Commercial Vehicles
- Do they have experience with your business type? How long has the company offered commercial auto coverages? Do they understand the insurance needs that are unique to your line of work? A carrier with commercial auto expertise ensures that you’ll get the right coverage for your business.
- Do they excel in customer service? You need 24/7 service that is fast, accurate and focused on your bottom line. You also need the convenience of being able to handle your insurance business on nights and weekends, because you can’t count on having the time to deal with such matters during regular business hours.
- Do they offer flexible, competitive products? Payment options? Insurance rates can vary a great deal from company to company, so you’ll want to compare. You want flexibility in the types of coverages—and also payment options. Monthly bill plans can help small-business owners maintain necessary cash flow.
- Do they have a demonstrated record of claims experience? Keeping vehicle down-time to a minimum is vital to any business. Each minute a vehicle is out of commission affects your bot-tom line. Look for a carrier that’s known for efficient claims service and fast, fair resolution.
Your Vehicle for Business
There are over 240 million registered motor vehicles in the U.S., according to the Census Bureau. At a given time, as many as a 33% of those clutter American roadways, and it is estimated that 25% of those are being used in the course of work. Another 25% are parked in the Windsor Heights Wal-Mart parking lot across the street from my office. Just kidding but the place is always busy!
Running errands, making deliveries, visiting customers. Even for those whose employment is not based on driving, it’s fair to say that your vehicle is an essential part of your employment. This presents an important question: If you are involved in an accident in the course of employment, are you covered by your personal auto policy (PAP)?
Like most insurance questions, the answer depends on circumstance. For example, what kind of car are you driving? Does the car belong to you or someone else? What type of business are you in?
Consider the language found in the typical PAP. At a glance, many policyholders are shocked to see that the PAP appears to exclude coverage for the use of any vehicle in the course of business other than farming or ranching. However, a very broad exception to this exclusion allows coverage for the business use of a vehicle provided it is one of three types: 1) a private passenger auto, 2) a pickup or van, or 3) trailer while used with the aforementioned. This exception suggests that as long as the vehicle is one of these three types, coverage remains intact after the accident. [Read more…]
Life & Health Partnership
Debbie and I are pleased to announce that Conroy Insurance Services, LLC has partnered with Group Benefits Limited (GBL) and their subsidiary, America’s Healthplan Consultants (ACH), to help our customers find affordable solutions to their Life, Annuity, Long Term Care and Health Insurance needs. AHC offers independent experts to help guide you while you shop for health insurance. And they offer no-hassle, free quotes for individual and any size business. Browse the insurance products they offer and when you’re ready, request a quote.
Safeco Insurance
We are pleased to announce that Conroy Insurance Services, LLC now represents Safeco Insurance.
Safeco Insurance is a member of Liberty Mutual Group. In business for more than 95 years, Liberty Mutual Group is a Fortune 100 company and the fifth-largest property and casualty insurance company in the country. Liberty Mutual is also rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best Company.
Safeco offers a wide variety of personal insurance products for you and your entire family, including auto, home, umbrella, watercraft and more. The Safeco Package – which bundles your auto and home coverage together – offers the best combination of savings, convenience and coverage available.
Let us know how we can help!
Flood Insurance
I am ready for spring to “sprung” but it, of course, brings the risk of flooding. I cannot image the heartache of the many people in Fort Dodge with several feet of the Des Moines River in their homes caused by a February thaw. Then a return to seasonable temperatures froze the river again so the water will remain in their now ruined homes for weeks to come.
Floods are a part of living in Iowa. As an Iowan since 1979, living in Carlisle, Waukee, Urbandale and West Des Moines, I have seen numerous 500, 250 and 100 year floods! When I lived in Carlisle during the 1980’s Lake Red Rock would occasionally back up to the city limits – giving us a lake view! Red Rock was built to control flooding downstream but it also backs up the Des Moines River and the Raccoon River. The rivers backed up in 1993 and greatly impacted Des Moines, Clive, Windsor Heights, Johnston, West Des Moines and, with the loss of the water plant, everyone in the Des Moines Metro area. In the years since 1993 flooding has occured here and the threat of a great disaster was ever present.
