North Carolina Auto Insurance – Here’s a Nice Add-On

Your North Carolina auto insurance policy is pretty much regulated by the NC Department of Insurance. They regulate the rates and the policy language as well. As such, the policy language is the same from one insurance company to the next. But, within that framework, you can find groupings of coverages or special endorsements that add protection or extend protection to your policy that are created or packaged together by a specific insurance company.

A good example of this type of coverage diversification is the add-on coverage that State Auto Insurance Company has available for its auto insurance customers. Let’s take a quick look at this special endorsement.

This endorsement adds some protections that are not automatically included in your NC auto insurance policy.

Rented Vehicle Coverage – provides physical damages protection (comprehensive and collision coverages) and related expense for rented vehicles.

Emergency Travel Expense – If you are over 50 miles from home then they provide up to $600 for travel expenses such as lodging, meals and transportation back to your residence if your vehicle sustains a covered loss.

Pet Coverage – Here’s an unusual item. State Auto will provide up to $500 coverage if you pet is injured or killed while riding with you in your covered auto.

Additional Transportation Expense – Provides an additional $10 per day for replacement vehicle over the limit already provided by your transportation expense endorsement if you have that on your policy.

Cellular Phone Coverage – Covers loss to your cell phone with no deductible regardless of location.

GPS Coverage – Pays up to $500 for loss to your GPS system in your car.

Locksmith Services – Provides Electronic Key Replacement up to $250 per incident.

Death Indemnity – Subject to a maximum of $10,000 per person and $20,000 per incident, but if the person is wearing a properly fastened, factory installed seat belt, the limit is increase to $25,000 per person and $50,000 per incident.

Of course, the above description is for informational purposes only. You should actually take the time to read and understand this endorsement carefully should you choose to purchase it. But it is important to understand that there are many types of extra coverage endorsements out there that can add or extend the coverage of your NC personal auto insurance policy. You should take a moment to check them out carefully to see if any of them fit your needs and your budget.

At Clinard Insurance Group, in Winston Salem, NC, we want all insurance buyers to be informed consumers. If we can help you with your auto insurance, your home insurance, your business insurance or even your life insurance or retirement accounts, please call us, toll free at 877-687-7557 or visit us on the web at www.ClinardInsurance.com.

You can find the basic source information for this article at www.InsuranceAnswerGuy.com.

Warning – Before You Shop Your NC Auto Insurance Around…..

We see so many ads on TV today exhorting us to call the 800 number and get an auto insurance quote. Save money they all say. But it’s what they aren’t saying that should be screaming the loudest in your ears. Because what they aren’t saying should warn you not to call them.

Ok, so what is it they are leaving out of the call me now messages? In short, you don’t hear them asking you to call them to save money on your homeowners insurance. And if you live in NC, that is an important distinction. Because in NC, you see, insurance companies are pretty reluctant to write homeowners insurance due to the way the legislature has preloaded the system to protect those with beach properties at the expense of everyone else. If want to read about how this problem developed, please read my blogs on the homeowners insurance crisis Part I and Part II. To better understand how it all turned out, read my blog on house bill 1305. The bill passed by the way.

So what does this mean for you? Well, I can tell you that when someone calls our office and wants us to quote or write only their home insurance, we are left with a diminished marketplace for their protection. Most insurance companies in NC will now not write a homeowners policy without the auto insurance policy to support it. Of course, those that have just their home insurance in place with an insurance company are pretty safe for now. I have not heard of many cases of mass cancellations of standalone homeowners policies in NC at this time. But there has been some activity that comes in the form of consent to rate letters. To learn more about that, read my blog on consent to rate letters in NC.

So this diminished marketplace means higher rates on homeowners policies that are being moved around without the auto policy for support. So, if you take the advice of the ads on TV, and move your auto insurance to a new company to save money, the homeowners policy that you now leave behind, unsupported by your auto policy, might be non renewed at the end of the policy term or you may see dramatically higher rates on that policy at the next renewal.

The hard market for homeowners insurance in our state means that you as an insurance consumer must play your cards carefully when making changes. If your home and auto insurance are with the same company now, then you should be careful to keep these policies together until the homeowners insurance market in NC softens. Separating them can end up costing you a lot more money and grief over time. And it’s not likely that the auto insurance company that is screaming for you to save money on your auto insurance by calling them is going to let you in on that secret. For the most part they would love to take your very profitable (for them) auto insurance and leave behind your more problematic homeowners insurance.

At Clinard Insurance Group in Winston Salem, NC, we take pride in working hard to help every insurance buyer become a better informed consumer. We still have open markets for standalone homeowners insurance but they are closing up over time as the market continues to harden in this area. If you need help with your home insurance, your auto insurance, your business insurance or even your life insurance, I hope you will feel free to call us, toll free, at 877-687-7557 or visit us on the web at www.ClinardInsurance.com.

