5 Insurance Lessons from Downton Abbey

I came across this fun article! If you have an 80 bedroom castle, 5000 rare antique books, or 15th century artwork to insure we can get some tips and ideas from this!

5 Insurance Lessons from Downton Abbey

J.D. Powers Report includes Encompass!

This year we started offering the Elite and Deluxe packages that Encompass offers. The policies are really like none other and are a cut above the rest.

The 2016 JD Power survey attached shows Encompass leading the way against all of our main competitors in the state of Ohio in terms of property claims satisfaction.  That is huge!!  When you combine a superior product with claims satisfaction like this, you have a win / win situation.

When thinking of Encompass you can relate them to other insurance policies like this: would you expect to pay the same price for a Mercedes as you do a Chevy?  Do you expect to pay the same price on vacation to stay at the Ritz Carlton as you would Motel 6?  You get what you pay for.  It’s our job as insurance professionals to help our customers understand that while insurance is an intangible, there are different levels of coverage and service that can be purchased.

Asleep at the wheel: This hidden danger lurks on every road

Nodding Off Every year, 6,000 fatal crashes may be caused by drowsy driving. Your insureds need this essential layer of protection. Real-World Case Study: Drowsy Driver Put Lives in Peril Tired of the unrelenting snowfall, best couple friends, Lori and Scott and Kim and Jay, decided it was the perfect time for a road trip to Las Vegas. After a busy weekend with good memories made, the four headed home with Scott at the wheel. A short while later, Scott dozed off, awoke suddenly and overcorrected, hitting two oncoming cars. All of those involved sustained serious trauma, including head injuries, lung collapse and multiple major fractures. Two of the injured were airlifted to the hospital for immediate treatment. In addition to hospital stays, recovery would include physical and cognitive therapy and Jay needed extensive reconstructive surgery. After Scott's auto liability limits were exhausted, his standalone personal umbrella policy responded to cover their care.  Claim: $750,000 Rates average for a 2 car household between $180-250 for  $1,000,000 of added protection as an Umbrella policy!

Why Honesty is the Best Insurance Policy - NASDAQ.com

Why Honesty is the Best Insurance Policy

By HomeInsurance.com,  September 24, 2015, 09:38:43 AM EDT

Blatantly lying or omitting the truth when discussing insurance coverage with your agent puts you on a slippery slope. You may be able to save a few extra dollars a month on your premiums for a brief time. However, if you get caught committing insurance fraud – highly likely since we live in an age that makes confirming information so simple – you not only could have a claim denied but could experience more extreme  consequences.

Of course, not all lies to insurance providers are intentional attempts at fraud – some are errors of omission, which don't carry the same legal implications but can lead devastating coverage gaps. Following are some of the most common lies told to insurance agents:

White lies about auto insurance

Some untruths told to insurance agents can seem innocuous to policyholders but can have big repercussions. You should never lie about:

• Who drives the car. If a policyholder’s 18-year-old son has a spotty driving record, one of the parents may say he or she drives the car instead or not list him on the policy to save on premiums. If the son has an accident, claims could be denied, leaving the policyholder on his or her own.
• Where the car is parked. This could happen if you live in a neighborhood that’s considered high-risk for car break-ins and you lie to your agent and tell him/her that you park in a secure garage. If your car is burglarized, there'll be a police report on where the car was parked, and you'll have to explain the variation to your provider.
• How many miles you commute and/or drive each year. This one is simple: The less you drive, the fewer opportunities you’ll have to be in a collision and the less you’ll pay for auto insurance. Knowing this leads to some policyholders bending the truth and telling their agents that they’re barely on the road.

Stretching the truth about home insurance

Many consumers also tell little fibs about home insurance in order to save a buck or two, but even the best laid plans can go awry. Common white lies include these:

• Filling out a home insurance application and lying about your home’s value. The amount it would take to rebuild your home is one of the factors that determine how much you'll pay for home insurance. Lying about the value of the home could reduce how much you'll pay for coverage; however, it also will limit the amount you would receive in a claim.
• Not owning up to having a dog. Telling your insurance agent that you have a dog could mean, depending on the dog's breed, that you must raise the amount of liability
  
  coverage in your policy. So by not telling their insurance providers, people think they’ll be able to skate by and maintain lower premium payments, especially if they’ve acquired a dog providers consider dangerous. The consequence: If the dog bites someone, the policyholder could be on the hook for the payout. Dog-bite claims average more than $32,000, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
• Not telling your agent you have a pool or trampoline. Much like owning a dog, adding a pool or trampoline means your policy will need additional liability coverage in case a guest is injured or killed while using either addition. Again, lying about these will leave you on your own.
  
• Not mentioning that you’ve recently added onto your home or renovated it. When you add onto your home or renovate it, you’re increasing the value of your home by upgrading it or increasing its size. These changes could mean that you’ll need more coverage for the physical structure of your home and/or the items you’ve added. The risk of not coming clean? Again, you won't be covered for the full cost of rebuilding the house should something happen.
• Exaggerating the value of your belongings when filing a claim. Some policyholders inflate the value of their possessions when filing a claim in an attempt to get a higher payout with which they plan to purchase higher caliber replacements. This is outright fraud, and providers aren't stupid. Is it really worth it?

