Hired and Non-Owned Business Auto Exposures

Are You Protecting Your Business Properly?


In today’s litigious society, accident claimants will often seek recovery from as many sources as


can be found. It’s not difficult to imagine scenarios wherein any company with employees (and


possibly not even operating from a physical location) can still be sued based on non-owned auto


liability in the aftermath of a motor vehicle accident.

The classic example exists of an employee using their personal vehicle for a work errand. At the

accident site, the employee mentions, “I was just on an errand for XYZ Company,” and XYZ

Company ends up being named in an ensuing lawsuit, particularly if the employee doesn’t have

sufficient liability limits on his personal auto policy.


Or what if the owner of a company—still with “no owned autos”—is involved in a serious accident

and the claimant realizes the owner has most of his personal wealth in his company? The

claimant will likely include the company in his lawsuit, and without specific coverage for nonowned

auto liability, the insurance program would not protect the insured in these instances.


Hired auto exposures arise differently, but again, it’s not difficult to anticipate situations where

an employee or officer of a company may suddenly need to travel and rent an auto, and if it’s in

the course of business, to assume it’s covered by the company’s insurance. Hired auto physical

damage exposure occurs here as well, but again, without specific coverage in place prior to an

accident, a company may be looking at an uninsured claim.


Almost every operating business entity has liability exposures from hired and non-owned auto liability, and frequently for hired physical damage as well, whether or not the business owns any autos.
A good commercial agent, like JASON SHROOT knows that not only do their clients need this coverage, the lack of the coverage can lead to a real nighmare to any business owner who chooses to ignore this risk exposure.

Please Contact Jason Shroot directly by calling 714-988-3325 and learn more about your commercial insurance policy's risk management pratices.  Also reach Diversified Insurance Quotes by emailing Jason at jason@diversifiedinsurancequotes.com or visiting www.diversifiedinsurancequotes.com

 

Down Economy Means Upswing In Traffic Tickets

Down Economy = Upswing In Police Traffic Tickets


Did  You Know that Police officers typically issue more traffic tickets when the economy sours?  That means drivers should beware that they’re more likely to get ticketed now — and more likely to be hit with higher auto insurance premiums.

Municipalities struggling with tight budgets can use the boost in revenue from traffic tickets to help pay their bills.

“Police are having a quick trigger finger the past 18 months or so,” says Gary Biller, executive director of the National Motorists Association. “There’s less tolerance, and tickets are being issued much quicker. We know the pressure being put on governments, but it doesn’t justify what’s going on.”

A study published in 2010 by the University of Chicago showed significantly more tickets are issued in the year following a decline in a municipality’s revenue. When a municipality saw a 10 percent drop in revenue growth, it also saw a 6 percent rise in tickets issued, according to the study.

The study concluded that when the economy worsens, tickets often are used to bolster municipal revenue rather than to protect drivers’ safety.

Your Auto Insurance Premiums Can Go Up Roughly 20% After Getting A Traffic Ticket.

The average cost of a traffic ticket is $150 — including court costs but excluding any subsequent hike in your auto insurance premiums.

What does a traffic ticket mean for your insurance costs?

It’s not unusual for a driver’s auto insurance premiums to go up 20 percent after receiving a traffic ticket, Biller says. For someone who’s paying $100 a month for auto insurance, that could mean an extra $20. Additional traffic tickets could cause further spikes.

For their part, auto insurance companies say the amount that a driver’s premiums increase because of a traffic ticket varies dramatically. “There are just way too many factors that go into the pricing of an individual policy,” says Raleigh Floyd, a spokesman for Allstate.

While it’s true that traffic tickets can cause a driver’s premiums to go up, a traffic ticket issued in conjunction with an accident would cause much higher spikes in policy costs, Floyd says.

A driver who’s considered higher risk may see his insurance costs go up even more compared with someone considered lower risk, State Farm spokesman Kip Diggs says. Younger drivers and those with a poor driving history are higher risk, as are motorists who drive in heavily populated areas. Older adults who drive less and have excellent driving records are considered lower risk by insurance companies.

What should you do if you’re pulled over?

Many motorists are certainly jittery when they’re stopped by an officer and, in turn, may say something wrong, Biller says. A driver who’s been pulled over should remain calm and answer the officer’s questions succinctly.

Biller says one of the most popular questions an officer asks is: “Do you know how fast you were going?” The answer should always be: “Yes, I believe I was going the speed limit.”

