Typically “most” insurance companies, start and stop, there polices at 12:01 AM (one minute after midnight). With that, the first day of your policy period you have coverage all that day. The last day of your policy period, you do not have coverage because it ended a minuet after that day started.
First Aid Kit, toilet paper stored in a zip-lock bag
Flashlight (preferable a forehead mounted flashlight) with
extra batteries
Jumper Cables, tire chains/cables, and a tarp, extra
old/cheap sunglasses
Road flares or roadside lights or reflectors
Pen, Pencil and paper, vehicle cell phone charger, and a “printed”
out list of important phone numbers.
Extra old warm coat, hats and leather work gloves (a set for
each family member)
Energy Snack Bars, Drinking Water, mints, gum, floss and
small travel tooth brush and paste
Blanket, Umbrella, Kleenex, Ice Scraper/brush
Swiss Army or Leatherman utility knife
Supply of wet baby-wipes stored in a strong freezer zip-lock
bag
Duct tape, Rope, String, Trash bags, twisty and a few extra gallon
size freezer zip-lock bags.
Small handle shovel, zip-ties, tow rope/chain, bungees.
Mace ,Pepper Spray or some other appropriate self-defense
you feel comfortable storing/using.
Red-rag-flag needed if transporting something sticking out
back of your vehicle 4 feet or more.
A Chilton repair manual for your specific vehicle.
Purchase tools that would be commonly used to repair your
vehicle and keep them in your vehicle. Be sure to purchase the size for your
vehicle (metric tools for foreign made vehicles.)
Engine oil, brake fluid (type used for your vehicle) and windshield
wiper fluid.
Your safety is most important. Stay put unless safety is a concern then take photos (if possible) of vehicles placement and then move vehicles to a safe spot out of traffic. Never stand “between” the two parked vehicles and, if you feel the need to take a photo between cars, keep an eye on traffic to find a safe moment.
Call the police and stay put, if safe, until they arrive. Cooperate with the police investigation Keep any conversation factual and don’t let emotions influence what you say. Don’t admit fault or assume responsibility for any damages or injuries caused in the accident.
Keep in mind, the police may not respond if the accident happened on private property or if it happened during severe weather conditions when the county or city is on “Accident Alert”. During an accident alert, police can respond if: 1. The car is undrivable, 2. It involves drugs or alcohol, 3. There are injuries or loss of life, 4. There is no insurance coverage, 5. hit and run, 6 Or public property, like a guardrail, is damaged.
If you follow up on a claim, try calling the insurance company’s main claims phone number and then get transferred to the adjuster assigned to your claim number, instead of calling your adjusters directly. The adjusters could change and by calling the main number, there should be a record of the time and date of your called on your claims file.
Information you will need to file a claim
The Above Information is Courtesy of Elkstone Insurance Group, Inc. For a free no-obligation quote on your insurance from several insurance companies, please contact:
Martin A. Sajbel, Insurance Broker 303-716-0970 or visit: www.elkstoneinsurance.com
Liability coverage is the coverage on your policy that would pay toward a third party, on your behalf, if you were liable for their damage, injury or death as a result of an accident. Proper liability coverage will preserve all that you have worked for and future earnings via your wages being garnished if coverage and assets aren’t enough to indemnify the third party. Because of this, I believe, your liability coverage is the most important coverage on your policy. This is especially important if you are financially successful and have lots to lose.
The good news is liability coverage is relatively inexpensive. The more the cost is for liability, chances are, the more you need it. For example, adding a youthful driver to your policy can be costly, even with the limit of liability remaining the same. This is because the likelihood of being sued as a result of your inexperienced youthful driver getting into a serious accident causing injuries and possibly death to a third party has been dramatically increased.
