Western Sage Insurance

Pros and Cons of Annutities

2011-08-08T12:08:00.000-07:00

Click for some good information on annuities explaining the pro's and con's. Especially good if you are using annuities to retire.

Click Here

How Much Auto Insurance Coverage Do I Need?

2011-07-22T10:03:00.000-07:00

HOW MUCH AUTO INSURANCE COVERAGE DO I NEED?
I’ve been asked how mush coverage do I need by many clients when discussing their personal insurance coverage. Simply, buying insurance is sharing the risk of potential property loss and liability for injury to others and lost property. In the early 20th century, when you got into an accident, you would just pay for the property damage. It is more complicated than that now. We are in a highly litigious environment where people sometimes confuse a liability claim as a way to make easy money and not just to recover from the loss.

How much risk do you want to give up and how much risk do you want to keep? If you want to keep all the risk, then don’t get insurance. The state will fine you for not having insurance on your autos. Nevada now has a tiered penalty schedule for not having insurance which will start at $250 for 30days without insurance. If over 181 days, your fine is $1250 with a required SR-22. If a third offense, it is $1750 with a required SR-22. SR-22 means that you can’t be with a standard insurance carrier and will pay 2 to 5 times what you pay for the same insurance limit. Sharing all the risk doesn’t make sense for anyone I know.

Then, how much insurance do I need? If you are a homeowner, have income to protect, a career with steady income, a family to protect, you will need more than minimum state required auto limits and will need to have coverage on your home that will take care of almost all potential liability claims and property damage. You stand more to loss. Las Vegas is one of the highest rated sates for insurance prices in the country. It is most likely that the other party will make a claim and get compensation for injuries. Just turn on the TV and see all the ads for personal injury lawyers. Even Glenn Lerner makes fun of his business by chasing an ambulance to get the business. What is not humorous is that there are over 6,000,000 accidents in the United States each year. Over 3,000,000 people are injured by car accidents. 115 people die each day in the United States due to an auto accident. Do you still think you need lower coverage? Auto insurance coverage is preparing for one of those accidents.

The most common limits that I see are 100,000 per person/ $300,000 per occurrence with $100,000 property damage for liability limits for homeowners. This may be good for you, but one size doesn’t fit all. There is more to decide to finish your auto coverage. What should be my comprehensive and collision deductibles? This is coverage for the physical damage to your vehicle. Should it be $500, $1000 or higher? The price is directly related to the cost of repairing the vehicle and how often that vehicle gets into an accident. Yes, there are actuarial tables for each vehicle. That is why we need to get the vehicle identification number correct. Each vehicle has its own cost. This is the only coverage you will have to repair or replace your vehicle.

Then, there is the decision to how much coverage should I have for uninsured /underinsured coverage (UM/UIM). By law you can have as much coverage for UM/UIM as you have liability limit. If you have $100,000/$300,000 for liability, you can have $100,000/$300,000 or less for UM/UIM. This protects you and anyone in your vehicle who gets injured by the at fault driver who doesn’t have coverage or doesn’t have enough coverage to take care of your injuries and losses due to the accident. This is for personal injury and has nothing to do with the repair of your vehicle.

Then, there is medical payment limits to decide or to decide if you need it at all. It is immediately available for anyone in your family who is injured by a motor vehicle accident whether it was an at fault or a not at fault accident. It is intended to act as interim medical coverage, so you have some coverage for emergency or initial medical coverage. It was never intended to take care of all your injuries. That is why liability ( whose at fault) needs to be established to complete the care of injuries. Some people take this coverage, some don’t.

In most cases, you would need to have $250,000/$500,000 liability limit to secure more liability coverage with an umbrella of $1,000,000 or more. The umbrella would cost from approximately $200 to $600 depending how many rental properties and adult toys you have, and what your claim record is. An umbrella acts like its namesake, opening up to cover over all your possessions.

A common mistake is to not to cover all the adult toys you may have- boat, ATVs, motorcycle etc. with equal liability limits as your autos. Your exposure is still there for a liability claim even though you are not concerned about replacing the adult toy, if it is damaged or stolen. There are also other coverages like car rental and towing and other benefits each compnay offers that you need to consider.

Once I have explained the coverages, I would tell you that that you need to have enough insurance to be able to put your head on the pillow at night and spend time on the other important things in life – family, career, etc. It is your decision; how much do I need and how much can I afford in my budget? We can help in preparing for the worst, but no one can predict the future. The insurance companies who advertise on TV telling you that we can save you money by going with us, can’t predict the future. In many cases, they save you money by reducing coverages or comparing apples to oranges with your present coverage. One size doesn’t fit all. You need an independent agent to advise you. We can help by giving you choices you can trust to customize your coverage. You can be confident that you have the coverage you need when you or someone in your family gets into an accident.

