If You Are A Landlord You Need To Make This Change To Your Home Insurance Policy

It’s amazing just how many people in this world are landlords of some type. And most of them are not really in the business of being landlords, they just happened on to it through inheritance, divorce or maybe even a chance investment. But very few occasional landlords have taken the time to cover a hidden liability exposure that comes along with the territory. And the saddest part of all is that the fix is so easy and affordable.

Part of the reason that the small time landlord leaves off this protection is that adding liability coverage for rental dwellings is deceptively easy. All you need to do is call you agent and tell them to add the liability coverage for your rental property to your home insurance policy. And this fix takes care of 95% of the risk. But the other 5% could ruin you.

What needs to be done is to add the personal injury endorsement to your homeowners policy. Many agents will forget this tidbit of knowledge, but the personal injury endorsement adds protection for some intentional or even unintentional acts that can get a landlord in trouble. The most likely of these is wrongful eviction, wrongful entry into or the invasion of the right of private occupancy of a room or dwelling occupied by a lessor. The standard homeowners policy does not include coverage for wrongful eviction and invasion of privacy and even if you extend the liability coverage of your homeowners policy to the location of your rental property, without this endorsement, you won’t have protection for these acts.

The good news is that you can add the personal injury endorsement to your policy by simply calling your agent. And the cost of this protection is rarely more than $25 per year in North Carolina. So if you are a home insurance, homeowners insurance, liability insurance for landlords, NC home insurance quotes online, Charlotte home insurance, Winston Salem home insurance landlord, by all means, call your agent and take care of this coverage gap today.

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

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

Construction Insurance in NC – small contractors, don’t forget your work comp insurance

I hear it so often with artisan contractors, they don’t think they need workers compensation insurance because they have too few employees or the general contractor that they work under provides that coverage. While these are reasons that allow them to legally avoid buying a policy, in both cases they leave the artisan contractor’s destiny in the hands of others and may ultimately cost the small contractor his or her business. Here’s the real scoop on workers compensation insurance in North Carolina for small contractors.

It doesn’t matter which area you work in, whether you are hunting for painter insurance, plumbing insurance, lawn care insurance, carpenter insurance, landscaping insurance, grading insurance or even insulation or flooring insurance, you really will do better to always purchase a work comp policy for your small contractor business. Let’s take a look at the three reasons people don’t purchase workers comp insurance for their small business.

Reason #1 - Less than 3 employees. While it is true that in North Carolina, if you have less than 3 employees, then the state will not require you to purchase a workers compensation insurance policy, what is seldom said in the next sentence is that whether or not you buy insurance, you are still on the hook for the claims. The workers compensation insurance policy was created as a compromise. Workers gave up their rights to sue their employers in most cases and the trade off for them was that employers agreed to pay the benefits associated with injuries and sicknesses on the job according to the statutory payouts required by each state. So, as the employer, you will have to pay for your employees job related injuries, sicknesses and time out of work in accordance with the NC workers compensation statutes. If they are permanently disabled or even out of work for several months, these costs could run into the tens of thousands and possibly close your business. Many small contractors are choosing not to buy workers compensation insurance based on their number of employees and this could have a devastating effect on their business.

Reason #2 - It costs too much. Let’s face it, workers comp insurance can be expensive. But if you have an agent that specializes in your type of business, then you will have a much better chance of getting your policy set up in a way that saves you the most money while still protecting you from financial ruin. And really while the short term costs may seem high what is your entire business worth?

Reason #3 - The general contractor covers it. While for some small contractors, this may be true, there are several reasons why this is a poor choice. First of all, if the general contractor were to go out of business, or let their insurance cancel through some error, then you are back on the hook and if the claim is large enough, then there goes your company. Also, if you do work not associated with that contractor then you are back to going bare. Secondly, most general contractors add a large premium to the rate that they are charged to carry you on their policy so you will probably find you are paying more than you should to be covered this way.

In almost every case, it is a better choice for small, artisan construction companies to purchase their own workers compensation insurance policy directly. The risks associated with going bare, or riding on the general contractor’s coat tails are just too high.

At Clinard Insurance Group in Winston Salem, NC, we specialize in helping small artisan contractors of all types with their insurance needs. We have special insurance programs designed for carpenters, carpet cleaners, concrete and masonry construction, electricians, flooring installation companies, grading and excavating contractors, guttering and siding installation companies, HVAC companies, landscapers and lawn maintenance companies, painters and plumbers. We work hard to help all of our clients become informed insurance buyers. If we can help you with your business insurance needs, please call us, toll free, at 877-687-7557 or visit us online at www.TheContractorsHelper.com.

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

Electrical Contractors – Don’t forget DOC coverage on your electrician insurance for your trucks

Most electricians did the basic set up work on their electrical contractors’ insurance years ago and few ever revisit the underlying structure of their insurance plan. As a result, there are electrical contractors out there, running around with a huge hole in their insurance policy protection. I call it the DOC trap and you can figure out if you are vulnerable to this problem by asking yourself a few easy questions.

First of all, to understand this problem, you have to understand that your electrician insurance policies cover the named insured on the policy. In many cases that is the name of your corporation or LLC, and if your personal name is not on your business auto insurance policy, then you can’t expect personal protection from that policy.

Here’s the problem. Let’s say you are at a party with a friend, who has had too much to drink. You kindly offer to drive him home but on the way home, you are involved in an accident that is your fault. For this example, let’s say the total damages, including injuries are $250,000. That’s not hard to do with medical costs the way they are these days. Now, if you have a personal auto policy in your name, then you will be protected for your liability in this accident as long as you have liability limits high enough to cover the losses. But suppose you don’t have a personal auto insurance policy because you just drive your company truck all the time. If your electrician auto insurance policy has your corporation as a named insured, then the basic policy will not give you any protection for this accident.

So what is the solution? It’s simple really; you should add DOC coverage to your commercial auto policy. DOC stands for drives other car coverage and this endorsement will add your name to the policy making you a named insured for this excess coverage. This endorsement usually costs less than $200 per year per person and is used to plug a dangerous hole in protection.

So to review, you should consider DOC coverage if the following statements are true.

