Keeping, Dropping or Changing Your Comprehensive or Collision Coverage

Managing the cost of your insurance car insurance northern ireland, for example) can be as simple as answering a few simple questions. Here's a short discussion that will walk you through the process of deciding to keep, drop or to change (different deductible) your comprehensive and/or collision coverages in your car insurance policy. First we need to do a very short 'inventory.'
TAKING YOUR FINANCIAL PICTURE -

Insurance is simply the management of risk. Owning and driving an automobile is a risk. You risk injury, loss of your vehicle, and potential liability for damage to others. The purchase of insurance is merely an agreement with the company to transfer some of your risk to them. You are saying, "I choose not to assume all of this risk myself. In exchange for my premium dollars, the insurance company will suffer some of the financial loss instead of me." With this thought in mind, you must decide how much risk to transfer and in doing so, decide how much risk you are willing to keep yourself in the from of deductibles and unpurchased coverages.
Before we can get to ways to save money on your premium, you need to take a short inventory of your financial picture. Before you get to deciding whether to take a $100 or a $500 deductible on your collision coverage you first need to decide that you can reasonably handle a $500 loss. So before we jump into any tricks of the trade, lets take a moment to diagnose your "loss threshold."
Lets say you go out and buy a $3 picture to hang in your bathroom. Are you going to insure it? Of course not! Now you go out and buy a famous $252,000 masterpiece painting. Are you going to insure it? Unless you are a multi-millionaire, you certainly will. Somewhere in between the $3 print and the $252,000 masterpiece is your loss threshold. Your loss threshold is the amount of money you can stand to lose without doing any great harm to your daily lifestyle or your peace-of-mind. In the above example, different people will have different thresholds. There is no right or wrong answer here!
In addition to settling on your personal loss threshold, it is important to consider your previous history of insurance losses. If you have had several losses in the last 10 years, you may be wise to lean more heavily on your insurance coverage. If, on the other hand, you go almost forever between losses, you will save premium dollars by assuming more of the risk yourself in the form of higher deductibles or dropped coverages. Now, if assuming this extra risk is going to give you some sleepless nights and make you a nervous wreck every time you get into your car, then don't do it! Part of what you buy in the purchase of insurance is peace of mind.
What matters most is where you are comfortable. Take a moment to apply a value to your "Loss Threshold." Try thinking in terms of $50, $100, $250, $500, and $1000. How much money can you, with peace of mind, place at risk? As you will see below, once you determine your Loss Threshold, you need only to weigh the cost of the coverage versus the potential for loss to you. Insurance can be a reasonably simple commodity to manage.

1. DROP YOUR COLLISION COVERAGE-

So you have been driving "Old Betsy" now ever since Noah was working on his boat. To you, its worth every bit of what you may have paid for it way back when but to another car buyer, its just an old bucket of bolts, rubber, faded upholstery. Unfortunately, the insurance company views your precious 4-wheeled family member with the same cold business approach as a prospective buyer. Its only worth...well, its worth a lot less than you would hope.
There comes a time in the life of almost every car when its value does not warrant the cost of collision coverage any longer. Collision coverage is that portion of your insurance that pays to fix damage to your car suffered by a collision. You will need this coverage for your car when you are in an accident that is your fault or if your car is the victim of a Hit & Run accident. Looking back to your Financial Picture we discussed above, compare the cost of your coverage with the potential for loss.
In discussions with your agent or by examining your renewal bill, identify the annual cost of your collision coverage. By looking in the newspaper or car-trading publications, determine the actual retail value of your car. Be careful to be objective here and remove whatever emotional attachment you may have to your car that might unrealistically increase its perceived value.

Let's say that the real value of your car is $1200 and the annual cost of just your collision coverage with a $100 deductible is $150. Now here are the Test Questions:

1. Can I afford to withstand this loss without any help from the insurance company? (in this case $1200)
2. Would I rather save $XX (in this case $150) every year and risk the loss of the car myself? By not getting this coverage I am saving $XX ($150) per year. I will save enough to make up the loss ($1200) in Y (8) years. (1200 � 150 = 8)
3. Does my driving and claim history lead me to believe that I might go Y (8) years without suffering that sort of loss?

If the answers to these questions are yes, then you might be well on your way to cutting your insurance costs by dropping your collision coverage. These simple Test Questions can be applied to virtually any insurance-buying decision. Take a look at the next example.