Source data for this article was pulled from other articles which can be found in their entirety at www.InsuranceAnswerGuy.com.

Same Sex Couples and Unmarried Couples Auto Insurance in NC

North Carolina law and the NC auto insurance policy language regulated by the NC Department of Insurance, requires that the named insured on the policy be the same as the name on the title of the vehicles insured on that auto insurance policy. This particular law creates an unfair advantage for those in a legal marriage over those in a committed relationship that is not recognized as a marriage by the laws of their state. This article will tell you how to overcome this disadvantage and allow those who are in committed relationships to obtain the same discounts as married couples.

First of all, let’s discuss what that unfair advantage is that married couples have over all other couples in committed relationships. In NC, if you have more than one vehicle on your policy, then you are entitled to a discount which is called the multi car discount. This discount is substantial, ranging from 15 TO 20 percent.

If you are in a committed, long term relationship with another person, and you both have cars in your own names, then in most cases in North Carolina, you will have to purchase 2 different auto insurance policies and because of this, you will miss out on the multi car discount. In addition, if you purchase a home together and want to apply the multi policy discount to your homeowners and your auto insurance policies, which will be another 10 to 20%, you will probably only be allowed to apply that to one of your two auto policies.

This position is inherently unfair but times are changing. At Clinard Insurance Group, in Winston Salem, NC, we have found several insurance companies that will allow us to apply the multi car and the multi policy discounts to both auto policies, thereby obviating this inequity. If you are in a committed, long term relationship with another person, be it same sex, or opposite sex, you owe it to yourself to investigate your situation and do what it takes to beat this price discrimination. The easiest way to do this is to give us a call, toll free, at 877-687-7557 or visit our web site at www.ClinardInsurance.com.

The source information for this article can be found at www.InsuranceAnswerGuy.com.

Crash Taxes – They Could Make You A Double Victim

Imagine you are cruising on the interstate in a driving rain and you lose control of your car and slide into the guardrail. Thankfully you are ok and you don’t feel any pains as you get out of your car to see the new shape you created out of your front bumper. A passing motorist sees your accident and dials 911 as he drives on through the rain. 5 minutes later a police car, a fire truck and an ambulance arrive to check on you. 3 weeks later you receive bills from each of these organizations for their time and trouble checking on you. You turn in the $2763 in emergency response bills to your auto insurance company and they decline to pay them. Welcome to the brave new world of crash taxes.

Crash taxes have been on the books of many local governments for years but until this recent economic downturn, they have not been used. Now we are seeing a trend sweeping our country to apply these charges for emergency responders to those involved in the accident. While there are some creditable arguments in favor of crash taxes, I see more running against.

First of all, let’s start with who pays. In most cases your auto insurance is not going to pay for these crash taxes. That could leave you holding the bag and if you don’t pay you can damage your credit or possibly even face misdemeanor charges. If we do choose to have our insurance companies cover these costs, then the costs of insurance will go up and we will have just one more expense being paid by an entity with little control over the costs that go into this expense.

Another possible problem with this approach is that some people may become reluctant to call for emergency services if they know they will have to pay for them. This failure to call or even a delay in calling may cost us dearly in lives lost as well as property damaged, the latter especially in the case of chemical spills on our highways.

I also have a fundamental problem with this approach in that some cities are amending their program to only charge the out of state, at fault parties. While this is politically expedient for the local politicians, it has a ring of unfairness to it and leads to a lot of uncertainty for travelers as they leave their home territories.

Last of all, is the idea that local taxes already go to pay for these services and those are controlled, if distantly by the voters in that area. Why should they be charged again?

Currently, 10 states have banned crash taxes, so you can travel safely in them. They are: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Tennesee.

So, what should you do if you get billed for an accident response of some sort after an accident? First of all, contact your insurance agent and forward on the bill to determine if there will be coverage for the charges. Then get a copy of the police report detailing what medical assistance was actually provided. Last of all, if your insurance company declines to pay for these charges (and in most cases they will), check with an attorney to understand what criminal liability you may incur should you decide not to pay the bill yourself.

My sense is that crash taxes are generally going to be disliked by most of the public. This will probably mean that they don’t last long and of course if the economy gets better they should go away. A rising tide floats all boats after all. In the meantime, as you travel, be aware that this trend could catch you in its trap.

At Clinard Insurance Group in Winston Salem, NC, we work hard to help our clients become informed insurance consumers. Knowing about crash taxes before you get a bill in the mail is just one small example of our knowledge outreach program. If you need help with your NC auto insurance policy, your NC home insurance policy or even your personal umbrella or life insurance, please call us, toll free, at 877-687-7557 or visit us on the web at www.ClinardInsurance.com.