1. Your electrician insurance policy on your trucks is in a business name and,

2. You don’t have a personal auto policy in your name

At Clinard Insurance Group, in Winston Salem, NC, we specialize in helping electrical contractors with their insurance needs. We want all of our clients to be informed insurance consumers so that they can make the right decisions for themselves and for their electrician business. If we can help you with your electrician workers compensation insurance, your electrician liability insurance, or any of your other electrical contractor insurance needs, please call us, toll free, at 877-687-7557 or visit us online at our electrical contractors insurance helper page.

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

Plumbers Here’s The Way To Increase Your Business Strategically

Every plumber worth his salt knows that the busiest repair days out there are the holidays. Thanksgiving Day, Christmas and the 4^th of July. Too many people sharing a house and flushing the same toilet over and over again can stress household plumbing systems to the breaking point. But only the savviest plumbers out there understand that this is a chance to increase their business for the rest of the year. Here’s a tip on how to turn these overworked holidays into big bucks for you all year around.

Let’s face it, most homeowners don’t really have a go to plumber until they have a plumbing emergency. Then they call a friend or go looking. If the plumber that they find does a good job for them, well they have your card and your number and they never need to hunt down a plumber again. They have you. But if you miss that opportunity, then you will never get a shot at their business. So how do you use that information and the insider knowledge you have about the busiest plumbing days of the year to your advantage? Here’s how.

First of all, understand that very few people look in the yellow pages any more. They just go to google. Now you can work hard all year around to build up your ranking on google but there are two problems with that approach. First of all, search engine optimization isn’t geographically specific. Second of all, it is hard and takes a long time. But there is a way to get to the top of the search engine world immediately. That is called pay per click advertising. And with your knowledge of just when people will need you, you can bid high on just those days. You can set up your pay per click, called ppc, account so that you bid very high only on the days that people will be looking and desperate. You can also limit who will see your ad to the geographic territory in which you are willing to operate on the holiday. This will put you at the top of the list for the search terms you think are most likely to be used, such as: plumber Raleigh, N.C., or other terms you deem to be most likely to be searched. Also, always put your phone number in the ppc ad. Some people will click through to your site but if you have an ad that tells them you are available on holidays and just call this number, then you can save the click through cost of the ad because some percentage of searchers will just pick up the phone and call you.

Now you are buying the business here just a bit, but you will be able to charge them holiday rates. Let’s face it if you have 25 people in your house and a plumbing leak that is shutting down the party, you don’t care what the plumber charges, you need a solution and fast. Also, if you handle this correctly, you will have made a client for life. And they will have other plumbing repair needs in the future.

Now, last of all, if you have to pay your employees time and a half, or double time to work on holidays, then you need to know one last trick to save you money. Your NC plumbers workers compensation insurance policy does not require you to include the extra holiday pay in the payroll that you declare at audit. So keep good records on your overtime and holiday pay so you don’t pay to much for your workers compensation or your plumbers liability insurance policies, both of which are rated based on payroll.

At Clinard Insurance Group in Winston Salem, NC, we work hard to help all of our clients become informed insurance consumers. We also want all of our commercial insurance clients to be successful businesses. We specialize in the insurance needs of plumbing contractors and work hard to help all of our plumbing company clients become successful. If we can help you with your plumbing insurance needs, please feel free to call us, toll free, at 877-687-7557 or visit us online at the plumbing insurance headquarters.

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

NC Landscapers Insurance – The Bond Is Coming, Now Is The Time To Get Your Ducks In A Row

North Carolina landscaping companies dodged a bullet this year when the general assembly put off the requirement for a surety bond to go with the upcoming landscaper contractors license requirements. But that bullet is going back into the gun for next year and now is the time to take a few simple steps to make sure that you don’t get run out of business in early 2011 because of a regulatory hurdle.

North Carolina Landscaping companies have plenty to worry about in terms of their landscaping insurance needs. They need landscape liability insurance, landscape workers compensation insurance as well as coverage on their trucks and their equipment. But the thing that could bring down the house and close their doors is really the cheapest and least expensive. A landscapers surety bond. And it looks like every NC landscaper will have to have one by January 2011 if current expectations play out. This bond will not be expensive, in fact it should cost no more than $100 per year. But if you are not eligible to get the bond, then you might find yourself unable to operate as a business.

I watched this process play out in NC in 2009 with the newly required irrigation contractors license bond. This bond is required for any firm wishing to use the word irrigation in their name or wishing to perform irrigation installation, repairs or maintenance. In the beginning this bond was relatively easy to obtain, but over time became more and more difficult. In fact, some firms are being put out of business right now because of their inability to obtain this bond. So what lessons can we learn from that process to protect and prepare landscapers for the next bond requirement.

There are several lessons here. The first lesson is to act fast. As soon as you know that the bond is required, get on board and apply for your bond. With the irrigation license bond, we were able to issue about 30 of them in the first month before the bonding companies decided that they needed to order a credit report on the irrigation companies. If you are a landscaping company with marginal credit, you should act quickly when the bond requirement is announced and perhaps you can get your bond issued before the bonding companies realize how many they will be issuing and start asking for credit reports.

Secondly, understand that poor credit will give you trouble with your bond, so work now to clear up any credit problems that you have. Pay off those debts and if you can avoid it, don’t file bankruptcy. Bankruptcy made getting the irrigation bond impossible for some and now has shut down their company. Don’t let that happen to you.

At Clinard Insurance Group, in Winston Salem, NC we specialize in helping landscapers all over NC with their insurance policies. If we can help you, or if you have any insurance questions on which you would like a second opinion, please call us, toll free at 877-687-7557 or visit our landscaper’s web page.

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

First Accident Forgiveness - For North Carolina Auto Insurance This Is The Law, Not A Special Policy Feature

You hear it on the television commercials, how this company or that company will forgive your first accident and not charge you extra for it. But the fine print is hard to read and flies by your screen far too quickly. What they don’t tell you is that every North Carolina auto insurance policy offers you first accident forgiveness. What they also don’t tell you is that this rule is full of clauses that can put the charges back on your policy later. So here’s the truth about first accident forgiveness.

All North Carolina personal auto insurance policies are governed by the same policy form. Part of this policy form and its rules cover exactly when the insurance company can surcharge your policy with extra charges for past or current accidents and moving violations. One of these sections discusses what is called a non-chargeable accident.

