers: in the post-Sept. 11 art marketplace, re-evaluting your insurance policies makes good business sense - Special Report - Brief Article
Included in the toll of the World Trade Center disaster was art worth an estimated $100 million. Although it pales beside the human tragedy, the loss must nevertheless be acknowledged by no one more so than the insurance industry. This might, therefore, be an appropriate time for gallery owners and publishers to analyze their insurance coverage.
“Our phones are ringing off the hook,” said Laura Condon, senior vice president retail operations manager of Huntington T. Block Insurance Agency Inc. in Washington, D.C. As this firm reportedly writes more fine art insurance policies than any other broker, this is not surprising. Dealers, now alerted to the reality that the unthinkable can really happen, want to know what coverage is available to them.
Policy Standards
In Huntington Block’s “standard” fine arts policy, a gallery is protected in a variety of ways.
First, a dealer’s own inventory is covered. Condon stated that, in the event of a loss, the insurance company will pay whichever is greater–the stated retail price minus 30 percent or the original purchase plus 10 percent. For items that had been sold but not yet delivered at the time of loss, the dealer will be reimbursed for the total sale price. In addition to their works of art, many dealers will also want to cover their reference materials, which can be quite costly to replace. According to Frank Arena, the director of Art Insure, (a division of John G. Lambros Co. Inc.), you want to be sure to keep a running inventory. “Be sure you are not underinsured,” he cautioned. If you notice that the total value of your inventory is regularly exceeding your policy’s maximum, you should contact your broker to have its limit increased. The maintenance of reliable records is also a way to demonstrate to the insurance company exactly which works were lost in a disaster.
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Perhaps more important, according to Condon, is your coverage of works left in your gallery by others. “You need to pay close attention to the consignment agreement … in the event of a catastrophe, that is (your) reputation” on the line. “If you lose your own inventory, that’s not as bad,” she observed. According to Arena, you can expect to be repaid for the stated value of a work left on consignment plus “five to 10 percent for your efforts.”
In general, when works owned by others are lost in your gallery’s disaster, the matter becomes controversial. For example, if Gallery A sends a work to Gallery B to show to a prospective purchaser, it is Gallery B that is responsible for it. According to Condon, “the dealer whose hands were on it at the time of loss should handle it.” If there are gaps in his or her coverage, however, it might revert to Gallery A’s responsibility.
Framer & Publisher Peculiarities
Framers, as professionals who perpetually keep other people’s property on site, represent a specific category. They are what are known as “bailees.” In the eyes of the insurance industry, this groups them with other companies in similar situations, like dry cleaners. Thus, a combination dealer/framer will actually need both fine art and bailee coverage.
Interestingly, publishers might also require a bailee policy, depending upon the ownership rights of works kept on site. Furthermore, publishers will also need “personal injury and advertising liability” coverage to deal with copyright infringement. Thus, a standard fine art policy might not be sufficient or appropriate for either framers or publishers. Condon offers comfort, though, when she noted that Block has “forms ready for just about every aspect of the art world.”
Art in Transit
Considering how complicated art insurance can be, you should not always count upon your works being appropriately covered by someone else’s policy while they are off site. When your own pieces travel, they need to be covered by your own policy–perhaps more so than when they are under your own roof. According to Arena, art transit is responsible for most of the claims made, and he typically advises clients to obtain “$500,000 per transit” coverage. Although this might seem excessive, he said it is always best to obtain your own shipping insurance, at whatever level you choose. He warned that purchasing coverage through a shipper is “very expensive–two to four times as much” as what art insurers charge.
As well, there may be certain exclusions in someone else’s transit policy that you would find unacceptable. According to Arena, poor packing causes 50 percent of transit claims, and the insurance industry has consequently targeted improper packing practices. For example, “there may be a restrictive clause when it comes to packing [so that] they can deny coverage. Do not allow an inexperienced person to pack,” he cautioned. If your assistant wraps a pre-Columbian artifact in one layer of bubble wrap and throws it loose into a box, that negligence can result in non-payment of a claim.
These would be the main features of a typical fine art policy. However, to complement this coverage, a dealer also needs a general liability policy. This would be a factor, if “someone puts up a display rack at a show and it injures someone” said Arena. Of more timely significance, if “you are put out of the gallery, it will provide for loss of income for up to 12 months.” He said that he had clients within three or four blocks of the World Trade Center site, and “the National Guard told them that if they approached their street, they would be shot.”