It is critical that you educate yourself about flood risks. There are on-line resources available that can help address your concerns and help you to be prepared:
- www.BeReadyIowa.org - tips about creating emergency supply kits and evacuation plans.
- www.FloodSmart.gov – information defining flood and instructions on how to read a flood map. Find out if you are in a flood zone and get some idea of the cost of flood insurance.
- www.rio.iowa.gov – information about the Rebuild Iowa Office.
Now is a good time to start thinking about Flood insurance since there is a 30-day waiting period before coverage goes into effect. Flood insurance is not provided in your standard homeowners or business owners’ policy. Flood insurance is a separate policy that is backed by the Federal government on a “Preferred Risk” policy. This coverage is sometimes confused with water back-up coverage. Although most standard policies provide for a limited amount of coverage for water back up and/or sump pump failure, it is not the same as flood insurance.
If you are concerned about flooding issues, or want to know if you should be, give us a call. As your Trusted Choice independent agent we can help you get the coverage you may need.
Homeowners 101
Reading a homeowners policy may not be on your “Bucket List” but it is important to understand what is covered, what is limited in coverage and what is excluded from coverage. Often the homeowners policy can be modified to add needed coverages for an additional premium. However, here are situations where no coverage can be found,and while that may not be the answer you want, you need to be aware of such issues. This overview is provided as an overview of a typical homeowners policy but you must refer to the provisions found in your policy for the details of your coverage, terms, conditions and exclusions that apply. If you have questions call us for answers or to schedule a review of all of your insurance policies.
A typical homeowners policy covers both dwelling and contents for various perils, including fire and theft. Also included are coverages for glass breakage and liability. A homeowner policy may also include coverage for personal articles and earthquake. There are also similar policies available for tenants and condominium/cooperative unit owners.
Most policies also have limitations on some items including (to name a few): Money, watercraft, trailers, jewelry, furs, silverware, firearms, or items used for business. Please be sure to ask us how to insure these items for the proper limit. Most homeowners policies are made up of the following coverages:
[Read more…]
College Students 101
Question: “Is a computer provided by my daughter’s school for use while she is attending covered for theft out of her locked room while she is out of the room? Toward the end of the school year, someone came through her suite mate’s room, through the bathroom, and into my daughter’s room and stole the computer she had signed out to her by the school. I just received a letter from the school stating that she had to pay $1,600 before she would be allowed to return to school. Does homeowner’s insurance normally pay for such losses? Do you have any idea why my agent would say this was not covered and it was the responsibility of the school?” [Read more…]
Teenage Drivers
Inexperience and immaturity make it much more likely that a teenage driver will have an accident than an adult driver. A driver in the age group of 16-19 is FOUR times more likely to have an accident than an older adult and TWICE as likely to die in an auto accident (in some states, a 16-year-old is TWENTY times more likely to have an accident than an older adult). A 16-year-old is THREE times more likely to have an accident than someone 18-19 years old. OVER ONE-THIRD of all deaths in the 16-19 year old range are due to auto accidents. [Read more…]
Insuring the Loss of Your Customers’ Data
The stories of breached data security have become almost too familiar: An employee takes home a laptop against regulations. A hard drive is sent out for repair, but disappears. A disc with sensitive data is stolen from an office. For business owners and managers, the threat is real, and there is a need to protect against such violations of data security.
Big businesses are not the only targets of data theft. Doctor’s offices, retail shops, contractors, salespeople, and most other professions store personal information electronically. Sometimes, businesses that lose personal information are victims of sophisticated hacking schemes concocted by the most crafty computer cons. More often, data theft comes from the inside—a dishonest employee seeking wealth or a disgruntled employee seeking revenge. Regardless of culprit, victims, including employees, customers and others shoulder the risk of someone else’s access to their information.