Anytime you have an at fault accident or a moving violation, insurance points can be added to your policy. These points remain on your policy for 3 years and they generate additional charges to your policy. This of course is an attempt to raise the rates for risky drivers while keeping them as low as possible for safer drivers. When you have an accident that is your fault, there are a few exceptions that allow you to avoid the associated insurance points. This is the first accident forgiveness section and these are the rules:

If the accident is your fault and the total damages are under $1800 then it might be a non-chargeable accident. The next requirement is that the accident caused property damages only, in other words, no one was injured. Some minor bodily injury charges are allowed, such as an ambulance bill and doctor checkup but only if the result is that no one was actually hurt. The last requirement is that no drivers on the policy have a chargeable accident or ticket in the past 3 years.

Now if all of the above conditions are met, then you should receive no additional charges on your policy for that accident. But there is one additional caveat. If in the three year period following this non-chargeable accident, you or any other driver in your household has an at fault accident of any kind, or a moving violation, then the old accident becomes a chargeable accident and the points associated with that accident are now added to your policy for the remainder of their 3 year term.

So, now you have a better understanding of that fine print that flies by your screen during commercials. Just know that some companies have chosen to use a policy provision to which you are entitled and dressed it up as a special feature that they offer you. It’s a marketing gimmick and nothing more. Don’t bite on that hook for that bait.

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

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

When It Comes To Insurance Policies, You Need The Middleman

The old saying, cut out the middleman, might seem at first blush to apply to insurance buying, but a second look will prove that you not only need a middleman, you need an independent middleman. The middleman will not cost you money here, it will actually save you money, not only on your insurance purchase, but even more so if you experience a claim. Read on to find out exactly why.

First of all, let me say that when I discuss the middleman in an insurance policy purchase, I am talking about a truly independent middleman, in this case an independent insurance agent who can represent your needs and protect your rights. Direct writer insurance agencies that represent only one company are not independent enough to save you from yourself. In addition, if you purchase insurance from an 800 phone number or a company that has you quote your own policy online, you are not going to cut out the middleman cost, you will only be cutting out the service. This is true no matter if you are purchasing an auto insurance policy, a home insurance policy or even a business insurance policy.

There are two ways that an independent middleman can help you and in both cases, the middleman does not raise the cost of the insurance. That’s evident when you compare the rates of direct writing insurance companies against those offered by independent insurance agencies.

The first way that you will be better served by a middleman is in the purchasing process. Let’s face it, insurance is a complicated legal contract, designed to protect you from certain types of financial ruin. Buying insurance is not like buying a head of cabbage at the grocery store. Each person’s situation and insurance needs are different and if you don’t have the help of someone who understands the contract intimately, who is there to help you figure out your specific needs, then chances are you will make a mistake somewhere. And the mistake could cost you everything you have worked so hard for. This is a corner you just don’t want to cut.

The second way an independent middleman can protect you is as a buffer between you and the insurance company when it comes to claims questions or claims help. Let me give you an example. Recently a friend of mine came to me and asked for help with her homeowners insurance rates. As I began to work out her needs with her and develop quotes, we found that she had several water damage losses listed in the public record as losses. She complained that she never received any claim payment and so they shouldn’t even show up. She just called her agent to ask if the water damage would be covered. In both cases it wasn’t. But the problem is that her agent was not an independent agent. He represented only one company and as such was an employee of the company. When she called to ask if the water damage was covered, he was compelled to advise his company of this event and this information was entered into her loss file as well as into the shared loss information called a CLUE report.

These water damage losses on her CLUE report made her house uninsurable for all of the companies that we represented and her current insurance company was able to keep increasing her rates every year since she had no option to go anywhere else for her homeowners insurance. But that is not the end of it. When she went to sell her home, the realtor who represented the buyer discovered the clue report information and she was required to implement costly mold eradication procedures in order to sell her home. If she had been our client, and called about the water damage to her home, our independence would have allowed us to tell her that the claim wasn’t covered and that she shouldn’t file the claim because of the other costs she might incur in doing so. In this case, her lack of a truly independent middleman cost her money not only on her home and auto insurance policies, but also when she decided to sell her home.

Remember, with insurance a middleman will not cost you money, an independent middleman will actually save you money. At Clinard Insurance Group, in Winston Salem, NC, we are an independent middleman for our clients and we add value to their insurance buying experiences every day. If we can help you with your homeowners insurance policy, your auto insurance policy, your life insurance policy, or any of your business insurance needs, please call us toll free at 877-687-7557 or visit us online at www.ClinardInsurance.com.

The source information for this article was pulled from articles which can be found at www.TheInsuranceAnswerGuy.com

When It Comes To Insurance Policies, You Need The Middleman

The old saying, cut out the middleman, might seem at first blush to apply to insurance buying, but a second look will prove that you not only need a middleman, you need an independent middleman. The middleman will not cost you money here, it will actually save you money, not only on your insurance purchase, but even more so if you experience a claim. Read on to find out exactly why.

First of all, let me say that when I discuss the middleman in an insurance policy purchase, I am talking about a truly independent middleman, in this case an independent insurance agent who can represent your needs and protect your rights. Direct writer insurance agencies that represent only one company are not independent enough to save you from yourself. In addition, if you purchase insurance from an 800 phone number or a company that has you quote your own policy online, you are not going to cut out the middleman cost, you will only be cutting out the service. This is true no matter if you are purchasing an auto insurance policy, a home insurance policy or even a business insurance policy.

There are two ways that an independent middleman can help you and in both cases, the middleman does not raise the cost of the insurance. That’s evident when you compare the rates of direct writing insurance companies against those offered by independent insurance agencies.

The first way that you will be better served by a middleman is in the purchasing process. Let’s face it, insurance is a complicated legal contract, designed to protect you from certain types of financial ruin. Buying insurance is not like buying a head of cabbage at the grocery store. Each person’s situation and insurance needs are different and if you don’t have the help of someone who understands the contract intimately, who is there to help you figure out your specific needs, then chances are you will make a mistake somewhere. And the mistake could cost you everything you have worked so hard for. This is a corner you just don’t want to cut.

The second way an independent middleman can protect you is as a buffer between you and the insurance company when it comes to claims questions or claims help. Let me give you an example. Recently a friend of mine came to me and asked for help with her homeowners insurance rates. As I began to work out her needs with her and develop quotes, we found that she had several water damage losses listed in the public record as losses. She complained that she never received any claim payment and so they shouldn’t even show up. She just called her agent to ask if the water damage would be covered. In both cases it wasn’t. But the problem is that her agent was not an independent agent. He represented only one company and as such was an employee of the company. When she called to ask if the water damage was covered, he was compelled to advise his company of this event and this information was entered into her loss file as well as into the shared loss information called a CLUE report.