The source information for this article was pulled from articles which can be found in their entirety at www.insuranceanswerguy.com.

NC Negligence Laws May Change And The Result Will Be Higher Car Insurance Rates

The NC House is now considering a tort reform bill that could dramatically increase the amount you spend on your auto insurance policy as well as on your home insurance policy and business insurance policies. The reason this bill is so bad for your insurance rates is that it aims to change our current law of contributory negligence to one of comparative fault.

So what does this mean? Well, with our current laws, if you contribute in any way to the accident that causes damages, then you cannot recover these damages from the other party. Comparative fault permits a plaintiff to recover from a defendant if his negligence does not exceed that of the defendant. Now, if we adopt comparative negligence as our state law, then as you can imagine, more claims are going to have to be handled by the court systems because now we have to determine who had the most fault in any accident or event as opposed to saying both parties were somewhat at fault so everyone settles their own claim with their own insurance company. And as you can imagine, having all of these claims settled by our court system will slow down the claims and increase the costs of the claims. And you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that those costs are going to be passed down to the consumer.

Here are some of the findings by the IFNC (Insurance Federation of NC) regarding this bill.

It is estimated that this change in the law will increase auto insurance premiums by 3% to 16% right away. The long term increases in costs could dwarf these numbers.

81% of voters surveyed said that they are opposed to any legislation that increases their taxes or their household expenses.

69% of those polled said the trial attorneys would benefit if the law were changed.

$150 million annually will come out of consumers’ pockets if rates rise just 5% on auto insurance alone. But this change will increase the costs of all policies that have a liability insurance element. This includes homeowners insurance and business insurance policies.

A substantial majority of voters believe that under our current system our courts are open and fair for those who have been hurt in an accident or injured on the job.

Actuarial studies show that states with comparative fault systems have higher auto insurance rates than state that use contributory negligence.

Let’s face it, there are two industries that will make more money of this change goes through. One is trial attorneys and the other is insurance agents. That’s right, I would personally stand to gain from this decision but I still think it is the wrong decision and I urge you to take action to stop it. The appropriate step for you to take to oppose this legislation is to write to your State Senator and ask him or her to vote NO on House Bill 813. For more information or sample letters to send or email to your State Senator, visit Home | Insurance Federation of North Carolina.

At Clinard Insurance Group, in Winston Salem, NC, we want all of our clients to be informed insurance consumers. We want you to have the information you need to make wise decisions about how to protect your assets. If we can help you with your auto insurance, your home insurance, or even your business insurance or your life insurance, please call us toll free at 877-687-7557 or visit us on line at ClinardInsurance.com.

The source information for this article was drawn from information which can be found at www.InsuranceAnswerGuy.com.

New NC Auto Insurance Changes Could Trip Up Insurance Buyers

Effective 2/1/10, there are some little known statutory changes to the NC auto insurance policy that could trip up insurance buyers or even allow unscrupulous agents a way to sell you less coverage and pass it off as a better deal for you. Understanding the way the new law works and what it means for you is important to everyone who buys car insurance in the state of North Carolina.

The rule change has to do with uninsured and underinsured motorists coverage. You see, for many years now, the law has required you to purchase coverage limits for these coverages that are at least equal to your liability limits on your policy. So, for example, if you have liability limits for bodily injury of $100,000 per person, then if you purchase uninsured and underinsured motorists coverage, you would have to purchase at least $100,000 of bodily injury per person there as well.

What is important to recognize here is that over the past 2 decades, the cost of uninsured and underinsured motorists coverage has gone up several thousand percent. You can easily spend hundreds of dollars on these coverages alone. So now the law has changed and if you wish, you may carry lower limits on your uninsured and underinsured motorists than you do on your liability insurance. But really, it would rarely make any sense to do so. Consider that at any given time over 15% of all drivers on NC roads are uninsured and another large percentage is driving with the minimum allowable liability limits. And also consider that uninsured and underinsured motorists coverage is there to protect you from these people. Knowing all of this, I can’t see how it would ever make any sense to carry lower limits on your uninsured motorists coverage than you have on your liability coverage.

So I see two possible places that this change in the law could cause problems for people. The first case is the do it yourself insurance consumer. If you’ve read many of my blogs you will know that I never recommend a do it yourself approach to insurance, but there are places where you can purchase a car insurance policy without the help or advice of a professional. So these consumers are at risk for purchasing lower limits on their uninsured motorists coverage simply out of ignorance or because they think it saves them money.

The other possible problem would be if you had an unscrupulous agent quote your policy and that agent decides that he will just lower all of the uninsured and underinsured motorists limits on all quotes in order to have the lowest quote out there each time. This strategy would work for the agent since few people pay attention to the fine print. You would probably only discover what happened if you have an uninsured or an underinsured motorists loss. By then of course it would be too late.

