Happy New Year and we hope you are ready for another opportunity we all get to start fresh with new activities, new ideas and no doubt another great adventure! I saw a great quote last week from country music singer – Brad Paisley that was posted on New Year’s Eve: It read: “Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book! Write a good one!” I’m all for that so let’s get to it!

We’re seeing a lot about what different car insurance policies offer with saturated advertising all over the place! We see in these advertisements that Company A offers accident forgiveness or Company B offers total loss coverage to a new vehicle or pet coverage and more. The companies releasing these ads make it seem like they are the ONLY ones offering this type of coverage. But as usual in advertising, it’s not as it seems. The companies we represent have the same – similar coverage’s and in many cases, BETTER options than the advertised companies. Some just like to shout about it more than others!

My companies offer all or many of these same extra coverage’s. Some are included in the policy – some for a small additional fee. So let me shout what’s out here for your viewing pleasure and hopefully, this won’t be as obnoxious as some of these commercials we all see:

• Accident Forgiveness: This coverage guarantees the first at-fault accident will not be surcharged, depending on the dollar amount paid on the claim and the number of years the insurance has been with that company. In other words, have extended tenure (usually 3 years) with a company and they’ll not jack up your rates if you have an at fault accident if you’ve been with that company long enough to earn it. In some cases, you can pay an extra fee up front and have that available immediately at policy inception. We all can have accident forgiveness.
• Total Loss to a New Vehicle: There is a clause in some of our policies that automatically rolls this coverage into each Personal Auto policy. It provides new car replacement if:
  • Insured purchased the new car
  • It is determined it is a total loss that cannot be repaired, and
  • The loss occurs within:
    • 360 days of the purchase date and has less than 30K miles
    • 90 days of the purchase date regardless of mileage.
  • Definitions vary from company to company but the general idea is there…. Get this coverage and have a totaled car replaced within the terms specified in the policy. We have policies that INCLUDE for no fee or some small fee.
• Towing Coverage: Towing assistance is available when the insured needs it. Road trouble service coverage provides nationwide assistance 24/7/365 days per year. This covers a flat tire, minor mechanical repair, emergency fluid service, dead battery, lock out service & towing.
• Pet Medical Coverage: This coverage option is provided in the event a policyholder’s cat or dog is injured or killed when a vehicle they are riding is involved in an accident. If Collision coverage applies to at least one automobile, this coverage will provide up to $750 per animal and $1500 per loss. Some of my companies furnish this coverage for no additional fee.
• Go Paperless & SAVE: For those insureds who are environmentally-friendly, they can go PAPERLESS. The insured will save money on postage and receive – with some of our companies – a discounted premium as a result.
• Discounts: There are other discounts available for specific situations. For example, more than one vehicle on the policy gets a MULTI-CAR discount. Insuring your home or property with us yields a MULTI-POLICY discount. Having an anti-theft device on your vehicle can save you money. Plus, with some of our companies, if you pay the full term premium at once, you get a PAID-IN-FULL discount (fairly substantial) ….

As always, thanks for reading! We’ll continue to give you information that hopefully you can use as you work your way through 2016!