These water damage losses on her CLUE report made her house uninsurable for all of the companies that we represented and her current insurance company was able to keep increasing her rates every year since she had no option to go anywhere else for her homeowners insurance. But that is not the end of it. When she went to sell her home, the realtor who represented the buyer discovered the clue report information and she was required to implement costly mold eradication procedures in order to sell her home. If she had been our client, and called about the water damage to her home, our independence would have allowed us to tell her that the claim wasn’t covered and that she shouldn’t file the claim because of the other costs she might incur in doing so. In this case, her lack of a truly independent middleman cost her money not only on her home and auto insurance policies, but also when she decided to sell her home.

Remember, with insurance a middleman will not cost you money, an independent middleman will actually save you money. At Clinard Insurance Group, in Winston Salem, NC, we are an independent middleman for our clients and we add value to their insurance buying experiences every day. If we can help you with your homeowners insurance policy, your auto insurance policy, your life insurance policy, or any of your business insurance needs, please call us toll free at 877-687-7557 or visit us online at www.ClinardInsurance.com.

The source information for this article was pulled from articles which can be found at www.TheInsuranceAnswerGuy.com

NC Homeowners Insurance Rates Are Changing - Here Are Tips For Getting The Best Quotes

The North Carolina Homeowners Insurance market has undergone wild gyrations this year as insurance company rate makers have tried to react and prepare for regulatory changes with the NC Beach Plan. The uncertainty of the legislatures actions and the slow motion change of the rate bureau in North Carolina have led to some crazy rate changes for homeowners policies in North Carolina. As a consumer, you want to tread carefully before switching companies.

For those NC homeowners who watch the bottom line costs of their home insurance policy, 2009 might have held some real sticker shock surprises. As our fragile Beach Plan Insurance Program threatened to take down the entire system of home insurance in North Carolina, the insurance companies reacted with rule changes, rate changes and the dreaded consent to rate forms. It’s enough to make my head spin, little wonder that it has caused great confusion for the insurance consumer.

If you are thinking of shopping for a better rate on your homeowners insurance policy, here are a few tips that you might want to consider:

First of all, if you are thinking of getting a NC homeowners insurance quote online, be careful. Insurance is a complicated contract and there is a reason that agents are heavily regulated and must be licensed by the state. Don’t put your largest assets at risk in a do it yourself disaster. I suggest that looking for a knowledgeable agent on line is a good idea, but trying to rate and issue the policy yourself is at best ignorant and at worst financial suicide.

Secondly, take a good look at the covered value of your home on your current policy. Make sure that this number makes sense in the context of what it would take to rebuild your home at today’s prices. Many people simply ask for a quote that matches their current coverage amount with questioning if that is the correct coverage limit for them.

Third, don’t forget to carry the highest liability limits that you can afford. Liability coverage is truly protecting you for the unknown and possibly unlimited loss. It is cheap protection and it makes no sense to skimp pennies here.

Fourth, if you have unusual valuable items like musical instruments, stamp or coin collections for jewelry, you should consider having it scheduled for an agreed amount on your policy.

Fifth, you will always save money on both your home and your auto policy if you combine them with the same insurance company. There are times when you may not be able to do this due to prior losses or a specialized need on one policy or the other, but those cases are rare.

Last of all, I would recommend that you use an independent agent to help you with your homeowners insurance quote. An independent agent represents many different companies and can help you find the company that is really targeting your type of home, not only from a pricing standpoint but from an underwriting rules standpoint.

At Clinard Insurance Group in Winston Salem, NC, we want all insurance consumers to be educated consumers. If you need help with your NC homeowners insurance policy, please feel free to call us, toll free, at 877-687-7557.

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

Parents of Teen Drivers, What Is A DL 123 Form and Why Do You Need It?

In North Carolina, all drivers must provide proof of insurance in order to obtain a drivers license. This rule is designed to reduce the number of uninsured drivers out there on our roads and highways. The cross check mechanism for maintaining this rule is the DL 123 form and if you have a teen driver who is eligible to get his or her license, then you will need this form.

When you take you teenager in to the DMV to take the road test to get his or her license, one of the things you must have with you is a signed DL 123 form. This form will state your child’s full name and date of birth and will show your insurance company name and your policy number. Requiring this form is the way that the DMV makes sure that your child will be an insured driver when he or she leaves the DMV offices with that shiny new driver’s license. When you request this form from your insurance agent, they will set up the file to add your child as a driver to your policy as soon as you have your child’s new drivers license number.

Of course adding a teen driver to your North Carolina auto policy will mean a drastic increase in the cost of the policy. That’s because young drivers are inherently more dangerous and cause accidents more frequently with higher severity. Some people can be quite creative in trying to find ways around adding their child to their policy. The DL 123 form is designed to combat that behavior. And let’s face it, if you are paying the full freight for your teen driver on your policy, you should want everyone else to do it as well or else you will be subsidizing those that don’t.

At Clinard Insurance Group, in Winston Salem, NC, we work hard to help our clients be informed insurance consumers. If you need help with your teen driver insurance or safety questions or if you would like help with your auto insurance or your home insurance or your business insurance policy, 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 other articles and information which can be found at www.InsuranceAnswerGuy.com.

Construction and Building Contractors – How should you define an Independent Contractor?

It’s really the nature of the business in construction. Whether you are a brick mason, a carpenter, a painter, a plumber, or even a landscaper, from time to time you will find yourself in the position of needing to hire a subcontractor. But how you define an independent contractor and the way the law and the insurance industry define this term might be very different. It is important for you to get this right, not only for your workers compensation and general liability insurance, but also for the protection of your business and perhaps your personal assets. And here is a clue – you don’t get yourself off the hook simply by providing a 1099 instead of a W2.

It is very important that you handle the interaction of your general liability insurance policy and your workers compensation insurance policy with your subcontractors. I have covered strategies of this type in previous blogs, whether it be the impact on your insurance audits, or the increased risks that subcontractors add to your business. This article is not intended to tackle those areas. Instead, here I want to really focus on the definition of an independent contractor so that you don’t make the mistake of treating an employee as an independent contractor and increase your business risks as a result.

While there is no clear basis for making the determination of who is an employee and who is an independent contractor in the eyes of the law, here are a few relevant factors that you should consider.

