Tag: Car insurance

The Tree, 3 Cars, & the Insurance Claim

The straight line winds that struck Dallas last week sheared limbs from trees and blew a lot of trees over. Some had their trunks snapped while others were simply pushed over exposing their roots by the 75 plus mile per hour winds. When the trees fell, they landed harmlessly on a person’s yard, or they landed on the homes they shaded, cars parked in the driveway, or other structures. Seeing the destruction a tree can cause, I was reminded of a claim I saw early in my career.

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Car Insurance and Autonomous Cars

Autonomous or driverless, cars have been in the news a lot in the past few weeks. General Motors CEO Mary Barra announced in early September Cadillac will introduce a model in 2016 which will be equipped with its Super Cruise technology. Super Cruise provides, at least initially, the ability for the car to drive itself on the freeway by handling the duties of accelerating, braking, and steering the car.

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6 Car Safety Technologies Available Now

Yahoo posted an article by Popular Mechanics on Monday which listed 6 futuristic safety technologies arriving now on some 2015 models. It’s an impressive list that provides us with insight into where car technology is headed as car manufacturers seek to make safer vehicles.

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Car and Home Insurance; Package or Not?

I talked with a prospective client last week. We’d worked together in the past and he wanted to see if I could help him lower what he was paying for all his insurance policies. We reviewed his current coverage on his car and home insurance, as well as his umbrella policy and I prepared quotes on each of them for us to discuss. As it turned out, the auto quote I presented him was about $1,000 lower than his current rate, and the umbrella was about the same as what he was currently paying. The issue was he had a lower rate on the home and he wasn’t sure what to do.

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Talking with Your Insurance Company Can Cost You

Last year, I wrote a post, Insurance Apps & Insurer’s Use of Your Questions (see http://50.87.248.161/~wiseinsu/insurance-apps-insurers-use-of-your-questions/) where I outlined two insurance related bills the Texas Legislature passed. One bill allows Texas drivers to carry proof of insurance on their smart phone, the other bill barred insurance companies from using customer inquiries to cancel or non-renew, or to increase their premiums.

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Car Insurance Liability: Split vs Combined Single Limits

I was reviewing a car insurance quote with a prospective client the other day. She and her husband are buying a new home and wanted to review their car insurance to see if they could save money on that as well. We were in the midst of discussing liability coverage when she asked me to explain the difference between split limits and combined single limits as she’d heard someone mention this to her.

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What I Learned Backpacking

On a day with a clear blue sky dotted with the occasional puffy white cloud, Sheri and I hoisted our backpacks and headed up the Four Pass Loop Trail in Colorado. We love backpacking, and this trip promised to be enjoyable and a little challenging, while providing a week’s escape from the August heat in Dallas.

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Dallas County Leads Texas with Uninsured Drivers

If you live in Texas and are even a little curious as to which county leads the state with the highest number of uninsured drivers, here’s your answer. Dallas County continues to be number 1 in this inauspicious category as it has for at least the last 3 years.

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How Are Independent Insurance Agents Different?

I been working with several young couples on their home and car insurance. They have several things in common with each other; they are buying their first home and I’m the first independent insurance agent they’ve ever worked with. In each case, the individual or couple have asked me one of two questions as we completed the applications for their policies; do they pay me for the service I’ve provided or will I be their agent after the policies are written?

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Back to School Driving Reminders

School supplies are out in force at Wal-Mart, Target, and office supply stores across the Dallas / Fort Worth area. That means it’s almost time for our kids to return to the classroom. Schools start over the next two weeks and the familiar flashing light marking school zones will renew its warning and traffic will be interspersed with school buses for each of the independent school districts. It’s time to revisit Texas laws concerning both school zones and driving around buses.

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