2. DROP YOUR COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE -

Comprehensive coverage like collision coverage is designed to protect your car from loss. Much of the same logic that we applied to collision coverage can be used to decide on the fate of your comprehensive coverage. There are, however some important considerations to weigh in your analysis.
Comprehensive coverage covers almost anything that happens to your car except collision. The most commonly submitted claims are broken windshields, stolen hub caps, stolen stereos, vandalism and theft of the entire vehicle. Note here that many of these losses produce the same amount of financial loss regardless of the value of the car. It costs virtually the same to replace a windshield in a 75 Ford as it does in an 85 Ford. Consider also that the cost of comprehensive coverage is much less than collision coverage. The ratio between money saved and dollars put at risk is smaller and therefore you may be less eager to drop this coverage. Ask yourself the Test Questions that we did for collision coverage and make an informed decision.
If your vehicle is financed or leased, always remember to check with your financial institution before changing these coverages. Your loan contract may have certain requirements and deductible limitations that somewhat restrict your options.


3. RAISE YOUR DEDUCTIBLES -

If deleting collision and comprehensive coverage puts you at greater risk than you are willing to assume at this time, you may want to consider increasing your deductibles as a compromise. As you increase your deductibles you decrease your premium. The insurance company is going to give you a break on your premium here for two reasons. First, when you have a loss, the insurance company will pay you less money when you have a higher deductible. Secondly, with a higher deductible, you will have fewer claims that are presented to the insurance company in excess of your deductible.
When you take a higher deductible you are saying that you, for the consideration of a lower premium are willing to assume a greater portion of the loss yourself. You trade the certainty of a lower premium for the uncertainty of more loss to you should a claim occur.
If you have decided in your Financial Picture that you are comfortable with a $500 loss (and the premium savings is enough) and you own a car worth $3000 then you probably do not want to drop your collision coverage completely. But you can increase your $100 collision deductible to $500 and your zero comprehensive deductible to $100. Let's examine the numbers. If you save $30 per year on your comprehensive coverage and $65 per year on your collision deductible you realize a $95 per year savings the first year and every year thereafter. You are only increasing your risk by $100 on the comprehensive coverage and by $400 on the collision coverage. Remember you already had a $100 deductible on collision and increasing it to $500 changes your participation in the loss by $400. Again, ask yourself the same questions.

1. Can I afford to withstand this loss (the bigger deductible) without any help from the insurance company?
2. Would I rather save this money ($95) and risk the larger deductible loss myself? By taking this bigger deductible I am saving $95 per year. I will save enough money to make up the loss in one year for a comprehensive loss and in just over four years for a collision loss.
3. Does my driving and claim history lead me to believe that I might go one or five years without this sort of loss?

If the answers are primarily yes then most likely an increase in deductibles is right for you.


It's a Good Life !






Dennis Volz Insurance Agency
10791 Jamacha Bl, Suite 1, Spring Valley, CA 91978
OFFICE: (619) 670-1000 - FAX: (619) 670-1121
eMail:Dennis@DennisVolzInsurance.com
Websites: Company Site: DennisVolzInsurance.com

This post contains only a general description of coverages and is not your insurance contract. Details of coverage or limits can vary. All coverages are determined by the terms, provisions, exclusions and conditions of your policy along with any endorsements.

How to Review Your Auto Insurance Renewal Statement

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. Others are listed here. 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. Check here for a more detailed discussion of this process.

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...

Dennis Volz Insurance Agency
10783 Jamacha Bl, Suite 1, Spring Valley, CA 91978
OFFICE: (619) 670-1000 - FAX: (619) 670-1121 - Cell (619) 339-1339
Email: Dennis@DennisVolzInsurance.com
Website: Dennis@DennisVolzInsurance.com

This post contains only a general description of coverages and is not your insurance contract. Details of coverage or limits can vary. All coverages are determined by the terms, provisions, exclusions and conditions of your policy along with any endorsements.