Who sets the hours of work? If the employer does, then it is more likely that the worker will be determined to be an employee. Does the employer provide training for the job? If so, this points more to an employer/employee relationship. Is the worker paid by the job, or paid by the hour. Hourly workers are much more likely to be viewed as employees. Can the person work for more than one firm at a time? If not, perhaps they are really an employee. Who furnishes the tools or materials needed for the job? If it is your company, then you may be dealing with an employee, rather than an independent contractor. Is the work part of the regular business of the employer? This one seems a bit vague but if you are hiring people to do the regular and usual work of your company, then they are most likely employees.

At Clinard Insurance Group, in Winston Salem, NC, we specialize in helping all types of construction contractors with their general liability insurance, workers compensation insurance and all other business insurance needs. We want our contractors to be informed consumer and help them run their business using best practices that help reduce risks to their assets. If you are in the construction business and would like help with your business insurance needs, please visit us on the web at www.TheContractorsHelper.com, or call us, toll free at 877-687-7557.

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

Used Car Dealers Insurance – Don’t forget your DOC protection

Used car dealers insurance is a specialized coverage and few agents understand it. So how many used car dealers are getting it wrong when it comes to drives other car coverage? The answer is most all of them. If you are a used car dealer and you operate as a corporation, partnership or LLC, you might be leaving yourself open to a huge exposure if you haven’t tackled the drives other car coverage.

Drives other car coverage is simply an endorsement that you can add to your garage liability policy to extend coverage for you individually to the cars that you may drive that you don’t own or that you rent. Almost every personal auto policy in almost every state provides this protection automatically. And the garage policy does as well if you have symbol 21 on that policy. For more information about the garage symbols and what they means, click here.

So what is the problem? The problem is that this protection for hired and non owned vehicles is extended to the named insured, not the driver. So, if your dealers insurance policy is written in the name of your corporation, or your LLC or partnership, then this coverage is only extended to that entity and not to you as an individual. Perhaps an example will help explain the real risk and pull back the veil a bit on this DOC mystery.

Let’s say you are a used car dealer and your garage insurance policy is written in the name of your corporation, Joe’ Used Car, Inc. Because you always drive a car with the dealer tag on it, you don’t worry about purchasing a personal auto insurance policy. Now, let’s say one day you need to borrow your neighbor’s car and while doing so you are involved in an accident that is your fault. Assume the costs of this accident are $100,000 and your neighbor only carries $50,000 coverage on his personal auto insurance policy. Now if you had your own personal auto insurance policy then that policy would step up and provide the excess coverage of $50,000 that you need personally for this accident. And, your garage policy will do this also, but, only in regards to protecting the named insured on that garage policy which is Joe’s Used Cars, Inc, not you.

This scenario gets even worse if your neighbor had let his auto insurance lapse because he forgot to pay his bill. Now you are on the hook for the full $100,000. And that would be a very nasty surprise for you.

So what is the solution? Well, you can purchase DOC coverage. DOC stands for Drives Other Cars. This will name you as the individual protected by this endorsement and will extend the coverage of your garage insurance to you individually for cars that you drive that you do not own or that you rent. Now, the odds of needing this protection are in some ways, admittedly long odds. But the cost of the protection is pretty low and the uncovered loss could be enough to bankrupt you. So, if you don’t have a personal auto policy in your name, and your garage policy is in a business name, take a moment to check your policy to be sure that you have purchased DOC protection.

At Clinard Insurance Group in Winston Salem, NC, we specialize in helping used car dealers in NC, SC, GA, VA and TN. We want all of our dealers to be informed consumers. If you need help with your used car dealers insurance, or if you just want to speak with an agent that specializes in your business, please give us a call, toll free, at 877-687-7557 or visit us on the web at www.TheAutoDealersHelper.com.

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

North Carolina Auto Insurance Policyholders – Your Adult Children Should Not Be Driving Your Cars

With the North Carolina auto insurance policy there is a relatively unknown loophole that could cost you or your adult child a lot of money. This loophole is triggered if they are driving a car you own and insure but they don’t live with you. The solution to avoid this coverage gap is pretty simple but most people just aren’t aware that they have this problem in the first place.

First of all, let me cover the exact situation that can trigger this coverage gap, then I will explain the gap itself and give you a solution. You will run into this gap in protection if you have a child who is over 23 years old and lives outside of your home but is still driving a car that is title in your name. This happens so often as we help our kids out with a car and then want to keep helping them by keeping the car on our insurance policy to pay the insurance costs on the vehicle. But this type of kindness is very dangerous. I will explain.

The problem is not that your child won’t have protection driving his or her car that you insure on your auto insurance policy. Not at all. After all, you have insurance protection for that car spelled out on your policy. The problem occurs when your child is driving a friend’s car and gets into an accident. You see, since your child is an adult, living outside of your residence, he or she will have no excess protection for cars that aren’t listed on your policy. So, assume your adult daughter is driving her friend’s car and has a bad accident where she is at fault. Her friend’s auto insurance policy will pay the claim but her insurance company can then subrogate against your daughter for those losses. Normally, your daughter could just have your insurance company pay for the losses, but since she is not a resident of your household and is over 23 years old, she will not have this protection. And this could be a very expensive mistake.

So what is the easy solution? Well, you should retitle the car into your child’s name, and have him or her purchase a personal auto policy in his or her name. This will give them the excess coverage protection needed when he or she drives someone else’s vehicle.

At Clinard Insurance Group in Winston Salem, NC, we want all of our clients to be well informed insurance consumers. If we can help you with your auto insurance, home insurance or your business or life insurance needs, please call us, toll free, at 877-687-7557, or visit us online at www.ClinardInsurance.com.

The source material for this article was drawn from articles originally posted at www.InsuranceAnswerGuy.com.

North Carolina Used Car Dealers – The Garage Insurance Policy That You Started With May Not Be The Right One Today.

North Carolina used car dealers insurance starts with the garage insurance policy. Many new start ups find their way to an agent who is able to help them set up their garage policy and the begin selling cars. And for many used car dealers, they just pay their renewal premiums each year without realizing that time is on their side. You see, because of a law in North Carolina that requires insurance companies to offer you a policy when you ask for a quote, there is a two tiered system of policies in North Carolina. If you haven’t checked lately, you might be in the high risk rate class and not even realize that you are paying too much for your garage liability dealers insurance policy.

