I’ve been working with two general contractors this week. One is a custom home builder and remodeler in Dallas, and the other is a roofing company in Frisco. Both are getting general liability policies with a blanket coverage option for additional insured’s, and both wanted to understand what an additional insured is and why it matters to them.
I’ve been driving for 40 years which sounds a lot longer than it actually feels. I’ve seen a lot of interesting driving scenarios during that time; people making turns from the wrong lane, cars driving the wrong way on a one way street, people moving across 4 lanes of traffic to make an exit, others who stopped on an entrance ramp, deer crossing a highway, people drifting into my lane, and much more. It continues to amaze me how fast a driving situation can change and how equally fast I’ve had to respond to what’s happening around me.
Discovering you’re going to have a baby is one of the most exciting things ever experienced. It may seem like the day will never arrive, but the time passes very quickly in getting the nursery ready, picking out names, getting clothing, finding the right stroller, and beginning to plan what hopes and dreams you have for your son or daughter.
There are two broad types of coverage which can be included in a car insurance policy. Coverage is available to protect you from financial loss if you’re involved in an accident and it’s your fault. Coverage is also available when you’re involved in an accident and it’s not your fault. The first is required by Texas state law, the second is strictly an option.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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