What do you want to know about insurance? Let me know by e-mailing me at rickm@westernsageins.com or visiting our website www.westernsageinsurance.com

New website coming soon!

2011-07-19T10:02:00.000-07:00

We are in the process of completely redesigning our website.

What would you like to see on it?

Travelers Customers Increasingly Rely on Mobile Devices to File Claims

2011-06-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

Travelers adds new application for AndroidTM devices to list of apps already available for iPhone® and Blackberry® Smartphones

HARTFORD, Conn., June 15, 2011 – As a sign of the growing popularity of smartphones, Travelers has seen a substantial increase in the number of claims filed via mobile devices during the past year, according to a comprehensive analysis of its claims.

The Travelers study broadly examined insurance claims filed over the past 16 months using mobile devices. In reviewing claims data comparing the first four months of 2010 versus the same time period in 2011, the number of claims filed via mobile devices more than tripled.

“The faster our customers report claims to Travelers, the faster we can help them,” said Jay Gauthier, Vice President, Travelers Personal Insurance Marketing. “That's why we continue to develop technologies that make it easy for our customers to communicate with us in the way that's most convenient to them, whether online, over the phone, or through their mobile devices, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."

Capitalizing on the trend of increased usage of mobile devices to report claims, Travelers developed its “Auto Accident Help” mobile application for Android™ devices. This free app, which was made available to iPhone® and BlackBerry® smartphone users in 2010, gives any Android user an efficient way to create an accident report and provides another way for Travelers customers to report claims. Consumers can now download the “Auto Accident Help” app for Android devices by visiting the mobile site of Travelers.com.
As part of the claim study, Travelers found that 70 percent of claims filed through mobile devices related to personal auto insurance, 28 percent were personal insurance property claims and the remaining two percent were business insurance property claims (.5 percent) and business insurance auto claims (1.5 percent).
“Our claims analysis reveals that at the time of an auto accident, it is convenient for individuals to report the claim through their mobile device so they can quickly begin the process of getting their car back to the condition it was in before the accident took place,” said Gauthier.

According to a recent report from Neilsen, 36 percent of U.S. mobile phone consumers now have smartphones. In addition, of those who download smartphone apps, 68 percent of
those with iPhones, 60 percent of those with Android devices and 45 percent of those with Blackberry/RIM smartphones reported using their mobile apps multiple times a day.1 For information about the “Auto Accident Help” for Android devices and iPhones and “Quick Connect” for BlackBerry smartphones, and all of Travelers’ mobile tools, visit travelers.com/about-us/mobile-tools.aspx.

Travelers Insurance, . "Travelers Customers Increasingly Rely on Mobile Devices to File Claims." E-mail from www.travelers.com

Making a Claim - Auto or Homeowner Policies

2011-04-23T12:09:00.000-07:00

By George Mobley

When you are involved in an auto accident or you have a leaking water pipe at home, you have to think fast and sometimes don’t know what to do first. Well, maybe I can help a bit.

In an auto accident, the first thing to do is make sure there are no injuries to anyone. Once you have determined that everyone is safe, you should call the proper authorities and wait for them to tell you if you should move the car or stay in the building, etc. Always get full information for the other drivers and their passengers. Phone numbers are important. Exchanging information is needed.

If the damage was caused by another person, you should always file the claim with the other insurance company first. There will be no deductible for you. This applies to any claim, not just an auto accident.

If there is a fire in your home , call the fire department. It’s not a good idea to try to put it out yourself, unless it is a very small fire. If you had a burglary, call the police and complete a report with them.

If there is a possibility of further damage, it is your responsibility to take measures to minimize further damage; turn off the water main, move furniture out of water, board up a broken window, etc. This extra expense is usually covered by the policy.

After the authorities have left, it’s time to assess the damage. You should know your deductibles on your insurance policy (we can help you there if you don’t have it in front of you). Of course, if the damage is less than the deductible, there is no reason to file a claim. If the damage is above the deductible, you should file the claim as soon as possible . If it is an emergency, such as a fire in the home and you have no place to go, tell the representative on the first call and he/she will have an adjuster call immediately.

For any claim, calling the insurance company claim reporting line is the fastest way to file. Once the initial claim is made, a claims adjuster will call you for more details within 24 hours of your filing. Claim phone numbers are listed on our website. Go to http://www.westernsageinsurance.com . Be sure to give a phone number where someone will answer. Having to leave voice messages is very time consuming and frustrating for both you and the adjuster. He/she may want to see the damage or have an itemization of the items lost or damaged before a settlement can be reached.

Remember, if in doubt, call us at 702-735-0198 or e-mail me at georgem@westernsageins.com. We are here to help you. We can give you the information to help you make the best decision.

