Dont Be UnderInsured On Your Auto Insurance!

Posted on February 16, 2012 by colbiemcrae

There is a large number of underinsured drivers on the road. If you are reading this, you more than likely would be an underinsured motorist in some cases. The state minimum for property damage is $5000. How many vehicles have you passed by today that if you scratched their door with your mirror, it would cost all of $5000?

With the vehicles today it is very easy for them to be ruled as a total loss(“totaled”). The drive from my house to work is 2-3 miles and I will see probably 6-8 vehicles that are valued at $30k+.

If I had the state minimum limits I would be underinsured. If I was to cause an accident where totaling a $30,000 vehicle they could come after me for the extra $25,000. A lawsuit? No thanks.

Make sure you are properly covered:

cm@cm4insurance.com

You’re paying for it, do you know what you’re getting? Auto Insurance

Posted on February 16, 2012 by colbiemcrae

What does 15/30/5 mean? That’s what the insurance “people” are telling you that you have. Did you go to school for insurance? Probably not. Even if you had gone to an insurance school, you may still have no clue what the coverages you carry actually mean.

Let’s try to break it down so it makes sense:

Bodily Injury

Property Damage

Uninsured Motorist(UMBI)

Uninsured Motorist Property Damage(UMPD)

Medical Expense

Comprehensive Deductible

Collision Deductible

Are you confused yet? The information on your auto policy may seem very confusing but once you read through these posts you will have a very strong base to start on.

If there are anyother questions you still have, send me over an email:

cm@cm4insurance.com

-Colbie McRae

Will your auto insurance cover theft? How stealing catalytic converters is becoming very popular.

Posted on February 10, 2012 by paigestarn

In today’s economy, theft is becoming more and more common, and, thieves are becoming more complex in what they take. No longer does hiding your GPS, or carrying your phone in with you work; the common trick today is stealing catalytic converters. The catalytic converter was mandated for all U.S. cars and trucks in 1975, its job being to convert ehxhaust into less harmful emissions before leaving the vehicle. The commonly contain precious metals such as palladium, platinum, and rhodium, and depending on which metals are used, thieves can sell the converters for up to 200 dollars.

Although your vehicle may still run without a catalytic converter, in most areas the law requires it be in place before driving. Depending on your mechanic, this can cost you between $800-$2,000 to replace! These converters are an easy target, especially on later model Toyotas and higher sitting vehicles, so how can you be sure your insurance will cover it? “This would be covered under your Comprehensive Coverage, if you had full coverage on your auto policy.” says Colbie McRae, Insurance Agent at Tom Michael Insurance. .

Get More information on Comprehenisve Coverage and how the deductibles work: Here!

Comprehensive Deductible – Auto Insurance

Posted on February 6, 2012 by colbiemcrae

What is the comprehensive deductible on my auto policy for?

Comprehensive Coverage is to cover anything that happens to your vehicle other than Collision. For example, if there is a theft, fire, or vandalism claim the comprehensive coverage would take care of this. Comprehensive claims do not raise your auto insurance as it generally isn’t your fault. However, a company may chose to non-renew or cancel your policy if they feel you are too high of a risk when there are multiple claims.

The deductibles can be set at the amount you choose. Usually with the options of:

$25
$50
$100
$200
$250
$500
$1000
$2000

What is the deductible? How does this work?

Medical Expense – Auto Insurance Policy

Posted on February 6, 2012 by colbiemcrae

My auto insurance policy has something called Medical Expense? What does this mean?

Medical Expense is basically a small health insurance policy on your auto insurance policy. Unfortunately the coverages offered are generally in very small increments:

$500
$1000
$2000
$5000

Some companies will offer higher amounts but it is not very common.

Medical Expense is not to be confused with liability coverage. It is more focused on getting reimbursed for medical bills and getting things rolling before other coverage’s will kick in.

Uninsured Motorist Property Damage – Auto Policy

Posted on February 6, 2012 by colbiemcrae

What does the U.M.P.D. stand for on my auto policy?

Uninsured Motorist Property Damage(UMPD) is another very inexpensive and optional coverage to add onto your auto insurance policy but is still so important!

U.M.P.D. covers your vehicle in case you are in an accident caused by an uninsured or underinsured vehicle. Most companies have the coverage limited to $3500.