The increasing amount of vandalism of public art here has threatened the future of Belgium’s public art displays, with insurance companies now refusing to underwrite exhibits - Brussels - Brief Article
The increasing amount of vandalism of public art here has threatened the future of Belgium’s public art displays, with insurance companies now refusing to underwrite exhibits. In recent months, some of the country’s biggest open-air art exhibitions have been destroyed–from an exhibition of ice sculptures in the North Sea port of Zeebrugge to a street show of fiberglass cow sculptures in Brussels that was partially decimated just hours after it was set up in the city’s parks and squares.
In another incident, a knife attack destroyed a street exhibition of giant enlargements of the photographs of Belgian photographer Dirk Braekman. Ten days later, the slashed pictures were replaced only to become the target of more attacks.
What’s Not Covered - homeowners’ insurance exclusions and casualty coverage
THE PUTRID odor assault Richter the moment they Opened the front door of their home in Heath, Ohio, The stench came from the basement, where a three-inch pipe that was supposed to drain water from the air-conditioning system into a sewer line was instead spewing raw sewage fro throughout their neighborhood. About an inch of this foul mess had already oozed across the floor.
It was easy enough to pinpoint the cause: a clog in a sewer line about 150 feet from the house. The Richters house sits lower than all their neighbors’, so when everyone else’s gunk stopped at the clog, the backup dutifully retreated, ending up in the Richters, basement.
Rodger spent about six hours on preliminary cleanup, then called in a firm that specializes in heavy,duty jobs. He eventually paid more than $1,100 to have the basement cleaned and sterilized and the carpeting replaced. Then he called his insurance company to submit a claim.
That’s when things got really messy: Rodger was stunned to learn that his homeowners policy didn’t cover sewage backups, so the insurer wouldn’t kick in a dime toward making the basement livable again.
Most homeowners are in the same boat. Standard policies don’t cover damage from sewage and water backups. To get that protection, you need to buy special coverage–which is exactly what Rodger did. For $50 a year, he added a rider that will pay up to $10,000 if the gross stuff ever invades his basement again. Unfortunately, a repeat is not out of the question. “In the past five years, some of our biggest homeowners-insurance claims have been caused by water and sewer backup, “says Tom Schneider, the Richters’ agent.
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Sewage backup is one of several hazards that people widely assume is covered by their homeowners insurance–until they file a claim and are turned down. We hate to say it, but it actually does make sense to read those densely packed pages of your policy to see what’s covered and what’s not. If you discover a gap, it’s usually easy and inexpensive to fill it.
Holes in homeowners policies
AS THE RICHTERS discovered, a backed-up sewer can send waste spewing into your house. So it’s essential to buy sewage and drain backup coverage if you have a finished basement that contains valuable furniture or equipment that could be destroyed. But damage isn’t always limited to the basement. When a sewer line leading to Perry Pappas’s 150-year-old Victorian home in Columbus, Ohio, broke last fall, it caused an upstairs toilet to overflow, resulting in nearly $3,000 of damage.
Fortunately, Pappas had a $ 50-a-year rider on his homeowners policy, which entitles him to up to $10,000 for sewage-backup damage, after a $500 deductible. The same rider would also pay for damage if a sump pump stopped working during a power outage–which could leave your basement soaked.
Most people who live near a river or coastline know homeowners policies don’t cover flood damage, and they buy flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program. But flooding can be a problem even if you don’t live near water.
Jack Blair, an independent insurance agent in Hamilton Square, N.J., notes that heavy rains can cause big problems. “We had a town that got buried in a foot of water last year, and most residents had never seen water in their town before,” he says. “That was a real tragedy when a lot of people turned to their homeowners insurance and found out flooding was excluded.”
Flood insurance is sold by private insurance agents at set prices, depending on your proximity to a flood zone; you could pay more than $800 a year for $100,000 coverage if you’re in a flood plain, or as little as $230 if you’re in a low-risk area. For more information about the program, the cost of flood insurance and how to buy it, see the NFIP’s Web site (www.fema.gov/nfip), or call 888-225-5356.
Protect your homework
IF YOU HAVE a home office, don’t assume that your equipment is protected by the personal-possession coverage in your homeowners policy. Homeowners and renters policies typically cap coverage for business property at $2,500. The coverage drops even more if you take any of the property out of your house for
example, it pays only $250 if your laptop is stolen while you’re on a business trip.
A typical policy provides no liability coverage for business-related claims, either. If, say, the UPS guy slips on your front stoop while delivering a business package and ends up suing, your homeowners company may leave you high and dry.
For a low-risk home business, a rider that would hike business-property and liability coverage to the same amounts as stated in your homeowners policy would probably cost $100 per year or less, says Scott Hauge, an independent insurance agent in San Francisco. For bigger and riskier businesses–if, say, you are a computer consultant with expensive equipment–you may have to buy a standalone business insurance policy for $ 350 a year or more.