There’s no question in my mind that almost everyone should have uninsured and underinsured motorists limits that are as high as their liability limits. The take away message for consumers is that they need to compare any auto insurance quotes carefully to make sure that they know exactly what they are buying.

At Clinard Insurance Group, in Winston Salem, NC, we work hard to help all of our clients become informed insurance buyers. If we can help you with your home insurance, your auto insurance, your business insurance or even your life insurance, please give us a call, toll free, at 877-687-7557 or visit us on the web at www.ClinardInsurance.com.

The source information for this article can be found at www.InsuranceAnswerGuy.com.

NC Auto Insurance – Your License Tag Is Your Reminder

It’s so easy to take a car off of your car insurance policy, just call your agent and tell them. And when you have signed your title over to the buyer, it seems like you are really finished with the process. But, a cautionary tale her can remind you that under no circumstances should you ever let the new buyer drive off with your tags still on that vehicle. It could ruin you financially.

In NC when you buy a car from someone, even though they have signed the title over to you, the state doesn’t recognize that transaction until the buyer registers the car. And the one thing that will force the new buyer to do this is if he or she doesn’t have any tags to put on the car. Here’s a story that drives this point home.

Someone I know, who was not one of our clients, sold one of his vehicle, a pickup truck, to a friend. He then called his agent and asked them to take the vehicle off of his policy. The buyer of the car drove off with his license plate on the vehicle and then they failed to go to the DMV to register the car in their name and get their own tags. They also failed to add this truck to their personal auto insurance policy. A few weeks later, they loaned the truck back to my friend as he had to pick up a large item from the store. On the way to the store, my friend had a terrible accident which resulted in nearly $100,000 of damages. In this case, he is driving a car, registered in his name, without insurance. But in his mind, he had sold it and he shouldn’t need insurance. As you can imagine, he was held accountable for all of the damages from this accident.

This is an odd story but the same result could have happened if the new buyer’s were driving and had an accident. The real key take away knowledge from this story is that you should never, ever let someone drive away with your tags on your vehicle. It leaves you exposed to losses you cannot control and could ruin you financially.

At Clinard Insurance Group, in Winston Salem, NC, we work hard to make sure that all of our clients are informed insurance consumers. If we can help you with your auto insurance, your home insurance, or even your business or life insurance, please call us, toll free at 877-687-7557 or visit us on the web at www.ClinardInsurance.com.

The source data for this blog was pulled from information which can be found at www.InsuranceAnswerGuy.com.

Teen Driver Insurance – Unraveling The Mysteries of The NC Teen Driver Insurance Rates

Most everyone with children is vaguely aware of it, when their teenagers get licensed, they are going to have to pay a lot more for their NC auto insurance policy. But just how much more and for how long remains a bit of a mystery for a lot of parents. While the ins and outs of getting the best teen driver insurance rates are too much to explore in this blog, I do want to help the reader understand exactly how the inexperienced operator surcharges apply to NC auto insurance policies. Read on to lift the veil of mystery on this issue.

We all know that young drivers have more accidents because they are just not experienced drivers. And as they gain experience, they become better drivers and less likely to be involved in an accident. Also, those teen drivers who have their own cars are also several times more likely to be involved in an accident with that vehicle. These two realities can go a long way toward explaining the rating system in NC for teen drivers.

The extra money that you will pay on your auto insurance policy for your teen driver is called the inexperienced operator surcharge. This surcharge has 6 categories and how much extra you will pay is determined by the category that your child falls into.

The first category asks the question of whether or not your child is a primary operator or an occasional operator of a vehicle. Primary operator simply means that your child is furnished a car of their own to drive. You don’t really have a choice about this as the insurance company will simply take the number of cars on your policy and the number of drivers on your policy and apply a driver to each car. If you have 3 cars and 3 drivers, well then you teen is going to listed as a primary operator. The surcharge for primary operators is about twice that of an occasional operator.

The second category that affects the amount of surcharge on your policy for your teen driver asks the question of how long your child has been licensed. The inexperienced operator surcharges last for 3 years and there are 3 categories, one for each year of driving experience. The NC auto insurance policy rules allow the insurance company to leave your child in their current experience level tier until the policy comes up for renewal. This generally has the effect of forcing you to pay for the surcharges longer than you need to for each tier. There is a way around this and it can save you quite a bit of money. To learn that trick read my blog about The IEO rate loophole.

At Clinard Insurance Group, in Winston Salem, NC, we want all of our clients to be informed insurance buyers. We specialize in helping families with teen drivers and as such, we have created several tools to help families deal with the safety and insurance issues associated with teen drivers. Visit our teen driver help page or call us, toll free, at 877-687-7557 for more help with your young drivers.

The source information for this article can be found at www.InsuranceAnswerGuy.com