Cellular Phone Use While Driving In Nevada

2011-04-23T11:17:00.000-07:00

Through my membership in the National Association of Financial Advisers (NAIFA), I received a recap of all the bills that are being considered in both of the houses in the Nevada Legislature. I was looking over the bills being considered and found one item that can affect you.

We may need to change the way we multi task while we drive the roadways in Nevada. It is the use of a handheld cellular phone. Assembly Bill 151 and Senate Bill 140 are still active in the legislature and will prohibit the use of a handheld cellular phones while driving.

Maybe, it is time to look into getting a hands free cellular phone system. You know, the people who have those things stuck into their ears and look like they need to be back at command central. I have to confess. I make many calls while driving, and have be using an earpiece with my cellular phones for years. I just confessed that the earpiece looks stupid. That is why I put the earpiece in my shirt pocket every chance I get. But, it is the best way to keep both hands on the wheel. You could get a fancy car with a phone already built into it.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) is considering to prohibit truck drivers from using handheld cellular phones. Many already have cell phone systems that are hands free. Call a truck driver on their cell. It sounds like they are still in the bathroom. There is a lot of echoing.

All it comes down to is forcing all drivers to minimize distractions while driving in order to benefit all who are on or near our roadways. There are plenty of statistics that will support that the use of cell phones is a distraction and the distraction contributes to accidents. I don't know, do you have to legislate common sense? What do you think ? Are we going too far in constraining our actions as citizens (let's hear it tea party people) or is this needed in the wake of devices that help us in daily life, but make us more vulnerable to injury of others. Maybe, it is called compromise. How would you feel if you caused and accident and injured to someone because of your cell phone?

Let me know what you think. I have made available a recap of all legislative action that is taking place in the Nevada Legislature on our website blog. Go to http://www.westernsageinsurance.com for the Nevada Legislature Recap.

Chubb Claims Experience-The Dubreville Rebuild Part I

2010-12-02T09:01:00.000-08:00

Life Insurance 101

2010-08-14T17:06:00.000-07:00

DMV Verification of Insurance Coverage

2010-07-21T08:02:00.000-07:00

Within the last 3 months, there has been an increased number of registration verification cards being sent out requesting verification of your registration. I've been told that Travelers alone has had over 10,000 requests for verification. I've been told the reason for the increase in activity is due to DMV's new computer system. It requires the registration to be exact in all fields. If the monthly insurance verification is not exact, it will spit out a verification card. I even received two cards for my personal vehicles. One of them was due to the computer not recognizing that Rick and Richard were actually the same person. I was able to go on the DMV website www.dmvnv.com and verify that I was the same person.

Do not take this request from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) lightly. You must act immediately. There are two types of cards that you may receive: one requesting verification of insurance, and another telling you that you or the insurance company did not verify coverage and your registration will cancel by a given date on the card.

Here is what you should do:

1. Fill out the verification card with the insurance information, verify that the name , address, and vehicle identification number (VIN) matches what is on the card and how your insurance card reads. Make sure you use the insurance company that is listed on your id card. Travelers has 10 plus insurance companies under Travelers. Do not write down Travelers, or just Hartford , but list the company on the id card.

2.Then, send the card into DMV, or use the DMV's website to do the same thing . There is a code that you will need to enter to use the website to verify insurance.

3. If this does not satisfy DMV and you receive the "we will cancel your registration" card, please call us immediately and send us a copy of your card that you received from DMV.

4. If there is an error in the name, address or VIN, we can make the change and have the insurance company call DMV to suspend the suspension.

5. What needs to happen next is the real frustrating part. We will contact the insurance company who has generally, one contact person. That person has to call Carson City designated phone number and leave a message. That is right, they have to leave a message. Because of the influx of activity, DMV has no person who answers the phone. Then, the insurance company has to send a special magnetic computer tape to DMV showing that you have coverage. Only when the magnetic tape matches the registration, will DMV lift the suspension.

All fields in the insurance id card MUST match the registration on your vehicle. Please take care in verifying that all matches when you register your vehicle. Also, make sure that you start your insurance on the date you purchased the vehicle. This will avoid the fiasco, one of our clients had to go through in verifying 3 days of coverage over 2 years ago. This caused a delay in her obtaining her professional license that was up for renewal. Yes, they can go back a long time. The fine for not being able to prove insurance coverage is $250 per car. One day without coverage is still a $250 fine.

We have been receiving 5 to 6 verification cards a week. Please be patient with us. Your contact for DMV issues is George (Lisa) Mobley at 702-735-0198 or email her at georgem@westenrsageins.com.

We always strive to get the Best coverage, for the Best price, with one of the Best companies.

Hartford - Highlights of Great Claims Service

2010-07-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

Click on the video above to see how Hartford can handle your commercial business insurance claim. This is just one of the many quality companies we represent.