Current State Minimum Auto Insurance Liability Limits

• Alaska 50/100/25
  
• Alabama 20/40/10
  
• Arkansas 25/50/15
  
• Arizona 15/30/10
  
• California 15/30/5
  
• Colorado 25/50/15
  
• Connecticut 20/40/10
  
• Delaware 15/30/5
  
• Florida 10/20/10
  
• Georgia 15/30/10
  
• Hawaii 20/40/10
  
• Idaho 20/50/15
  
• Illinois 20/40/15
  
• Indiana 25/50/10
  
• Iowa 20/40/15
  
• Kansas 25/50/10
  
• Kentucky 25/50/10
  
• Louisiana 10/20/10
  
• Maine 50/100/25
  
• Maryland 20/40/10
  
• Massachusetts 20/40/5
  
• Michigan 20/40/10
  
• Minnesota 30/60/10
  
• Mississippi 25/50/25
  
• Missouri 25/50/10
  
• Montana 25/50/10
  
• Nebraska 25/50/25
  
• New Hampshire 25/50/25
  
• New Jersey 15/30/5
  
• New Mexico 25/50/10
  
• Nevada 15/30/10
  
• New York 25/50/10
  
• North Carolina 30/60/25
  
• North Dakota 25/50/25
  
• Ohio 12.5/25/7.5
  
• Oklahoma 10/20/10
  
• Oregon 25/50/10
  
• Pennsylvania 15/30/5
  
• Rhode Island 25/50/25
  
• South Carolina 15/30/10
  
• South Dakota 25/50/25
  
• Tennessee 25/50/10
  
• Texas 20/40/15
  
• Utah 25/65/15
  
• Virginia 25/50/20
  
• Vermont 25/50/10
  
• Washington 25/50/10
  
• Wisconsin 25/50/10
  
• West Virginia 20/40/10
  
• Wyoming 25/50/20

10 Ways to Beat the High Cost of Auto Insurance (Part 1)

(the SECRET from the ad is marked with 3 stars (***) in Part 2 of this article. This first part is pretty good though... :) )

Insurance has been one of the necessary evils of life for over 100 years. In this day of higher taxes, rising food prices and soaring housing costs, it is possible for you to get a handle on your own auto insurance costs. If you have been frustrated by an inattentive agent and constantly rising insurance premiums, this is the book for you!
Insurance can be complex and technical. Some people are paralyzed by simple buying decisions. Should I have collision coverage on my 15 year-old car? Would it make more sense to have a $500 deductible instead of a $100 deductible? Since I have adequate medical coverage at work, do I really need medical coverage on my car insurance as well?

I will show you how nearly all of your auto insurance-buying decisions can be simplified by answering 3 simple Test Questions.

With the overall cost of living swelling up around us, and insurance taking an increasingly larger portion of our income, it is important that we leave no stone unturned in controlling our insurance dollar! During the period from 1970 to 1990, auto insurance costs rose 40% faster than the overall cost of living. With this kind of increasing burden on your already stretched consumer dollar, it is imperative to get a handle on the auto insurance portion of your budget. One of the most important parts of your strategy is your agent and the working relationship that you share.
Sometimes, a newer agent will be energetic and willing to take the time required to effectively manage your insurance portfolio. But the newer agent may lack the experience required to exercise all of the potential money-saving applications available. Your agent must be experienced enough to know the ins and outs of the rating rules of the insurance company. Each company has rating and underwriting rules that, if properly applied can save you big dollars on your premium.
Your agent must also be willing to invest the time required to orchestrate your insurance portfolio. Older and more experienced agents generally know all of the little tricks but lack the drive and initiative to be of any real help to you. Some of the methods described below require personal and concerned attention. Agents that are too busy to sit down with you and devote the kind of time required to milk every ounce of protection out of your insurance dollar do not deserve your business. If your agent is hard to reach or doesn't appear to be giving you a 100% effort, don't give him or her even 1% of your insurance money!
Find another agent!
There are agents out there that have the right blend of experience and availability for you. Don't sell yourself short here! You should be as willing to spend the time necessary to find a good agent as you are to shop for a competitive price. Furthermore, you must be willing to be ever vigilant in the management of your auto insurance. As you will see in the methods below, each time any part of your life changes, it may require some change in your insurance coverage. Each time one of these changes occur or when you receive your renewal statement, take a moment to consider your current needs verses your current coverage. The longer you wait between review sessions, the more money you may be needlessly giving the insurance company. When your renewal bill comes due, DON'T BE CAUGHT SLEEPING AT THE SWITCH !