Since NC is a mandatory insurance state, all dealers who ask for an auto insurance quote must be offered coverage. For this reason, most insurance companies can write a dealers policy but if they don’t specialize in used car dealers insurance, they will simply place your garage insurance policy through the state reinsurance facility. This means you will have to pay the highest possible rate and you will face limited choices on how much liability insurance you can purchase. And last of all, this market of last resort doesn’t offer you any dealers open lot coverage so you won’t be able to purchase comprehensive and collision insurance on your inventory.

Even insurance companies who specialize in used car dealers insurance in North Carolina may still place your policy in the higher rated North Carolina reinsurance facility. Why would they do this? Well there are several reasons and the reasons certainly change over time. As I write this we are seeing many dealers forced to offer buy here, pay here financing in order to sell their cars. The insurance companies don’t like this as it increases the chances that the dealer will be involved in repossessing a vehicle and the claims and losses that might be associated with that activity. So, since they have to offer insurance at some price to those that call, guess what, if you do buy here, pay here financing, you may find yourself in the NC reinsurance facility.

Another reason dealers end up in the facility pool with its higher rates is that they simply have not been in business long enough to develop a track record that helps the insurance company feel comfortable with their business practices. Some companies require as much as 3 years experience before they will move a dealer into their preferred rates policy. I have also seen this problem apply to dealers who wholesale vehicles and never take title to or possession of the vehicles they are selling.

If you are a dealer who used to do on site financing, wholesale, or if you simply bought your current policy when you had less than 3 years in business, there is a good chance that you might now qualify for better coverage at lower rates. You might not be able to find these preferred policies from your current agent though. The reason for this is that insurance for used car dealers is a specialty market and most agents just don’t have access to the preferred policies for used car dealers.

At Clinard Insurance Group in Winston Salem, NC, we specialize in used car dealers and we insure over 300 dealerships across 5 different states. If we can help you with an insurance second opinion on your garage insurance, or if you would like for us to give you a quote on your dealership insurance, please call us, toll free at 877-687-7557 or visit us on the web at www.TheAutoDealersHelper.com

The source information for this article can be found among the many articles at www.InsuranceAnswerGuy.com.

Renting A Car? Your NC Auto Insurance Policy Could Leave You With A Huge Bill

North Carolina Auto Insurance Companies have some protection available for people who rent cars when they travel but even the broadest protections offered don’t protect you against all the losses you are signing up for when you sign your name on the rental contract. Here are three big risk scenarios that you need to be aware of before you sign the rental agreement.

While your NC auto insurance policy will provide you with protection against losses to rental vehicles as long as you have collision and comprehensive coverage on at least one care on your policy, the truth is that this is not the entire picture. The differences in the rental car contracts from the different rental companies may leave you responsible for some losses that your insurance policy doesn’t cover. And in at least 2 of the 3 risk areas, you probably will not be able to find any coverage for this exposure at all. So, what are these gaps in insurance protection?

The first gap area deals with loss of use losses. If you wreck a rental and the rental car company chooses to repair the vehicle, then your contract with them will generally hold you responsible for the loss of rental income on that car until it is fully operational again. This can run into quite a bit of money but the good news is that most NC auto insurance policies have an endorsement that you can add to your policy for a couple dollars a year to provide you with this coverage. You can read more about loss of use coverage for rental cars by clicking here.

The second gap area comes into play if your contract with the car rental agency says that they can choose to replace the car, rather than repair it and you are responsible for all of these costs. The problem here is that your North Carolina auto insurance policy will only pay for the cost to repair the vehicle. If the car was worth $20,000 when you rented it, and after you damaged it, it is worth $8000 and the cost to repair it is $4000, then you will be out another $8,000 after the rental company replaces it and deducts the salvage value of $8000. This is because your car insurance policy will only pay the $4000 to repair the vehicle. As of this time, I know of no insurance company that has protection for this gap in coverage.

The third gap area is called the diminished value gap. This happens when the rental contract specifies that after you cause damage to the car, then you are responsible for the perceived diminished value of the vehicle after it has been repaired. Let’s take the previous example. The car was worth $20,000 and you caused an accident with it that will cost $4000 to repair. Now after the repairs are completed, the car rental company declares the diminished value of the vehicle to be $17,000 because it is now a previously wrecked car. Your NC auto insurance policy will pay the $4,000 to repair the vehicle but the additional $3,000 for diminished value will be your responsibility. In some states, you can purchase coverage for diminished value losses but in North Carolina at this time I am unaware of an insurance company offering this protection.

Taking a trip with the family and renting a car is supposed to be a fun and exciting time. I do want you to enjoy your trips but it is important that you be aware of the limitations of your auto insurance policy for protecting you. At Clinard Insurance Group in Winston Salem, NC, we want all of our policyholders to be informed consumers. If you have any questions about car rental coverage, or if you need any help with your auto insurance or your home insurance, please call us, toll free at 877-687-7557 or visit us online at www.ClinardInsurance.com.

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

Used Car Dealers – Has Your Peak Season Been Left Out Of Your Garage Insurance Policy?

In many retail businesses there is a peak season where inventory runs higher than the rest of the year. For most retail establishments, this ocurs the months leading up to the Christmas holiday shopping season. And most insurance policies for retail businesses have a way to account for this fluctuation in inventory. The dealer’s garage policy does not, but there is a way that used car dealers can protect themselves from this hidden monster without paying an arm and a leg to do it.

The first step is to analyze your dealership to understand if you have a peak season. I have found that most used car dealerships do have a peak season and this season generally runs from February to May. This is the time when income tax refunds are arriving in mailboxes and people go out and buy cars with the new found money. Next, take a close look at how you plan for and deal with this higher sales season. Do you purchase more cars and build up your inventory? If so, when do you start? When does your inventory get back to lower levels?

There are 3 ways to deal with this inventory fluctuation from an insurance standpoint.

The first way is to simply ignore it. This may seem like the least expensive approach at first unless you have a large loss to your lot, such as fire or hailstorm and you discover that you are underinsured without enough insurance to cover all of your damaged inventory.

The second way to handle this inventory fluctuation is to increase the limit on your dealers open lot coverage to the amount that represents your highest inventory level at any time during the year. This is certainly better than ignoring the issue altogether, but why pay for $100,000 of dealers open lot coverage if for most of the year you only need $50,000?

