How Sure Is Sure? Homeowners Coverages.....Is your trampoline covered?

I recently had a client who for 15 years was insured with a company they "thought' covered the liability exposures of their trampoline. 

Even after I mentioned to her that I was pretty sure that her contract did not provide coverage for trampolines, her broker continued to tell her that she was covered.  I did my research for her and called several other brokers who write business through the same company. She did NOT have coverage.

Make sure that when you are buying insurance you are purchasing coverage that WILL protect you. In this case it was in her best interest to get rid of the trampoline.

How many liabilities exposures can you see in the photo below? Is it worth losing all you have because you were not sure of your insurance coverage's?

California Fires......Do You Know What Your Homeowner's Insurance Provides?

Due to the recent fires,

I wanted to address coverage's provided by, homeowners, condo, and renters policies.***

Additional living expenses:

If you face a mandatory evacuation your property insurance coverage will cover your additional expenses for hotels, food, clothes etc up to the maximum amount of your policy limits.  If your property does not receive any damage you have this coverage for UP to two weeks.  If you have property damage you may receive this coverage for up to 1 year.  (With some companies your deductible may apply to this coverage also, if it does you should look elsewhere.)

Liability:

This provides coverage for you financially if you are ever held responsible for ones injury or property damage.  This will also cover your defense charges if it has to go to court.

Dwelling:

coverage is updated.  I will help with annual reviews.

Contents:

Covers all your personal possesions that are not permanently attached to the structure.  We cover "replacement cost" not "actual cash value".  It is a good idea to make a list of items you have in the house and take pictures of high value items with model numbers or serial numbers if possible.  This is mostly for your benefit as it is extremely hard to remember what you have when it's all gone.

***If your property insurance is not with Allstate please verify your coverage with your carrier.

I also wanted to share a comment made by one of my very good clients affected by the recent fires here in Orange county.  She said, "Pretty much the general feeling of the canyon folks is that Allstate was the only company that was really helping their clients ..."

Her house did not burn, but she was evacuated from her home for two weeks with her family of five.  She had no idea she had coverage to help her with the extra expenses until I called her to see if she had been evacuated.  This is the reason why you need a good agent.......

B. Jason Perry Insurance Agency

Toll Free 877-425-5788

Office 949-487-2900

Email: bjasonperry@allstate.com

Mortgage protection for the mortgage company, then why not protection for you and your family?

When I purchased my first property I was told that if i did not put a certain amount of money down that I would have to purchase mortgage protection insurance, and that it would cost me a certain amount more each month of which would be tacked onto the loan payment. This is to protect the mortgage company.

Anyone who purchases a home with a loan should have life insurance to protect themselves. There is also mortgage protection insurance to protect the home buyer. If something where to happen to them it would pay off their mortgage up to the limits of the policy. This is nothing more than term life insurance in which the death benefit decreases each year with the mortgage.

These policies are still sold, however a term life policy is generally a better option, as the death benefit does not decrease with the mortgage. With many of the better life insurance companies, the insured can convert the term life insurance policy into a permanent insurance policy later down the road without having to qualify medically again. This means that althought they may not be insurable anymore, they can still have the opportunity convert the term policy into a permanent policy.

Does your auto insurance REALLY cover anyone to drive your vehicle? Or are you taking big risks!!!

This is a common question that I receive from prospects, and clients. 

Does my insurance cover anyone who drives my car? Many insurance companies tell people that yes they are covered, when in fact they are not covered as much as they may think. 

Quite a few insurance companies out there do not write what we call "permissive use" policies, many of which you might think they would. This means that although your coverage's may look the same for the liability limits 250/500/100, they are in fact much different when you lend your vehicle to others.  Insurance companies that do not write a permissive use policy will only pay out the state minimum of liability limits which is 15/30/5, if you are sued due to an accident where someone not listed on your policy was driving your vehicle.

Many people that I speak with say, "Oh I never let anyone drive my car......" when in fact most of them probably have.  Here is a recent true story concerning this coverage.