TAKING YOUR FINANCIAL PICTURE -

Insurance is simply the management of risk. Owning and driving an automobile is a risk. You risk injury, loss of your vehicle, and potential liability for damage to others. The purchase of insurance is merely an agreement with the company to transfer some of your risk to them. You are saying, "I choose not to assume all of this risk myself. In exchange for my premium dollars, the insurance company will suffer some of the financial loss instead of me." With this thought in mind, you must decide how much risk to transfer and in doing so, decide how much risk you are willing to keep yourself in the from of deductibles and unpurchased coverages.
Before we can get to ways to save money on your premium, you need to take a short inventory of your financial picture. Before you get to deciding whether to take a $100 or a $500 deductible on your collision coverage you first need to decide that you can reasonably handle a $500 loss. So before we jump into any tricks of the trade, lets take a moment to diagnose your "loss threshold."
Lets say you go out and buy a $3 picture to hang in your bathroom. Are you going to insure it? Of course not! Now you go out and buy a famous $252,000 masterpiece painting. Are you going to insure it? Unless you are a multi-millionaire, you certainly will. Somewhere in between the $3 print and the $252,000 masterpiece is your loss threshold. Your loss threshold is the amount of money you can stand to lose without doing any great harm to your daily lifestyle or your peace-of-mind. In the above example, different people will have different thresholds. There is no right or wrong answer here!
In addition to settling on your personal loss threshold, it is important to consider your previous history of insurance losses. If you have had several losses in the last 10 years, you may be wise to lean more heavily on your insurance coverage. If, on the other hand, you go almost forever between losses, you will save premium dollars by assuming more of the risk yourself in the form of higher deductibles or dropped coverages. Now, if assuming this extra risk is going to give you some sleepless nights and make you a nervous wreck every time you get into your car, then don't do it! Part of what you buy in the purchase of insurance is peace of mind.
What matters most is where you are comfortable. Take a moment to apply a value to your "Loss Threshold." Try thinking in terms of $50, $100, $250, $500, and $1000. How much money can you, with peace of mind, place at risk? As you will see below, once you determine your Loss Threshold, you need only to weigh the cost of the coverage versus the potential for loss to you. Insurance can be a reasonably simple commodity to manage.

1. DROP YOUR COLLISION COVERAGE-

So you have been driving "Old Betsy" now ever since Noah was working on his boat. To you, its worth every bit of what you may have paid for it way back when but to another car buyer, its just an old bucket of bolts, rubber, faded upholstery. Unfortunately, the insurance company views your precious 4-wheeled family member with the same cold business approach as a prospective buyer. Its only worth...well, its worth a lot less than you would hope.
There comes a time in the life of almost every car when its value does not warrant the cost of collision coverage any longer. Collision coverage is that portion of your insurance that pays to fix damage to your car suffered by a collision. You will need this coverage for your car when you are in an accident that is your fault or if your car is the victim of a Hit & Run accident. Looking back to your Financial Picture we discussed above, compare the cost of your coverage with the potential for loss.
In discussions with your agent or by examining your renewal bill, identify the annual cost of your collision coverage. By looking in the newspaper or car-trading publications, determine the actual retail value of your car. Be careful to be objective here and remove whatever emotional attachment you may have to your car that might unrealistically increase its perceived value.

Let's say that the real value of your car is $1200 and the annual cost of just your collision coverage with a $100 deductible is $150. Now here are the Test Questions:

1. Can I afford to withstand this loss without any help from the insurance company? (in this case $1200)
2. Would I rather save $XX (in this case $150) every year and risk the loss of the car myself? By not getting this coverage I am saving $XX ($150) per year. I will save enough to make up the loss ($1200) in Y (8) years. (1200 � 150 = 8)
3. Does my driving and claim history lead me to believe that I might go Y (8) years without suffering that sort of loss?

If the answers to these questions are yes, then you might be well on your way to cutting your insurance costs by dropping your collision coverage. These simple Test Questions can be applied to virtually any insurance-buying decision. Take a look at the next example.

2. DROP YOUR COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE -

Comprehensive coverage like collision coverage is designed to protect your car from loss. Much of the same logic that we applied to collision coverage can be used to decide on the fate of your comprehensive coverage. There are, however some important considerations to weigh in your analysis.
Comprehensive coverage covers almost anything that happens to your car except collision. The most commonly submitted claims are broken windshields, stolen hub caps, stolen stereos, vandalism and theft of the entire vehicle. Note here that many of these losses produce the same amount of financial loss regardless of the value of the car. It costs virtually the same to replace a windshield in a 75 Ford as it does in an 85 Ford. Consider also that the cost of comprehensive coverage is much less than collision coverage. The ratio between money saved and dollars put at risk is smaller and therefore you may be less eager to drop this coverage. Ask yourself the Test Questions that we did for collision coverage and make an informed decision.
If your vehicle is financed or leased, always remember to check with your financial institution before changing these coverages. Your loan contract may have certain requirements and deductible limitations that somewhat restrict your options.