Information stolen from your business can result in significant costs, including the following:
• Expenses you incur to inform those who may be victims of the theft.
• Expenses you incur to replace the data and income lost during the recovery process.
• Victims will incur expenses to recover lost information and expect you to pay for it.
• Victims will likely no longer do business with you, resulting in lost income.
• Victims who suffer financial losses resulting from identity theft may sue you for their damages.
• Personnel may lose confidence in you and seek employment elsewhere.
[Read more…]
Business Interruption Insurance
Most businesses carry “fire insurance,” as it is commonly called (though fire is just one of many perils covered by business insurance policies. Such insurance is usually required in order to get a mortgage on a building or to secure a loan using property as collateral. However, it is estimated that between one-third and one-half of all businesses have no business interruption insurance.
Autos & College Students 101
Courts have generally held that students away at school are still considered to be “family members” under the Personal Auto Policy (PAP) and, thus, are covered while operating autos at school. However, there is an important exclusion in the personal auto policy that says there is no coverage if a vehicle is furnished or available for the regular use of a family member.
As you can see, IF the vehicle is “furnished or available” for the “regular use” of a “family member,” there is no coverage under the parents’ policy while the student drives the car. Without debating the issues of “furnished or available” or “regular use,” let’s assume that the student does have regular, unrestricted access to her roommate’s car. In that case, she is at the mercy of the insurance on the vehicle, if any, since her parents’ policy will not provide any coverage.
Is there anything her parents can do to extend coverage to her under their policy while driving her roommate’s car? Well, speaking of the word “extend”…there is an endorsement commonly referred to as the Extended Non-Owned Coverage for Named Individual that may provide coverage and it is certainly routinely used for this type of exposure. However, note the following wording from the endorsement:
“This endorsement does not afford coverage under Part A or Part B of the policy for any accident involving a vehicle owned by the individual named in the Schedule or in the Declarations, by a member of the same household, or any accident involving a temporary substitute vehicle for such owned vehicle.”
So, even though this endorsement provides coverage to family members for vehicles furnished or available for their regular use, it does NOT provide coverage IF the vehicle is owned “by a member of the same household.” What this means is that coverage still does not apply to vehicles owned by a member of the same “household” of the family member. How does this apply to the college roommate situation?
On at least one occasion (and probably more), a claim involving a college student’s roommate’s car was denied under this endorsement. According to the insurer, the roommate was a “member of the same household.” But, is this true? Do two college students sharing a dorm room constitute a “household?” In deciding the coverage issue, we must examine what is meant by a “household.”
According to Black’s Law Dictionary:
“Household, n. A family living together. Those who dwell under the same roof and compose a family. Term is generally synonymous with ‘family’ for insurance purposes, and includes those who dwell together as a family under the same roof. Generally, the term as used in automobile policies is synonymous with ‘home’ and ‘family.'”
The Black’s Law discussion of “family” indicates that it is comprised of blood relatives or a close-knit social unit with a high degree or permanency, living under the control of one head of the household. I don’t think two people who possibly had never met before, spending a few months together as roommates, but otherwise being independent of each other, constitutes a “family”…i.e., just because two people share a room doesn’t make them a “household.”
What if it’s not her roommate that makes the auto regularly available, but her best friend across the hallway? Clearly, in this case, coverage applies since they aren’t roommates…or does the entire dormitory constitute a “household?” What if we’re talking about a sorority or fraternity where there is (at least theoretically) more of a “family” than a dormitory setting?
Clearly, there are no easy answers. So, the best thing to do is to discuss the situation with your insurance representative in advance. As you can see from this one example, insurance contracts are sometimes subject to interpretation and can be difficult for a consumer to understand. This is one reason why it is advisable to purchase your insurance from a qualified professional insurance agent.