What you can do to protect yourself from being sued is increase your liability limit (Bodily Injury, Property Damage) on your auto, home and any other policies (Boat, ATV, landlord policy) to more than your net worth. Some say you should have more liability coverage than your asset base. This might involve purchasing a “personal umbrella liability policy”. These umbrella polices are sold in increments of a million dollars and will usually cost around $200 a year for a one million dollar policy for a typical family with one home and two vehicles.
This umbrella liability policy will provide a blanket of extra liability coverage over and above all your other polices covered under the umbrella. If you own insurance on a boat, ATV, rental properties and more, they would all be protected under this umbrella and that would add a little more cost to the umbrella’s annual premium. There are also added cost for each vehicle you own and household driver under age 25. I usually recommend you purchase an umbrella policy if your net worth is over $250,000. Your net worth is all that you and your spouse own (your asset base) minus loans outstanding. This includes your retirement savings, home, vehicle values and all your personal property including rental properties and a business you own. Just because your rental property or business you own is an LLC or corporation with insurance on it, doesn’t escape you including it in your personal net worth calculation.
If you own it, and can sell it, its value needs to be included in your personal net worth. That can be hard to grasp, but trust me, it is better to be safe than sorry.
One of the added benefits of having higher liability limits on your auto insurance is that you can also have higher limits for UMBI (uninsured/underinsured bodily injury) for a low premium. Having higher UMBI coverage helps to indemnify you and passages if someone else hits you and has little or no liability insurance to pay for your injuries, pain and suffering, loss of wages or even death of a loved one.
If you have questions or concerns about how much liability coverage you need, contact Independent Insurance Agent Martin Sajbel for a free consultation.
Adding a teenage driver to your auto insurance policy has dramatic affect on the premium. But there are things you should know that will help reduce those costs. Each insurance company is different, so be sure to consult your insurance agent for underwriting rules and discounts. The following tips are only general in nature.
You should always check with your insurance agent and read your insurance company’s policy to make sure your auto insurance coverage would extend to a rental car. Coverage could very from company to company. Even if you have your auto insurance through Elkstone Insurance Group, Inc your insurance coverage could change depending on the insurance company you are insured with, within our agency. In general, most auto insurance companies I have work with will extend coverage from the best insured vehicle on your auto policy, if not excluded for some reason. So if you do not have collision and comprehensive (liability only) on any one of your vehicles currently insured, then you wouldn’t have collision and comprehensive coverage extend to the vehicle you are renting. In that case, you may want to purchase the coverage offered by the rental car company.
If you have more than one auto insurance company in the household, most policies will exclude coverage for non-owned vehicles. I believe insurance companies put this in their policy to eliminate double coverage or to avoid conflict with the other insurance company in the household as to what insurance company is responsible if there was a loss. Most of the time, it is best to have all your vehicles, in the household, insured with the same insurance company and not split them among two or more insurance companies.
Insurance companies will also exclusion coverage to a large vehicles or trucks rented. If you are renting a moving truck, coverage may NOT extend from your auto policy to that moving truck. For example, coverage may extend if the vehicle’s GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight) is 10,000 LB or less. Within the same insurance company this weight limit may change depending on the type of coverage extended for i.e. collision, comprehensive or liability.
Higher risk auto insurance companies might have limited coverage for this. One insurance company “Viking/Dairyland” will only extend coverage for a rental vehicle if it is needed as temporary transpertation while the main vehicle is in the shop. They will not extend coverage for a rental vehicle rented while on vacation.
Keep in mind your auto policy may only cover a rental car driven in the United States and maybe Canada. If you plan on renting a vehicle in Mexico or other counties, more than likely, your coverage will not extend to those territories.
Many policy holders will make the mistake that this extension of insurance coverage for a rental car is covered under a coverage called “Loss of use” or “Rental Car” coverage. This is not the same coverage. If you have “Loss of use” or “Rental Car” coverage on your declaration page, that coverage pays for the cost of a rental car while an insured vehicle cannot be operated and is being repaired for damage payable under collision or comprehensive coverage.