Bold, dangerous lies

Some criminals take insurance fraud to new levels. There have been cases where several people were in cahoots and staged the theft and wrecks involving  a car in order to cover up existing damage and receive a higher payout for repairs; and people have intentionally set their homes on fire in order to collect from insurance companies, to name a few. Again, this is major fraud.

Insurance fraud is always a bad idea

Lying in any of these capacities and getting caught can result in you paying for medical expenses and/or property damage out of pocket as your claim likely will be denied or you won’t receive a large enough check to cover all costs. In the worst cases, you could pay steep fines or serve prison time.

Telling the truth is always the best bet. The amount of money you would save per month for telling white lies is negligible. Always get insurance that adequately reflects your home, car and possessions.

Read more: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/why-honesty-is-the-best-insurance-policy-cm523268#ixzz3mfRm7I7F

How to lower insurance costs for teen drivers

Back to school time can mean a lot of things for your family. Back to routines, clubs, sports, homework - so much to do! My kids are still pretty young with my oldest just starting first grade this year and the next in line will start preschool soon. I've got a long time in calendar years to plan but as I hear and have seen so far - time flies with kiddos so the dreaded day the kids get behind the wheel will be here before I know it!

"Only 10 years until I can drive!"

At the agency we're frequently asked when it comes time to add a new teen driver how to keep the cost down. Here are a few ways that can help lessen the impact on the budget:

1. Add them to your policy as soon as they become licensed. They could purchase their own policy if they own their own car but if they can be added to the household it will help them get multi-car/multi-policy discounts, longevity, and credit discounts.

2. Teach your teen safety. Teach your teen to always wear a seatbelt; stay away from the distractions such as switching through music, talking or texting, eating, smoking or putting on make up. They need to be an aware and defensive driver. The more supervised driving your teen does, the more they'll be prepared for driving alone.

3. Don't buy the flashy sports car. The car your teen drives will factor into the price of insurance. An older, reliable, small to mid-size car is usually the least expensive to insure and fix. If you have a few makes and models in mind, your agent should be able to quote them and see what would make the most sense. Even if you don't plan on adding a car to your policy or buying something for them to driver regularly though, they still need to be listed on your policy as an occasional/possible driver. This could be a lower way to cover them, especially if you have a vehicle that doesn't require physical damage coverage that they will be driving.

4. Good grades matter. Academic performance's impact on rates is a great way to save money and encourage good grades. An "A/B" average can save up to 30% depending on the insurance company. It doesn't hurt when making those graduation goals for college either!

5. Education pays off. If your teen goes above and beyond the training required by the state and attends a defensive driving course, there could be additional discounts on the insurance policy as well. Of course there is additional cost for the training but ultimately it's worth your teen's safety!

Those are some of the ways to save, a few other things that can help you as you train your safe teen driver would be to check out some of the new programs available through the insurance companies offering monitoring devices which would be installed in the vehicle. These devices all work differently but they can track safe driving, notify you of excessive speeds or reckless driving, so you can use it as a tool to help teach them safer habits. Some of the devices can even monitor where the teen is driving and when which may really help them make good choices if they know you will know everywhere they've been!

Besides these ways to save money, we know safety is the top concern for you as a parent of a new teen driver - see below for a fact sheet on Driving Distractions (good for anyone to review - not just teens):

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After-School Safety Tips for Parents and Kids

After-School Safety Tips for Parents and Kids

 I saw a few younger kids "walking" home from school the other day, barely pausing before running across the street in front of on coming traffic which they seemed oblivious to. 

As the school year comes to a close, it may be a good time to review these tips again and make sure the kids aren't forgetting to keep this stuff in mind! They will be out and about and possibly staying home alone soon over the summer so it will be important to keep talking about these things with the kids! 

Those tips, of course, are:

• Walk with a buddy
• Stay in well-lit areas
• Never accept a ride with strangers
• Once home, lock the door and don’t let anyone in

However, Dr. Michele Borba, author of The Big Book of Parenting Solutions, urges you not to overestimate your kids’ safety smarts. Kids under 10, for example, may not grasp the concept of crossing a street safely, she says.

She suggests teaching them: “Stop. Left. Right. Left.” Meaning that children should, “stop at the curb, look left, right, then left again before crossing, and keep looking as they cross.”

Another thing kids need to know, says Borba, is how to ask for help. Have kids practice saying, “I need help,” out loud and instruct them to “find a uniformed employee, a police officer or a woman, preferably with a child,” when they need assistance, she says.

Once home, kids will likely use the Internet, so be sure to discuss digital safety too.

Staying Safe Online

Internet safety advocate Sue Scheff, author of Wit's End and Google Bomb, says that, “we need to put parental controls/security measures on computers and cell phones. Unfortunately, these aren’t guarantees, so having a cyber-smart child is your best defense.” 

Teach kids about the dangers of sharing personal information, such as their home address and phone number, online. And about using social media responsibly.

While online, it’s best for kids – and adults – to converse and connect only with people they truly know and trust, to keep their social accounts private and to still be cautious even then. After all, photos and information that go online today will still be there years later, when kids apply for college scholarships and jobs.

Above all, stay involved in your kids’ digital lives. Let them know you’re there for them, always – to talk, not to judge or punish, says Scheff. “Many kids fear having their Internet removed if they tell their parents they are being bullied online,” she says.

So keep the lines of communication open to help keep everyone safe, both in and outside of your home.