In the end, no matter how calm a motorist is, he still could get slapped with a ticket. One of the biggest mistakes drivers make is accepting the ticket and not fighting it, Biller says. An estimated 95 percent of motorists don’t fight their tickets in court.
One attorney recommends that you ask the police officer which method was used to determine your speed when you’ve received a ticket.

Here Are 5 Things To Keep In Mind About Contesting A Ticket:

• Once the police officer hands you a ticket, ask for his name and badge number and jot down his car’s license plate number.

• Ask the officer what method was used to determine your speed, says Scott Hullinger, an attorney at Hullinger & Speredelozzi in San Diego. The two most common methods are radar and laser. If either technology wasn’t up to snuff, this can be a weapon in fighting the ticket.

• Use the officer’s license plate number to get the calibration records of the speedometer for the police car involved to ensure the radar gun used was accurate, Hullinger says.

• If you have your cell phone camera handy, take pictures of the scene. In some cases, speed limit signs and other traffic signs were knocked down or blocked by trees, says Wesley Browne, an attorney at the Browne Law Office in Richmond, Ky.

• If an officer doesn’t show up to court, the traffic ticket usually is dismissed, Browne says.

When should you hire an attorney to fight your ticket?

Attorneys concede that motorists can fight traffic tickets on their own, but lawyers emphasize that their insight into local politics can lead to dismissed tickets and reduced fines.

“I’ve never handled a ticket that I didn’t help in some way — either getting the speed lowered or the ticket dismissed,” says Browne, who handles about 50 to 55 traffic tickets each year in Kentucky. He charges about $200 for a simple traffic violation.

In San Diego, Hullinger charges $99 for a simple traffic violation and claims he’s able to get about half of the contested tickets dismissed. In about 90 percent to 95 percent of Hullinger’s cases, drivers receive a reduction in fines or driver’s license points, he says.

Here are three reasons why you should consider hiring an attorney when you’ve received a ticket:

• You got a ticket out of state. Hiring an attorney means you won’t have to go back to that state for court appearances, Browne says.

• You’ve had multiple violations, and being stuck with another violation will further erode your driving history. An attorney can inform you of diversion programs you may not know about, Browne says. For example, in Madison County, Ky., where Browne practices, motorists who are accepted into the diversion program watch an online driver’s safety course. Once you’ve completed the program, your traffic ticket is dismissed. The cost of the program is $150.

• Police used photo technology to ticket you, such as a photo red light or a photo speed ticket. Several court causes have uncovered problems with these technologies, Hullinger says.

 

If You Have a Clean Driving Record Or Several Tickets Jason Shroot Can Help You In Saving Money On Your Personal Auto Insurance Policy in California. 

Please Contact Jason at 714-988-3325 Today !

Reviewing Your Auto Insurance Policy...

So, Its Time To Review Your AUTO Insurance Policy....

You can save TONS OF MONEY by just taking a few minutes to look over that annoying little renewal statement that has your insurance bill attached to it.

We sure get a lot of paper these days. Seems that in this paper-LESS society, we shouldn't have quite as much paper as we do. True... we can scan it, archive it, or just throw it away. There is one piece of paper that you'll want to pay attention to -- Its your Auto Insurance Renewal Statement. You'll get these once or twice a year depending on how often your auto insurance renews. You'll probably also get one whenever you adjust your coverage or change vehicles.

One of the reasons the insurance company sends these statements out to you is to give you an opportunity to pause and determine if those coverages and limits and deductibles you started with so long ago still apply to you. Things change and so should your insurance policy. Sometimes people keep up with it; sometimes they don't. By not paying attention to these renewal statements, you could be spending needless premium on coverage you no longer need or want, or you could be setting yourself for an uninsured or underinsured loss by having limits that are too low or thinking you have coverage that you really DON'T have.

Here's a few steps to help you quickly and systematically look over that statement in just a few minutes.

1. Quickly review all the basic information: Name, address, vehicle description. OK there?

2. Next take a look at the rating information. You might need a little help from your company or agent on this one. Companies apply different rating factors for different driving characteristics Thes can include how many miles you drive, your age, your years of driving experience, ticket, accidents, etc. A quick call to your company or agent and they can walk you through these in just a couple minutes.

3. Check your LIABILITY LIMITS. This is usually the first coverage listed. This is probably the most important coverage to examine. This is the coverage that stands between some accident that you may cause and everything that you own.

Individual state laws mandate different minimums. California minimums are 15/30/5.  

