WHAT INSURANCE SHOULD YOU HAVE?

In order to maximize the value of money spent on insurance, particularly for automobiles, you should check with your insurance agent and make sure that you have your insurance in the proper form. You should consider the following:

1. Named Insured: All of the cars owned by you or any family member should have insurance policies written with the same named insured for each vehicle.
2. Stacking Coverage: You should consider choosing stacking (combining the insurance coverage on all vehicles). Stacking of vehicles in your household allows you to combine two vehicles together for no-fault benefits. This is fairly inexpensive insurance which doubles the coverage available to you for no-fault benefits.
3. Liability Insurance: Your homeowner’s and automobile liability insurance insures you against claims made by others. The amount of coverage that you purchase will depend upon the value of the assets that you own. The more you are worth, the more liability insurance you should buy.
4. Uninsured and Underinsured Coverage: You should carefully check the minimum insurance coverage you have for this type of coverage. The minimum should be $100,000 and under certain circumstances, you should have more. This coverage is inexpensive and protects you and your family member when other drivers do not have insurance or insufficient insurance to cover your loss.
5. Motor Vehicle Ownership Issues: You should be careful on how you purchase your insurance if your motor vehicles are owned by partnerships or corporations. Depending upon the ownership of the vehicle, family members may be excluded from coverage when they drive a work-related vehicle even with your consent.
6. Umbrella Policy: You should consider the purchase of an umbrella policy of insurance which covers you if all other insurance is not enough to cover the loss. Usually, umbrella policies are fairly inexpensive. You need to watch for particular problems in the purchase of an umbrella policy. Some umbrella insurance policies exclude payment if other insurance from the same company provides coverage. You need to take care in examining the umbrella policy to make certain that it will cover all potential losses and supplements other coverages that you may have.
7. Ask Questions: When purchasing insurance, don’t be afraid to ask your agent questions and to ask for written answers from the agent. Ask “what if’s.” What if my child drives the car when they are not a resident of my house? What if the car is owned by the corporation, etc? It is imperative that you receive these answers in writing. This will assist you in making your insurance decisions. It will also force your agent to give serious consideration to the questions you ask and to check with the company for answers.

DISCLAIMER INFORMATION: THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS SITE IS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION AND IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. YOU SHOULD NOT DRAW LEGAL CONCLUSIONS OR RELY UPON THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS SITE AS LEGAL ADVICE OR AN OPINION ON THE LAW OR THE MERITS OF YOUR CASE. THE LAW CONSTANTLY CHANGES AND YOU SHOULD DISCUSS THE INDIVIDUAL FACTS OF YOUR CASE WITH AN ATTORNEY TO OBTAIN COMPETENT LEGAL ADVICE.