A local resident was going to play basketball at their local church with one of their other neighbors.  While playing, the owner of the vehicle twisted his ankle so he asked his neighbor to drive them home.  On the way home, they had a major accident. Long story short, the owner of the vehicle was insured by an insurance company who did not write a permissive use policy, and when he got sued he ended up having to pull out $500,000 out of the equity of his home. 

Is it worth it to save $20 bucks a month?  In fact, if you have a good driving record, you can often get insurance with one of the top insurance companies for the same price or less than the discount companies.

Most importantly, make sure you are buying insurance from someone you can hold accountable. Anyone can tell you that you have the coverage, but will you be able to speak with them when you have an accident and you are told different by the claims adjuster?

In California if you do not have the money or the equity, the court can actually have your wages garnished just like child support for accidents that you are legally responsibe for.  

State Minimum Limits of Liability

$15,000 Bodily injury pay out per person in the other vehicle (pays out for medical bills, pain & suffering, loss of work, etc.)

$30,000 Total bodily injury pay out

$5,000 Total property damage of other vehicle

Things to know about your homeowners policy!

I had submitted an article last week regarding homeowners replacement cost and the need to make sure you have adequate coverage here in Southern California as the cost to rebuild a home has increased dramatically. (Most homeowners that I speak with are underinsured by about $60-$80 per sq. ft., because most insurance agents/companies don't do proper research. Most companies use replacement cost calculators that are not accurate for Southern California.)

 Also, in a comment to an article written by William Johnson I had mentioned a document created by the California Department of Insurance call the "Homeowner's Bill of Rights".

At the time I made the comment, I did not have access to the document, but I wanted to post it now. All are valid points but i have bolded a few of the ones that related to the previous articles.

California Residential Property Insurance Bill of Rights

The largest single investment most consumers make is their home and related property. In order to best protect these assets, it is wise for consumers to understand the homeowners' insurance market. Consumers should consider the following:

Read your policy carefully and understand the coverage and limits provided. Homeowner's insurance policies contain sublimits for various coverages such as personal property, debris removal, additional living expense, detached fences, garages, etc.

Keep accurate records of renovations and improvements to the structure of your home, as it could affect your need to increase your coverage.

Maintaining a list of all personal property, pictures, and video equipment may help in the case of a loss. The list should be stored away from your home.

Comparison shop for insurance, as not all policies are the same and coverage and prices vary.

Take time to determine the cost to rebuild or replace your property in today's market. You can seek an independentevaluation of this cost.

You may select a licensed contractor or vendor to repair, replace, or rebuild damaged property covered by the insurance policy.

An agent or insurance company may help you establish policy limits that are adequate to rebuild your home.

Once the policy is in force, contact your agent or insurance company immediately if you believe your policy limits may be inadequate.

A consumer is entitled to receive information regarding homeowner's insurance. The following is a limited overview of information that your insurance company can provide:

The California Residential Property Insurance Disclosure.

An explanation of how your policy limits were established.

The insurance company's customer service telephone number for underwriting, rating, and claims inquiries.

An explanation for any cancellation or non-renewal of your policy.

A copy of your policy.

The toll-free telephone number and Internet address for reporting complaints and concerns about homeowner's insurance issues to the department's consumer services unit.

In the event of a claim, an itemized, written scope of loss report prepared by the insurer or its adjuster within a reasonable time period.

In the event of a claim, notification of a consumer's rights with respect to the appraisal process for resolving claim disputes.

In the event of a claim, a copy of the Unfair Practices Act and a copy of the Fair Claims Practices Regulations.

The information provided herein is not all inclusive and does not negate or preempt existing California law. If you have any concerns or questions, the officers at the California Department of Insurance's Consumer Hotline are there to help you.

Please call them at 1-800-927-HELP (4357) or contact them at www.insurance.ca.gov. Please also always feel free to contact your insurance agent or broker, or your insurance company directly with any questions or concerns.