This means the insurance company will pay up to $15,000 for the injuries you cause to any one person, up to $30,000 for the injuries you cause in any one accident, and up to $5,000 for any property damage you may do (the car, house, light post, whatever you happen to hit). While these limits may seem like lots of money, they can evaporate very quickly. Consider a recent client of mine who sustained injuries in an accident and spent over $14,000 before ever even leaving the emergency room.

My recommendation is to think in terms of at least 100/300/50 instead of whatever your state minimum might be. Consider more if you own a home or have appreciable assets. Cut and slice and minimize on other coverages, but this one is where you protect everything you own against the possibility of a large liability lawsuit.

4. Check your Medical Payments. This is usually listed second. It's the coverage that provides (depending on your state insurance laws) coverage for injuries to you and other pople in your vehicle. There's some overlap here with your health insurance. This can be used to pay deductibles, copayment and other portions of your medical bills that may not be covered by your health insurance.

5. Check the coverage on your vehicle -- Specifically Comprehensive and Collision coverage. Collision coverage pays for your car when you sustain damage from a collision. Comprehensive covers (almost) everything else. Decide if the annual cost of these individual coverages makes sense compared to the value of your car.

6. Don't neglect Uninsured and/or Under Insuraced Motorist Coverage. There's LOTS of uninsured drivers on the road these days. Some surveys estimate as high as 25%. That means one out of every 4 drivers on the road can be uninsured. This is the coverage that for just a few dollars a year 'constructively' gives all those drivers insurance coverage to pay you if they cause an accident with you. You should consider having limits at least equal to your liability limits (#3 above.)

6. Make sure you're receiving ALL the discounts you can get. Here's where that phone call can pay some dividends. There are many discounts available. There are discounts related to your car: Airbags, alarm system, theft tracker systems and others. There are also other discounts. One of the biggest can be the Multi-Line Discount. This is where you save even more on your auto insurance if you have other policies such as homeowners or life insurance with the same company. Also remember to check for short mileage, good student, mature driver, defensive driving class, loyalty (with the same company for a long time). Just call the company and ask them to list all of the possible discounts to see for which ones you can qualify.

This process might take you a little longer the first time you do it. I suggest you make some notes right on your renewal notice and file it for next time. Then when you get your next renewal, you can get your first one out and compare and use the notes you make to ask more questions that will either save you money or better protect your hard-earned assets.

Till next time...Please Contact For Questions or Quotes:  Jason Shroot at 714-988-3325  With Diversified Insurance Quotes.

Ensuring The Proper Auto Insurance Coverage Choices

Ensuring The Proper Auto Insurance Coverage Choices

Car insurance is a necessity in being able to drive a car legally. Many states have passed a law that you cannot get licenses or car license renewals without showing proper car insurance. This means that whether you like it are not your monthly expenses will have to include car insurance. Luckily there are over 30+ different companies that offer car insurance and most usually you can find great coverage at a decent monthly rate. It will depend on a lot of things such as age, gender, marital status, and your credit scores. When you are deciding between the choices in coverage you can have there are many things to consider.

First I will tell a little tale as an example. A woman had a 1984 jeep renegade that had an oil leak. She didn’t know much about mechanics and felt the vehicle was safe enough to drive for a week until her father could help find her a mechanic in the college town she was living in. What she didn’t know is that oil leaking on to a carburetor could catch fire in less than ten minutes. While the jeep had been taken to a mechanic three times prior the mechanic had not fixed the problem, didn’t warn her of the danger, and wasted time until the car had to be shipped to her new address. After a week of having the vehicle it caught fire because of the oil leak. She was only covered for liability since that was all she could afford while going to college. The car insurance didn’t cover fire.

The reason I have described this story is that had she had fire coverage she would have been able to file a claim and get a little money for the damage towards a new car or towards having that one fixed. When you are trying to ascertain how much you can afford to pay and the coverage available you have to consider what could happen and how expensive it could be to you if you don’t have proper coverage.

When you consider the choices in coverage you have liability, comp and collision, and choices in the actual monetary coverage for the motorist, uninsured motorist, and other aspects of car insurance. You need to select a coverage that you can afford, but that will not leave you in a situation where the car is not covered enough. In other words it is best to look at the cost of the car, the year it was made, and the potential hazards of where you live. In Alaska they offer moose and bear coverage under the comp and collision policies just in case. If you live in a large city you are going to want to have a lower deductible for damage in the event the car is broken into and your radio is stolen to meet the deductible with ease. Also consider the roadside assistance and car rental replacement if you don’t have roadside service.

For More Coverage Options Please Contact Jason Shroot @ Diversified Insurance Quotes At 714-988-3325 or Jason@diversifiedinsurancequotes.com