3. RAISE YOUR DEDUCTIBLES -

If deleting collision and comprehensive coverage puts you at greater risk than you are willing to assume at this time, you may want to consider increasing your deductibles as a compromise. As you increase your deductibles you decrease your premium. The insurance company is going to give you a break on your premium here for two reasons. First, when you have a loss, the insurance company will pay you less money when you have a higher deductible. Secondly, with a higher deductible, you will have fewer claims that are presented to the insurance company in excess of your deductible.
When you take a higher deductible you are saying that you, for the consideration of a lower premium are willing to assume a greater portion of the loss yourself. You trade the certainty of a lower premium for the uncertainty of more loss to you should a claim occur.
If you have decided in your Financial Picture that you are comfortable with a $500 loss (and the premium savings is enough) and you own a car worth $3000 then you probably do not want to drop your collision coverage completely. But you can increase your $100 collision deductible to $500 and your zero comprehensive deductible to $100. Let's examine the numbers. If you save $30 per year on your comprehensive coverage and $65 per year on your collision deductible you realize a $95 per year savings the first year and every year thereafter. You are only increasing your risk by $100 on the comprehensive coverage and by $400 on the collision coverage. Remember you already had a $100 deductible on collision and increasing it to $500 changes your participation in the loss by $400. Again, ask yourself the same questions.

1. Can I afford to withstand this loss (the bigger deductible) without any help from the insurance company?
2. Would I rather save this money ($95) and risk the larger deductible loss myself? By taking this bigger deductible I am saving $95 per year. I will save enough money to make up the loss in one year for a comprehensive loss and in just over four years for a collision loss.
3. Does my driving and claim history lead me to believe that I might go one or five years without this sort of loss?

You may be beginning to see that insurance is not all that difficult! If the answers are primarily yes then most likely an increase in deductibles is right for you.

In Part 2, we'll examine the rest of the 10 Ways to Beat the High Cost of Auto Insurance.

It's a Good Life !

Dennis Volz, Agent
10783 Jamacha Bl, Suite 1, Spring Valley, CA 91978
OFFICE: (619) 670-1000 - FAX: (619) 670-1121 - Cell (619) 339-1339
Email: Dennis@DennisVolz.com
Websites: Company Site: DennisVolz.COM, Client Convenience Site: 6701000.com

My 'Other Blogs'

Working by Referral

Musings from California

A word about DEDUCTIBLES...

Simply stated: A deductible is the amount that you pay toward a loss or claim before the insurance company begins to pay. The higher your deductible, the lower your premium.

• The more you are willing to participate in your loss, the greater the savings on your premium.

The insurance company will offer your a lower premium if you take a higher deductible because your LOSS FREQUENCY and your LOSS SEVERITY will be lower. Consider if you have a $2000 deductible instead of a $500 deductible:

1. You'll make fewer claims because you won't be making claims for $600, $900 or $1995 losses. You'll simply pay those yourself. (FREQUENCY)
2. When you do submit a claim the insurance company will be paying $1500 LESS than if you had the $500 deductible. (SEVERITY)

There is no "correct" deductible to choose. It depends on what I like to call your personal LOSS THRESHOLD. So before we get too far ahead, lets take a moment to diagnose your "loss threshold."

Lets say you go out and buy a $3 picture to hang in your bathroom. Are you going to insure it? Of course not! Now you go out and buy a famous $252,000 masterpiece painting. Are you going to insure it? Unless you are a multi-millionaire, you certainly will. Somewhere in between the $3 print and the $252,000 masterpiece is your loss threshold. Your loss threshold is the amount of money you can stand to lose without doing any great harm to your daily lifestyle or your peace-of-mind. In the above example, different people will have different thresholds. There is no right or wrong answer here!

ANOTHER SIMPLE CALCULATION....

OK. Let's say you're ok with a loss threshold of $1000 or less. Now you can choose between a $1000 deductible or a $500 deductible. Here's all you have to do.

1. Find the premium difference between the two.
2. Let's say you save $80 a year in premium to take the $1000 deductible.
   
3. Now look at the DIFFERENCE between the 2 deductibles which is $500. It would take you over 6 years ($80/yr x 6 years = $480 ) to save the DIFFERENCE between the deductibles.
   
4. Now you simply ask yourself, "Do I think I'll have more than 1 claim in the next 6 years?"
   
5. If the answer is yes, you should probably take the lower ($500) deductible.
   
6. If the answer is no, then the higher deductible ($1000) probably makes more sense.

If you're still confused by this, just give me a call and I'll walk you through it....

It's a Good Life !

Dennis Volz Insurance Agency
10783 Jamacha Bl, Suite 1, Spring Valley, CA 91978
OFFICE: (619) 670-1000 - FAX: (619) 670-1121

eMail:Dennis@DennisVolzInsurance.com

Websites: Company Site: DennisVolzInsurance.com

Client Convenience Site: 6701000.com

My 'Other Blogs'
Working by Referral
Musings from California

FAQ's California Wireless Law effective July 1, 2008

NEW HANDS-FREE CELL PHONE LAW IS EFFECTIVE 7/1/08.