The third way is one that I see very few dealers take advantage of, yet it is the easiest and least expensive approach. Just call your agent when your inventory increases in February or January and raise the limit on your dealer’s open lot coverage. Then, when your inventory has dropped down in late May, give another call to your agent and have them drop your limits back down. It’s easy, simple and it affords you the coverage you need without over paying for insurance the rest of the year. Why more dealers don’t pay attention must only be because they don’t know that this is an option available to them.

At Clinard Insurance Group in Winston Salem, NC, we specialize in helping used car dealers all across North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia with their garage insurance policies. If we can be of help to you with advice or answers to your questions, or if you just want to find out how to get the best policy for the least amount of cash, please call us, toll free, at 877-687-7557 or visit us on the web at www.TheAutoDealersHelper.com.

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

The Consent To Rate Form - In North Carolina This Is A Big Red Flag

More and more insurance companies are sending out a consent to rate letter, also called a consent to rate form to their North Carolina Auto Insurance and North Carolina Homeowners Insurance policyholders. The letter may seem like harmless little form that you sign and return but it isn’t. In fact it should be a big red warning flag to you about your insurance company and your status with them. Alarm bells should be going off in your head and there are a few things you will want to understand before you sign anything.

To understand what a consent to rate letter is and how it works, you must first understand a little bit about how auto insurance and home insurance rates are established in North Carolina. You see, all rates for these policies have to be approved by the NC Insurance Commissioners office. In most all cases, the Insurance Commissioner sets the maximum rates allowed for a North Carolina auto insurance policy and a North Carolina home insurance policy. The various insurance companies then create their own many rate tiers for their policies by deviating, or reducing their rates to something below the maximum allowed rate which is often referred to as the state rate.

What a consent to rate letter does is ask you to give the insurance company permission to charge you rates on your policy that exceed the state maximums. When you sign and return this letter you are essentially giving your ok to be charged rates higher than those established by your insurance commissioner.

Why would the insurance company want to charge you rates above those allowed by the commissioner’s office? Well there are really only two reasons. One is a macro reason and the other is micro in nature. Let me explain.

The macro reason means that the company is doing this for either all or many of its clients. We are seeing this with the North Carolina Homeowners policies from some companies who have too much exposure to possible storm assessments as a result of the beach plan insurance crisis. To read my latest blog about that, please click here.

The micro reason would be that the insurance company has singled you out as a client that they find too risky to insure at their usual rates. Before they can accept you as a customer and issue your policy, they have to know that they can charge you more than the state maximum rates.

Either way, a consent to rate letter is bad news for you as a customer of that insurance company. It implies that either your company is having some difficulties or that you are a bad risk. The implications for you are that you may be seeking insurance from the wrong company. You may not be a good fit for that company for a whole host of reasons. With so many other insurance companies out there, all fighting for your business, your best course of action may be to seek insurance elsewhere.

Before you sign and return any consent to rate letter, you should get an informed second opinion. At Clinard Insurance Group in Winston Salem, NC, we work hard to make sure that our clients and friends are well informed insurance consumers. We can help you better understand what that consent to rate letter means for you. Call us, toll free at 877-687-7557 for any help you may need with your North Carolina auto insurance, home insurance, umbrella insurance or even life insurance. We can give you an informed second opinion on your insurance questions.

The source material for this article was drawn from information found at www.insuranceanswerguy.com.

Rental Car Loss of Use Coverage - Does your North Carolina Auto Insurance Policy Have This Protection?

If you occasionally rent cars for pleasure use, or even to use while your primary car is being repaired, then you have probably wondered about how your auto insurance policy will work with the rental car. At Clinard Insurance Group, in Winston Salem, NC, we get questions about rental car coverage all the time. But almost no one asks about loss of use coverage. And this can be a big, uncovered loss for you if you don’t take the right steps to protect yourself.

I will save the discussion of how your NC auto insurance policy responds to protecting you from losses in a rental car for another blog. In this discussion I want to tell you about a rental car coverage that is almost always overlooked but that has the potential to take a big bite out of your wallet. This is called loss of use coverage.

Loss of use addresses the issue that arises when you cause damage to a rental car that you are driving. As soon as that car is damaged and has to be put into the shop for repairs, the rental car company begins losing money on that car. If they cannot rent it each day, then they have losses associated with that loss of use of their car. If you’ve ever rented a car you know how expensive it can be on a daily basis. Now imagine that it takes the car rental company 3 – 4 weeks to put that car back in service after you have damaged it. They have to go through the claims process with their insurance company, track you down for a statement, appraise the damages and then get it in the shop. The shop has to order parts, wait on parts, and then repair the vehicle. All of this takes time. And while that clock is ticking, you will be on the hook for the lost rents on that car. It can easily run into the thousands of dollars.

Now I know that for some people a several thousand dollar claim may not seem to be a high enough exposure to warrant purchasing insurance. But in this case, the insurance coverage is so cheap that you would be crazy not to buy it. In North Carolina you can add rental car loss of use coverage to your auto policy for $4 per year. If you ever rent cars, this is a coverage you should not do without.

So, take a moment and call your insurance agent today and add this coverage. It could save you a huge bite in your wallet. If you want to know more about this or other protections that are available to car rental customers like you, then please feel free to call our office, toll free at 877-687-7557 or visit us online at www.ClinardInsurance.com. We will be glad to help you with all of your car rental questions.

This article was sourced from information which can be found at www.InsuranceAnswerGuy.com

North Carolina Contractors – Don’t Forget Tool Coverage And Lock Your Truck

North Carolina building contractors have many insurance needs, from general liability insurance to workers compensation insurance as well as insurance for their vehicles. One area that is often overlooked is equipment insurance. This breaks down into coverage for heavy equipment and coverage for tools. If you buy tool coverage in North Carolina, there is one catch you’d better know about.

I want to start with a quick look at the types of equipment coverage for contactors in NC. This protection is referred to as inland marine coverage in insurance parlance but since that term makes no sense to the average consumer, I won’t use it in this discussion. Usually the process of insuring your tools and equipment breaks down into two sections. The most common coverage is the equipment coverage. This protection is for your larger types of equipment from cranes all the way down to the lowly bobcat. When you purchase this type of policy you will list each piece of equipment with a limit of coverage for each item. The rates for this protection are lower than that for hand tools.

