Today we live in an “Amazon” world and we’ve come to expect that with a few clicks, we can buy just about anything. Car Insurance is no exception and you can easily go online and buy a policy in 15…
“Hey, I have to go pickup a new couch – Can I borrow your truck?” We’ve all been there- your friend asks to borrow your car for weekend or use your truck to make a dump run and you are…
“I just want you to find me the least expensive policy” said a business client during a recent policy review. “Isn’t that your job as my agent? Margins are tight and I need to save money wherever I can.” “Actually”…
I was just talking with the owner of a local real estate agency this week and reviewing their insurance portfolio when he asked “So sometimes I let my employees drive my vehicle when they need a truck to haul things,…
By Ryan Stueber While it is usually quite straightforward to get an Earthquake Insurance policy, understanding how the policy works and the options you can choose from is not. If you’re more interested in the answer to “Should I have…
There are many factors that go into determining the cost of insuring your new home. We’d like you to be able to consider them before you shop! This will help you avoid some unpleasant surprises after you have your heart…
By Ryan Stueber If we do experience “The Big One” in our lifetime we can be certain of two things- Our lives will be severely disrupted and our Homeowners Insurance will not cover any damage caused by the earthquake. We…
You just closed on that new home you worked so hard to find, then purchase, then move, then unpack, then get rid of all those boxes. It feels like just yesterday you threw away the last box – when you…
By Ryan Stueber January 18, 2019 (edited Jan 2020) It’s already been a wet and wild winter here in the Pacific Northwest with some significant weather events and yes, more on the way!! As the threat of wind looms, I thought it might be helpful to others to share with you some of the common scenarios that happen during our winter weather and how they are covered on a typical home insurance policy. As always, we’ll be here to help you thru the process should you have any questions or any damage occurs at your home. 5 Potential Winter Damage Insurance Claim Scenarios Windstorm blew shingles off my roof Is it covered? Yes but with some limitations- a typical Homeowners Insurance policy will pay for repairs to your roof, assuming the repair costs more than your deductible. But what if the roof is beyond repair and needs to be replaced? In many cases, the insurance company will pay out a depreciated amount to help replace the roof. This means that the older your roof is and the poorer the condition prior to the storm, the smaller the amount that the insurance company will pay. Insurance companies do this to protect themselves from paying out to replace people’s roofs that already need to be replaced due to wear and tear. Our recommendation The first thing to do in this scenario is the call 2-3 roofing companies to come out and assess the damage. If it is under or around your deductible, then it makes sense to take care of the damage yourself and not file a claim. If the damage is more severe or the roof needs to be replaced, give us a call to discuss further as it may be worth filing a claim at that point. Windstorm blows a […]
By Ryan Stueber January 2019 Liability Insurance- how do I know if I have enough? One sunny day you are driving along a road that you’ve driven many times before. You slow and prepare for a right hand turn into a parking lot but fail to notice the bicyclist riding along in the bike lane next to you. As you turn, the cyclist is unable to stop and crashes into the side of your car, causing significant head and chest injuries. As much as you are concerned that he will be ok, as he is carted off in the ambulance you can’t help but wonder, “Is my Auto Insurance going to cover this?” One of the biggest financial risks that we rarely consider as we go about our daily lives is a liability lawsuit from an auto accident. As we can see from the example above, it only takes a moment’s inattention to have life altering implications. With medical costs skyrocketing and more and more people hiring personal injury attorneys after an accident, it is more important than ever to review the Liability coverage on your Auto Insurance Policy. The State of Washington only requires Liability Limits of $25,000 per person, and up to $50,000 per accident on an Auto Insurance policy. That may seem like a lot but if you’ve been to the hospital or had any kind of medical care, you likely know just how fast 25,000 can be used up when treating an injury. In a hospital or major medical clinic that amount could be used up in less than a day! Once the Liability Limits on your auto insurance policy have been exhausted and all used up, the insurance company has done their part on the claim and steps out. The remainder of any financial burden […]