Insurance companies like State Auto Insurance played an enormous role in rebuilding that city.

When our agency hears about situations like this, we are proud of the companies we keep.

Thank you State Auto for not only doing a great job handling your claims but also showing compassion for others.

The mandatory insurance initiative is aimed at plugging an enforcement gap that enables drivers to skirt the law by dropping coverage once their vehicles have been registered.  This initiative will be enforced statewide by June 1, 2012.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Information on Uninsured Motorist

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Kentucky Transportation Laws and Auto Insurance

News Story from NKY.com “State’s push to catch more uninsured drivers may also cause headaches, clerks say”

Jealousy. Passion. Betrayal. No, not the latest television drama, but high school. For many the high school experience comes with social pressures and obligations to fit in and belong, and sadly this can lead to exclusion and isolation of some students.

It doesn’t take much searching of the news to see stories of teens using social media sites like Facebook to transfer the cruelty of high school hallways into the online world. Teens that make fun of a student or tease them may not just be responsible for hurt feelings, but if they’re publishing bullying or teasing posts online or revealing private information about another teen in a public forum, whether a blog, to their Facebook profile or other social space, they may be exposing you and your insurance policy to a claim.

Are my kids covered under my insurance?

Generally speaking, any coverage you have through your homeowners or renters insurance policy also provides coverage to other residents of the household, including your teenage children. Standard homeowners and renters policies include liability protection for bodily injury or property damage, which would pay for the costs to cover medical bills or repair/replacement costs if your child injured a friend in a pick-up basketball game or if they were at a friend’s house and accidentally spilled soda on a $13,000 oriental rug, subject you your policy’s deductible.

But what if your son or daughter were to post rumors about other teens online that implied drug use, promiscuity, or other information that could damage that person’s reputation? With college admissions offices and employers beginning to look up applicants on social networking sites, rumors and gossip have the very serious potential to damage someone’s ability to get into the college of their choice, or find a job.  Or if your son or daughter “outs” another teen’s sexual orientation, as in the case of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi, there’s the potential that someone could pursue legal action under a type of defamation known as publication of private facts.  Interestingly, a standard homeowners or renters policy would not cover these instances.

So what can you do?

Get a Personal Injury Endorsement 

In order to cover claims from that kind of situation, homeowners and renters policies must have what is called an endorsement- extra language that is inserted into the policy to expand coverage- in order to have your liability protection extended to cover “personal injury.” A Trusted Choice ® Independent Insurance Agent should be able to tell you if your current insurance policy already has this personal injury endorsement by reviewing it, and if it doesn’t, they would be able to help you get one. You may be surprised to find that this expanded coverage may not cost you much additional premium. A personal injury endorsement will pay the costs up to the limits of your policy to defend you, pay a judgment or settle a case when legal action is brought against you or your children for defamation.

Make sure that if you’re a parent, you talk to your children about social media, how they use it and what’s expected of them. It’s critical that they understand how their use of social media could impact your insurance. Some parents choose to actively monitor their children’s use of social media, and there are various software programs available to assist those who want to closely monitor what their children do in social spaces for parents who want access to their children’s profiles.  No matter what you choose to do, we should all encourage each other to treat others with respect.

This information was provided to us by our friends at Trusted Choice.

Most of our licensed agents are Kentucky Notaries.  We never charge to perform the duties of a Notary Public in Henderson Kentucky.

If you are or want to become a Notary, we here at GoVaughn.com Insurance can provide you with an official Kentucky Notary Bond.  

If you need to become a Notary Public in Henderson KY, you need to visit the Kentucky Secretary of  State Website.

The cost for a notary bond is $50 for a 3 year bond.

We write these through Liberty Mutual Bonding.

We need for you to complete the Kentucky Notary Bond application and return it to us via fax.

There are instructions on this form to submit to our agency.

If you have any questions about becoming a Kentucky Notary or needing a Kentucky Notary Bond, please contact us.

To learn more about our multi policy discounts, safe driver advantage and accident forgiveness please contact us and lets talk about how we can help.

Travelers Dog Commercial

Dog Video

In our line of business, we often times have clients that purchase new vehicles.  Even though this doesn’t pertain to insurance, we felt it beneficial.  To find out more about this study or look for your vehicle, click on the link below.

http://www.healthystuff.org/departments/cars

If you want some additional information, but don’t want to spend time researching particular vehicles, just watch the video below.

Would this be a concern for you when you purchase your next new car?

What do you need to do if you have hail damage to your vehicle? 

First determine if you have comprehensive or other than collision coverage. If you do, then hail damage to your vehicle is covered if it exceeds your deductible. Usually the deductible for such coverage is from $50 to $500. Review your policy to confirm if you have coverage and what your deductible would be. If you are our client, then you can Contact Us if you are unsure.

Second, Report to your auto insurance carrier. All of our partner companies have claims personnel standing by at all times to take you new claim reports.  Please call them immediately. See our Report a Claim Page for all of our partner companies and their direct reporting claim phone numbers.

Hail damage can be repaired using various techniques. Paintless dent removal is probably the most popular.

You do not need to get a estimate before reporting to your insurance company. Auto Insurance companies will be giving their own estimates and you should be able to take that estimate to the body shop of your choosing and they will be able to work from that estimate.

If you have any questions please contact us!

Few plots of ground would be considered vacant per the ISO definition, which is “any land on which there exist no man made structures”.  There can be no roads, fences, poles, structures, etc.

If you have vacant land, you need to discuss it with your agent to determine if you need to add the location for liability coverage.

Is this land vacant?  It appears to have no manmade features.

Is this land vacant?  In the middle of the picture you can see a telephone box & there is one fence post, which I assume is to protect the telephone box.

Based on our understanding of what is vacant, the first photo would fit the definition of vacant land.  However, the second photo would not fit the definition.  The tricky part is that both of these photos are the same tract of land, so you really have to be thorough when you try to determine if your land is considered vacant.

Court cases have upheld the insurance companies definition of “vacant land”.

Do you own vacant land?

Have you discussed it with your agent?

Leave us a comment.  We would like to know your thoughts.

I like to lay out my route to try and avoid routes that will take me on a hill or sharp curve.  You may have to go a little out of your way, but if you can avoid these areas that can cause you to lose control of your vehicle, having a wreck, and possibly getting hurt, then the extra time spent laying out a route and going out of your way will be worth it.

We found this video on YouTube that shows what not to do.  It starts out a little slow, but picks up fast.  First it is a slight hill, the road is covered in ice, then a thin layer of snow.  Now if these people would have planned out their route to avoid this section of road, their day would have possibly been better.  You will see as you watch the video that people are not using good judgement.  They are trying to pass other drivers, driving on the wrong side of the road, and some are going way too fast for the conditions.  Hopefully no one was injured, although there were some very close calls.

Be safe, we care.