Deductibles My dear Watson!

Ok any body get my nerdy reference?  I read all the Sherlock Holmes books when I was a kid and I love the new show Elementary .  Anyway, let's talk about deductibles on your insurance.

I recently had a friend call in with a windshield claim and he was upset that he had a $100 deductible. He told me he though I had sold him a good policy and why did he pay me thousand of dollars a year and still have to pay a deductible.  Well her is the deal.

The higher the deductible the lower your insurance rate. In this case he saved about $30 a year, he has had 3  or more cars insured with us  for 10 years and this is his first windshield claim. Let's do the math, we will be conservative and say on the all three cars he has saved a total of $50 a year for 10 years so he has saved $500 so he has $400 left in his imaginary wallet after paying this claim.  I think that was a good agent, saving him $400, heck I make more money with lower deductibles, I was looking out for my client-not me.  How often does one have a windshield claim? An industry expert tells me it is a 5% chance of having a windshield claim in any given year.  That means once in 20 years for a single car.

The numbers vary, you won't save as much with a higher deductible on a Camry (pretty low insurance cost anyway) but more on a Corvette (pretty high insurance cost) the savings is  a percentage of  the base rate.

On property insurance (homeowners, rental buildings, etc.) the saving can be HUGE.  I recently insured an apartment complex and the difference between a $5,000 dollar deductible and $2,500 deductible was, wait for it, $2.500.  That's a no brainer every year they don't have a claim they save $2,500.

"Wait a minute" you say, "that's why I have insurance, to take care of things whenever I have a problem".  I'm going to tell you a secret, insurance companies are in business to make money and if you have a lot of little claims you are labeled as claims conscious and you get dropped like a hot potatoe!

What about that neat vanishing deductible we here a couple of the famous fictional insurance spokes people (what's wrong with that statement anyway!) speak of?  Listen to the fine print!  You pay extra for that! It is just a bell and whistle for the mathematically challenged.  The companies know they will make more money if you chose that vanishing deductible. Don't play their game, keep your money!

If you want some more advice on deductibles you can do a couple of things, watch our youtube on it or give on of our agents a call.

We are happy to represent these fine companies:  Erie, Auto-Owners, GMAC, Safeco, Foremost, and more!

I traded cars on the weekend! OH NO!!!!

I get frantic phone calls from clients almost every weekend because they bought or traded a car over the weekend and they are worried that they aren't going to be covered when they drive off the lot with their shiny new purchase.  Well, in most cases, we can go with another entertainment icon from the past:  Don't worry, be happy!

To go all Insurance Nerd on you, the shiny new car comes under the definition of a newly acquired auto. If you don't want to read that link to the auto policy I will paraphrase:  It it replaces a car (if you traded in on the new car or you old car was totalled and you are getting a new one) it has the same coverages as the car it is replacing.  So if you had collision and comprehensive on the old car you automatically have it on the new car.  You are also covered if the new vehicle is an ADDITIONALcar up to the  BROADEST COVERAGES on the policy.  So if you have 2 cars on the policy, one has collision and comprehensive and the other has liability then you buy a third car on the weekend the third car automatically has collision and comprehensive when you drive off the lot. 

READ THE REST OF THIS THOUGH!  In order for you to keep this coverage you need to ask us to cover that auto with in the first 30 DAYS!  Don't forget to call us on Monday, procrastination is not your friend here, don't complicate matters by waiting too long!  This also is not a free coverage for 30 days, if you buy that additional car and call us on the 29th day you are covered but the company has to go back and start charging 29 days ago, otherwise you are in trouble with the state.

As always, if you have any other questions give us a shout or email!

Now I can't get that song out of my head!

What does being a Good Neighbor mean?

First, this is not a post about my good buddies at State Farm.  It is also not a post about all the rules to be a good neighbor.  I just want to talk about being a good neighbor when it comes to trees.

It seems in our neck of the woods (pun intended) we have had a lot of trouble with wind and trees lately.  Due to that I am getting several calls about how to handle situations with our insured's trees as well as  our insured's neighbors trees.

Here is a basic rule to live by, as a homeowner you are to due what a reasonably prudent person would do to maintain the safety of your home.  That means you take care to make sure someone is not injured on your property.  So if you have a tree that looks like it is damaged, rotten, broken, or other wise  presents a potential problem by falling on people or property then it is your responsibility to take care of it. Some times that means having to pay someone to cut it down. 

Now if  a perfectly healthy tree is blown down in a hurricane and lands on your neighbors shed you are not responsible.  But if your neighbor had noticed that that tree had been struck by lightening previously and had told you then, guess what, you are responsible as you were negligent.

The shoe goes on both feet so if it is your neighbors tree same rules apply. If your neighbors perfectly healthy tree is blown down on your roof in a hurricane, your insurance will handle it.  If you had gone to them and told them it was broken and leaning and they haven't done anything about it then we will probably pay for it (less your deductible of course) and then try to go back to them and get the money back.