California finally catches up to what's safe and realistic by enforcing a requirement to use cell phones while operating a motor vehicle with either a wireless or "wired" ear piece. Soon we'll all look like Spock and Lieutenant Uhura from Star Trek with those funny "listening devices" protruding from our ears.You can check out the Official FAQ's at the California Department of Motor Vehicles website, but here's my personal spin.

There will be no grace period. That sounds like really bad news, but it doesn't count as a "real ticket" and the fine for the first offense is only $20.

If you're under 18, you can't talk on the phone AT ALL while driving. This includes talking AND texting. HOORAY! (interestingly, the law doesn't specifically address texting by over 18 operators.

Speaker option is OK. Push to talk is NOT. I guess HANDS FREE means just that.

Calling 911 in an emergency situation is an exception. Makes sense to me.

Good luck. I think this is a law that's LONG OVERDUE and should be enacted in all states. The ONLY accident I've been involved in my last 25 of driving was when I was rearended while stopped at a light when a young girl was REACHING FOR HER CELL PHONE and took here eyes off the road.

It's a Good Life !

Dennis Volz Insurance Agency
10783 Jamacha Bl, Suite 1, Spring Valley, CA 91978
OFFICE: (619) 670-1000 - FAX: (619) 670-1121

eMail:Dennis@DennisVolzInsurance.com

Websites: Company Site: DennisVolzInsurance.com

Client Convenience Site: 6701000.com

My 'Other Blogs'
Working by Referral
Musings from California

The Paint on my Fender Isn't Going To Match the Rest of the Car

Face it. Paint fades over time. Your car sits out in he sun and gets weather-beaten by rain, snow, etc. After a few years, the paint looks OK, but you can tell that it isn't like it was when the car was brand new.

Then.... you have a little fender bender and your left front fender is crunched. Damage isn't all that bad, but you need a new headlight and some paint when it's all done.
Doesn't matter how good the body shop is at matching the color. Actually most of it is completely computer driven and there's specific formulas for a given year and make of the car. The body shop can match the paint spot-on PERFECT. That's NOT your problem though.


The new paint is new and the rest of the paint is not. While it will match perfectly to the color it won't look the same and you want to paint the rest of the car. You think the insurance company should pay for that.

THEY WON'T. (usually)

Matching paint is not their concern. It's been round and round in the courts and it's just not a case you're going win. There could be an exception if you're dealing with the insurance company of the AT-FAULT driver who hit your car. I'll talk abou that next.

Sadly the case is that the insurance company is NOT obgligated to match the paint on the rest of the car. You might get an adjoining door painted or a little "blending" of some kind, but if you want the paint matched by painting the whole car, you'll have to pay for the DIFFERENCE yourself.
Take heart though! This is an OPPORTUNITY!

You might be able to strike some kind of deal with the body shop to paint the whole car. Remember most of the cost of painting is to set up the job -- Masking; mixing the paint, booth time, drying time, etc. That's all the same if they paint a fender or the whole car.

Make a deal with the body shop OUTSIDE of the insurance deal to paint the rest of the car. You'll get a better price and you can ethically let the insurance pay for all that set up on THEIR nickle.

If you were hit by someone else and are dealing with THEIR insurance company, you might be able to get some consideration for the non-matching paint. NOT MUCH, mind you, but something. This won't work if the accident was your fault because your car is being repaired under the collision portion of your policy and there's no provision for a liability-type payment (which this is) in that portion of the policy and the adjuster (even if they want to) CAN'T pay for that for you.

Before you go after this, be sure you get into the head of the adjuster and know WHAT THEY NEED to write you that check by reading (at least the Purple Section of: They're NOT offering me enough for my vehicle.

You'll need to document the reduced value of your car because of the non-matching paint. It may only be worth a few hundred dollars, but it might be worth your time. Talk to some used car lots or people who sell cars a lot and you'll get some ideas. You'll need to get something in writing so you might want to be willing to type something up on their stationery and return to get their signature. Ask them what to say and you'll be on your way.

Remember the claim settlement gig is a process. Take your time and help the adjuster document their file and you'll get a better settlement.

GOOD LUCK!

It's a Good Life !