Tool coverage is the other option when you purchase your inland marine policy. This is protection for loss to hand tools that you use in your business. This type of coverage is normally set up with a total limit for all of your tools rather than an item by item listing. The rates for tool coverage are much higher as you can imagine since the risk of theft loss is much greater for hand tools.

If you insure your hand tools, be sure to be aware of the theft loss exclusion. This exclusion says that if your tools are stolen from a vehicle, then the vehicle must have been locked and there must be some evidence of forcible entry into the vehicle. I once had a contractor client of mine take his work van to a movie theater and forgot to lock the van. When he came out of the movie, many of his hand tools were gone. He was unable to collect for this loss on from his insurance company because there was no evidence of forced entry to his vehicle.

Insurance policies are full of twist and turns that can get the novice in trouble. That’s why it is so important for you to always purchase insurance for your construction operations from an agent who specializes in contractors. At Clinard Insurance Group, in Winston Salem, NC, we specialize in helping contractors all over North Carolina with their insurance needs. If we can help you in any way with your construction insurance policies, 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 found at www.insuranceanswerguy.com.

Dealers Insurance Policies – Two Easy Steps To Keeping Your Rates Low

Used car dealers understand that their garage policy is one of their big expenses in their annual budget. But few dealers understand how simple it can be to control the costs of auto dealers insurance. Here are two quick and easy steps you can take that will significantly reduce your garage insurance policy rates over time.

To start at the beginning, the rate that each dealer pays for garage insurance is in large part a direct result of that dealer’s insurance loss history. Our garage policies have available good experience credits of up to 40% of the policy premium. That means a dealer with excellent loss experience can pay as much as 40% less for the same coverage than a dealer with a loss or two in their garage insurance loss history. So, if you can find a way to reduce the number and severity of losses against your policy, you not only will have an easier time maintaining insurance coverage, you will be able to access the best rates out there.

One of the biggest contributors to loss history for a dealer is the accidents that happen while a prospect is test driving one of their cars. First of all, the car is unfamiliar to them, secondly they want to test out all the features so they are fiddling with the stereo, the navigation system and other features and this increases the likelihood of an accident. So how can you reduce these types of claims against your dealers insurance policy?

The first step each dealer should take is to make sure that their garage policy form is one that forces the test driver’s personal auto insurance policy to step in and pay the claims caused by the test driver of their vehicle. Not every garage insurance policy is created the same, but there are policies out there that state that as far as protection for your customer are concerned, your policy only pays if your customer doesn’t have a policy. There are two big advantages for you as a dealer to make sure that you have this type of policy. First of all, if the test driver can’t file claims on your policy, your claims will go down and you will have a better loss history and access to the best rates out there. Secondly, if your policy does not have to build in enough money to pay for test driver losses, you will find that your rates will be lower in the first place. To learn more about these types of policies, read my blog here.

Once you have the right kind of garage insurance in place, you need to make sure that all of your test drivers have their own auto insurance policy in force. It will be impossible to do this with 100% certainty but at the very least you should ask them if they have auto insurance in force now. Then ask them the name of the insurance company that they use just to sort of check on their honesty. If you want to go a step further, you can ask to see a copy of their insurance id card in their glove box. One more important question you should ask them is if they have collision coverage on their current policy. If not, then you will probably have to file a claim against your dealers physical damage coverage on your own policy if they wreck your car. This will be the only way to collect for the damages to your vehicle.

At Clinard Insurance Group in Winston Salem, NC, we write insurance for hundreds of used car dealers all across NC, SC, GA, VA, and TN. If you would like for us to help you with your garage insurance, please call us at 877-687-7557 or visit us on the web at www.TheAutoDealersHelper.com.

The source information for this article was drawn from articles found at www.insuranceanswerguy.com.

5 Ways To Cut Your Auto Insurance Costs Without Sacrificing Protection

These days most of us are looking for ways to stretch our household expense dollars. One big drain on these funds is auto insurance. Her are some quick and easy tips you can use to help you find some savings in your auto insurance budget without putting your assets at risk.

How Far Do You Drive To Work? In the North Carolina Auto Insurance policy there are several different classifications for your driving habits. One focuses on the number of miles you drive to work each day. Of course if you don’t drive to work and your policy is classified that way you can get a reduction by changing the classification to pleasure use. Within the drive to work categories, there are two. One is for those who drive less than 10 miles one way to work and the other is for those who drive more than 10 miles one way to work. If you drive 10 or less miles one way to work, check with you agent to be sure that your policy reflects this classification. Likewise, if you have changed jobs or if your work location has changed recently, make sure you correct your policy.

Watch Those Deductibles. If you have comprehensive and collision insurance coverage on your auto policy, be sure to check them as well. Generally, you want your deductibles to be as high as you could handle in the event of a loss. There are some exceptions to this, for instance once you get to very high deductibles, the savings may no longer be worth it. Also, if you have a very old car and the collision and comprehensive costs are already very low then a high deductible just might not get you enough savings to be worth it. Still, many people have deductibles that are very low and can realize substantial savings by increasing them.

Pay In Full Discount. Some companies are now offering savings of up to 10% if you pay your auto insurance renewals in full. They have found that people who pay in full have less losses and thus should be entitled to a lower rate. If you can afford to do this, you should certainly take advantage of the offer. Some companies are offering as much as a 10% discount when you pay in full. Since there are not many places right now where you can earn a 10% return on your money, this deal is just too good to pass up if you have the money in the bank to do it.

Bundle Your Policies. Almost every insurance company will now offer you a substantial rate reduction if you buy both your homeowners insurance policy and your auto insurance policy from them. You should always take a look at this option since it is rare that you will find these two policies to be cheaper when purchased separately.

Safety Equipment Discounts. Check with your agent to make sure that you are receiving all available discounts for the safety equipment in your car from anti-lock brakes to airbags and automatic seat belts. Most companies apply these discounts by using the vehicle identification number on your car to discover exactly which safety features your car has. So it is somewhat rare for them to miss on these discounts. Still, you should check in with your agent just to be sure that you are getting all the safety discounts you deserve.

At Clinard Insurance Group in Winston Salem, NC, we work hard to make sure that all of our clients are informed consumers who are purchasing the best possible protection at the lowest possible cost. If you need help with either your home insurance policy or your auto insurance policy, please visit us on line at www.ClinardInsuranceGroup.com or call us toll free at 1-877-677-7557.

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