That's the basics, here are some Frequenlty asked Question:

Q.  My favorite tree blew down in my, will my insurance cover that to clean it up and put in a new tree? 

A. With very few exceptions, there is no coverage for a tree that is damaged by wind.  If the tree falls on your house then there is limited coverage to take it off but not for the actual tree

Q. I have some trees getting ready to fall, will my insurance pay to take them down?

A. Sorry, but no.  I have heard those little talking heads on tv say this works but I don't think they work in the insurance industry!  This comes under the premise that it is one's responsibililty to take care of their own property, just like your auto insurance won't pay for tires so you don't skid off the road, your homeowners policy is not meant to maintain your property.  If insurance companies were to start paying to cut down trees two things would happen.  First, rates would be way higher than they are now. Secondly, we would live in a desert because they would love to have zero trees to fall and cause claims.

Q. Can and insurance company cancel me because of problems with trees.

A. Yes,  if  a company thinks insuring your home is an above average risk due to proximity of trees they have the right to not insure you.   They sometimes ask a client to cut some trees in order to maintain coverage.

Q. What if my neighbor says they won't cut down the trees that are endangering my property? 

A.  First this situation is no fun!  I am assuming you have been over with a fresh baked apple pie and talked sweetly to them and they have said "Sorry, I'm not cutting my trees".  Now you probably should officially notify them in writing that you are concerned about the safety of  your property due to their trees and and you would like them to remove them.  If they don't, this gives you a little better legal standing if something does happen.  You might consider paying to cut them your self (expensive but less trouble than them destroying your house) of you could consult an attorney.

As always, if you are insured with Cline Hall Agency or would like to be and have any questions on this subject give us a call!

Summer is here and the living is easy (hopefully!)

Recently, I had the pleasure of being in Florida.  I drove down there, and, of course, went through South Carolina.   Since it is summer, motorcycles are all over the place in S.C.  I love motorcycles; I have two myself.  What I don't understand, is motorcycles with riders who don't wear helmets. 

I'm sorry if this insults anybody, but that doesn't make sense to me.  I guess several things come to mind with me.  One, I have always wanted to NEED a helmet.  In my mind, wearing a helmet means you are doing something exciting. When I was little I wanted my parents to let me buy a cool red helmet from Woolco (you have to be old to remember that) just in case I ever had a motorcycle.

Secondly, I have used a helmet.  I don't mean I have worn a helmet, but have used one while bouncing down the pavement. While I'm not very pretty now, I wouldn't be much fun to look at me had I not been wearing a helmet at that time.

I might mention that I normally wear All The Gear All The Time (atgatt), but this time was the only time I didn't wear my motorcycle pants (going for a short ride, what could happen?).  Wanna see the scar on my knee?

Anyway, I'm lucky to be alive.  So here is my suggestion:  The best motorcycle insurance you can get isn't from Progressive or any other company advertising it, it's from folks like this: Motor Cycle Superstore, J&P Cycles, locally at Ron Ayers, or any one of a hundred other places selling proper riding gear.

For those of you who don't ride: LOOK OUT for motorcycles!  Give them wide berth; it could be a new rider so steer clear for your own safety. Don't rush to get past them then cut in front of them, it is very easy for them to lock up their brakes.  There is also something about the human brain that thinks they are smaller, so people think, "I can pull out and they will be able to stop".  WRONG, they are not a bicycle; they are going as fast as you.

Please be careful! And e-mail me if you have any more motorcycle safety questions!

Change you change a tire?

Have you seen our latest newsletter?  We want you to know how to change a tire, or at least have towing and labor coverage (it's only 4 or 5 bucks).  Check out the newsletter:

http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=b2ea18dff6ed588171bcee87c&id=c93cc2d50f

If you have a teen driver please read!

The following if from Teen Driving Solutions   facebook page.  


Over the weekend, news articles from around the country reported stories on vehicle crashes that claimed the lives of 7 teenagers. Additionally, as some of these drivers had passengers, most of which were teenagers, there were 10 injured, some seriously. In one instance, twin brothers crashed, one brother (driver) was killed and the other seriously hurt. Most of these crashes involved driving off the road and either over-correcting or slamming into trees. Regardless, at 7 teenagers died in the last 2 days from preventable car crashes. Are you getting worried about your teenager? Let us help you prevent tragedies like this from happening to you.


Insurance for a brand new driver is outrageous, at least $1200 a year.  For that $1200 your are protected for financial harm that your teen my cause in the way of property damages or bodily injury to others that your teen driver my cause.  Please, consider spending $300 to protect your teen driver!  


In fact I will pay $100 for the first 3 of my insureds that sign their teen driver up for this.  Please call us today at 756-5200 

The Expense of Teen Drivers! So spend another $300!

There is no way around it, having a teen driver is expensive!  You don't see any companies advertising to bring your insurance to them when you have a new driver in your household.  You know why?  Because it is impossible to make a profit with new drivers due to their inexperience and lack of judgement (sorry kids, it's true).

I always have clients call and want to know how to save money.  Well here I go wanting you to spend more money. All that insurance money just protect your cars and other people, how about spending $300 to protect your child.  More young drivers are killed every year than soldiers in the Iraq war.

Please take a look at this web site and youtube video.  Besides being great for your kid you will get a lot of cool points with them because it occurs at an actual race track!