Dennis Volz Insurance Agency
10783 Jamacha Bl, Suite 1, Spring Valley, CA 91978
OFFICE: (619) 670-1000 - FAX: (619) 670-1121

eMail:Dennis@DennisVolzInsurance.com

Websites: Company Site: DennisVolzInsurance.com

Client Convenience Site: 6701000.com

My 'Other Blogs'
Working by Referral
Musings from California

Options When You Have Damage from a Prior Accident

A client called me yesterday with an interesting dilemma. Said that recently, when his car was parked on the street, it was hit by a Fire Truck on a call. Kind of unusual as Fire Truck Drivers are usually pretty good at what they do.

Nevertheless, he was concerned because on the same side of the car there was some damage from a prior accident and wanted to see if he could get that fixed at the same time. He also wanted to make sure the paint matched the rest of the car. So here's the advice I offered to Steve.

The insurance company is only going to pay for the damage that was a direct result of the accident caused by the Fire Truck. Nothing more, nothing less.

Your best bet is to make a deal with the body shop OUTSIDE of the parameters of the insurance company settlement. Here's why.

Anytime you repair a car there are some fixed expenses that are there regardless of the size of the job. The car has floor time, rack time, parts to order, paint booth time, drying time, set up the paint sprayer time, set up the sander time, on and on and on. The body shop will appropriately include most of that in the estimate for the insurance portion of the repair. Then the body shop might to ahead and fix your "other fender" for less because they have to go through all that set up stuff anyway.

Talk to your estimator at the shop see if you can't make a bettter deal. I bet you can.

GOOD LUCK!

It's a Good Life !

Dennis Volz Insurance Agency
10783 Jamacha Bl, Suite 1, Spring Valley, CA 91978
OFFICE: (619) 670-1000 - FAX: (619) 670-1121

eMail:Dennis@DennisVolzInsurance.com

Websites: Company Site: DennisVolzInsurance.com

Client Convenience Site: 6701000.com

My 'Other Blogs'
Working by Referral
Musings from California

They're NOT offering me enough for my vehicle.

Whenever your vehicle has been declared a total loss, the insurance company will offer you a settlement based on the fair market value of your vehicle. (this works for cars, motorcycles, RV's, boats, etc.)

In the realm of United States tax law, the definition of "fair market value" is found in the United States Supreme Court decision in the Cartwright case:

The fair market value is the price at which the property would change hands between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or to sell and both having reasonable knowledge of relevant facts. United States v. Cartwright, 411 U. S. 546.

So you get offered some money for your vehicle. They give you a number. Sometimes you'll like the number... sometimes you won't.

Here's what to do when you don't.

First of all, you should always have a number in mind when you begin to enter the final phase of the claim.. That requires that you do a little research on your own. Please keep this important truth in mind as you do.

MOST PEOPLE OVERESTIMATE THE REAL VALUE OF THEIR VEHICLE.

I know that YOU wouldn't do that, but some do. Just think about if for a second: Most people list their vehicles at a given price either in the paper or Auto Trader and then end up settling for less than that when they actually sell.

Remember: The price that the vehicle actually sells for is the FAIR MARKET VALUE of the vehicle.

Ok, so with that in mind, let's get about finding the FAIR MARKET VALUE of your vehicle. Here's your BEST sources.

1. Call ads in the newspaper for vehicles that are as close to yours as possible. Hope to find people who have already sold the vehicles. WHY? Well because you quickly explain your situation and ask them if they would mind telling you the price for which the vehicle ACTUALLY sold. Might be more or less than the advertised price. Make a record of the ad, the phone number and the ACTUAL PRICE. Get as many of these as you can.
2. Call a local used car dealership and explain your situation and ask for their help. Be willing to go see them. REMEMBER, you're in the market for a new car if yours has been totaled. Ask them help you determine the value of you car by looking in their records to see what similar models of theirs had sold for.
3. BE SURE the insurance company has the right specifications on your car. If you had leather seats and power EVERYTHING, make sure they have that noted in the file. (more on this later.)
   

So once you have a number in mind, you're ready to begin discussions with your insurance company. We'll get to that in a minute.... (and let me remind you here that I'm an agent not an adjuster, but I've worked with adjusters for over 30 years and I know how they think and what they need to write you that check...)

Here's a couple of things that are IMPORTANT to keep in mind as you proceed.

1. The claim adjuster is a hard workin' person just like you are. They're given MANY files a week to work through. I've seen it as high as 75!
   