“Well hold on, my car is worth more than that!”. If you have full coverage on your vehicle(Collision Deductible), instead of having the standard UMPD you may see on your policy:

Collision Deductible Waiver(or CDW)

The CDW is basically Uninsured Motorist Property Damage BUT for those with “Full Coverage”. If you choose NOT to have this added onto your policy and you are in an accident caused by an UM, you will have to pay your deductible. However, if it is on your policy, you will not have a deductible. Nice!

If you understand these abbreviations you are now starting to speak like an insurance “person”

Onto Medical Expense…

UnInsured Motorist – Auto Insurance

Posted on February 5, 2012 by colbiemcrae

What does U.M.B.I. on my auto insurance policy stand for? Why do I need it?

Uninsured Motorist Bodily Injury(U.M.B.I.) is very similar to Bodily Injury(read about this here). However, UMBI, covers you and any of your passengers if another vehicle causes the accident that you are involved in, whether they do not have insurance or whether they are underinsured. (Read about being underinsured here)

You can see why U.M.B.I. is so important, especially in the state of California. There are more uninsured drivers in California than any other state.

The coverages for UMBI work the same way as the standard Bodily Injury:
15/30
25/50
50/100
100/300
250/500
500/500

Although most companies will allow you to have lower UMBI limits than your Bodily Injury limits, I personally suggest and only prefer to write UMBI at the same limits. If you choose to have the UMBI lower, you would be required to sign a form agreeing to this reduction in coverage.

I personally, would not submit a policy–in the state of California– without it having UMBI. It is extremely important and if you are already paying for the insurance it is very inexpensive to have UMBI on the policy.

Now onto the UMPD(guess what that stands for?)

Property Damage – Auto Insurance

Posted on February 4, 2012 by colbiemcrae

Property Damage – Personal Auto

Property Damage covers, well, the property! Most often this is for the other persons vehicle.

Property damage will generally be listed as the 3rd number in this set 15/30/5.

5, what does that mean?

Same as the Bodily Injury, it is also X$1000. The 5 in 15/30/5 = $5000

FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS? You’re telling me that the majority of drivers in California are driving around and if they slam into another person and total this other persons 10 year old car… It probably will not even be able to cover the total loss, let alone the bodily injury.

At least with 50/100/50, you will have enough coverage to cover most vehicles on the road. $50,000 in property damage is a much better coverage than $5000. If you were to knick a new Prius it could cause up to $5000 in damage…

Onto: Uninsured motorist, now this is important in California….

Bodily Injury – Auto Insurance

Posted on February 4, 2012 by colbiemcrae

What does the 15/30 mean?

Bodily Injury, for personal auto insurance, generally comes in this form 15/30. There are many different options, including but not always limited to:
15/30(state minimum, CA)
25/50
50/100
100/300
250/500
500/500

These numbers are X1000 (like the tachometer in your car). For example 15/30 = $15,000/$30,000. The first set of numbers, 15, is per person, the second set, 30, is per occurrence.

If you are the cause of an accident and there are 3 people in the other vehicle, your insurance would cover $15,000 per person BUT only a combined limit of $30,000.

I use the state minimum for my example to show how minimal this coverage really is, you will really see this in the property damage…

What Insurance Will Cover My Firearms?

Posted on January 24, 2012 by colbiemcrae

Guess what I purchased today? The Glock 30, a .45 caliber, subcompact pistol.

Ok, I bought it almost 2 weeks ago… But by California law, you must wait at least 10 days before you can pick up a firearm. Well, with the local gun store having Sunday and Monday off.. I am at 13 days. Which brings me to the next problem, I won’t be able to take it to the range until the weekend.

Now, will my new purchase be covered while sitting in a box at home? Well, do I have a homeowners or a renters policy? Yes, so depending on the policy my firearms will be covered up to a certain amount. Usually, firearms are covered up to $1500-2000. As some of you may know, not only is Glock known for its quality but it is also known for its great price. Anywhere between $500-600, so I am safe.

Like most gun collectors who own many firearms, especially ones that are old or high end, this wouldn’t be enough coverage. Ahh what now?

There are a couple of ways to go from here. You can get a personal articles floater or depending on the HO or Renters policy you have you can “schedule” it. We will have an article in the future about “scheduling” items. For now, scheduling is where you come to an agreement of the value of an item and they raise your rate accordingly.

If you are interested in finding out if your firearms are covered on your current policy or how to get coverage, please feel free to contact me:

cm@cm4tmi.com

I am here to help!