2. They want to get this file off their desk as much as you want to get your money.
   
3. Most likely they DON'T REALLY CARE HOW MUCH THEY GIVE YOU FOR YOUR CAR! Yes, that's probably true. It's not their money. BUT... They have to justify in the file the amount they give you. If you can give them good justification for the value that you want, they are happy to write the check and get on the the next file.
4. If you become their ally in this effort, you'll get a much easier and (likely) more profitable settlement.
5. Insurance companies usually use an outside vendor to determine the value of the vehicle. (remember we talked about having your car accurately described to the insurance company....Leather Seats, etc???) The insurance company simply forwards that information to this vendor who researches SOLD VEHICLES in your area to determine the FAIR MARKET VALUE. It's usually NOT the adjuster who crunches the numbers..... he's just the messenger.
   

OK, now...back to the settlement.

ALWAYS have your acceptable number in mind before you call and ALWAYS let them make the first offer. You might be thinking $5,500 and they offer you $5,800. If that happens, simply say, "That sounds reasonable to me, can you mail the check today or would tomorrow be easier for you."

Have your documentation at the ready. You've done your research so you're ready. If the number is too low DON'T come unhinged. Ask them how they got the number and let them explain. Listen calmy and patiently without interrupting. Remember.....he wants settle and get rid of this file as much as you do.

Offer your documentation to help him justify paying a higher amount to you. Use phrases like, "Can I get a copy of this to you to help you with the file?" or "Would it help if I gave you some documented sales that were several hundred dollars above your offer?"

Calm... Collected and in control because you are. You don't have to settle until you're completely satisfied that you're getting fair market value.

If you don't have enough documentation, you'll have to go out and get some more. The more examples you can find, the better settlement you'll get for your vehicle.

Remember it's a process, not necessarily a one-time phone call. Take your time and win a friend along the way.

It's a Good Life !

Dennis Volz Insurance Agency
10783 Jamacha Bl, Suite 1, Spring Valley, CA 91978
OFFICE: (619) 670-1000 - FAX: (619) 670-1121

eMail:Dennis@DennisVolzInsurance.com

Websites: Company Site: DennisVolzInsurance.com

Client Convenience Site: 6701000.com

My 'Other Blogs'
Working by Referral
Musings from California

One Picture is Worth a THOU$AND DOLLAR$

Yes, I know a picture is worth a thousand words, but it could also be worth a thousand (or THOUSANDS OF) dollars!

I can't tell you the number of times in my 30+ year career in the insurance business that I've listened to a distraught policyholder after a loss struggle to remember everything that was stolen or lost in a fire. Many times I'll get a call many months after the loss because the client just discovered that, "They got my Grandma's silver too. We didn't realize it until we were setting the table for Thanksgiving dinner."

The whole process wouldn't probably take you more than an hour. Just walk around your house and take pictures of everything you own. Well, you don't need to document your underwear drawer, but take pictures of almost everything else. Here's a short list to get you started...

(remember the purpose of the pictures is twofold:
a. To help you remember every thing you have.
b. To document (i.e. prove) to the insurance company) that you really did own all this stuff!)

So here we go...

1. Take a panoramic shot of every room in the house. Some rooms may need pictures from several different angles to get it all in.
2. Then open your cabinets in your kitchen and get pictures of all your dishes, cookware, etc.
3. Take a look in all the drawers and take pictures of any unique items you may have.
4. Get a black cloth or towel and spread it out on your floor or bed. Lay out any special or expensive items such as Jewelry, Silver, furs, CD collections, collectables, baseball cards, plates, dolls, etc for better close ups.
5. While you're at it, take pictures in the garage: Tools, cars, contents of your cars, file cabinets, lawn mowers, etc.
6. Take a picture of your back yard patio furniture, tool shed, etc.
7. Open your closets and take pictures of your clothing. Reminds you of the amount and some of the pieces.
8. Take close-ups of all the pictures, art and decorative items hanging on your walls.
9. Take pictures of your cars: Inside and Out. All the way around

I think you get the idea.

Now.... here's the important part..... ! ! ! !

If these are digital pictures, put them onto your computer and make a couple copies onto some CD's. Take one to your office and give one to a friend or mail one to your Uncle in Toledo, but GET IT OUT OF YOUR HOUSE. Last thing you want is to remember that all your "pictures" burned up in the fire... :)

Make a reminder to at least consider updating the pictures once a year AND whenever you make a major purchase like stove, refrigerator, art pieces, jewelry, etc.

This will make your life SO MUCH EASIER if you ever have a loss.

It's a Good Life !

Dennis Volz Insurance Agency
10783 Jamacha Bl, Suite 1, Spring Valley, CA 91978
OFFICE: (619) 670-1000 - FAX: (619) 670-1121

eMail:Dennis@DennisVolzInsurance.com

Websites: Company Site: DennisVolzInsurance.com

Client Convenience Site: 6701000.com

My 'Other Blogs'
Working by Referral
Musings from California