Hurricane season is right around the corner (hurricane season runs from June 1st to November 30th).  Are you ready if a hurricane strikes Hawaii?  There are many things you can do beforehand to minimize losses.  Check out the attaached FEMA checklist for ways to protect your home.

Also, do you have a hurricane kit?  See the following video on what items you may want in your personal disaster kit.

FEMA Hurricane checklist

Windows Media

Last week I discussed how exterior modifications to your vehicle are covered by your auto insurance policy.  But what about interior modifications?  What if you switch out your radio/cd player for a superior model?  Or, if you add a dvd player with several screens throughout your car?  What about boom boxes and amplifiers?  And how about those GPS units that attach to your dash or windshield?

The standard auto policy covers electronic equipment that is installed where the equipment is intended for such equipment.  This means that electronic equipment that is permanently installed in a location not intended for such equipment is not covered.  To clarify using the above examples, the upgraded radio/cd would be covered if it was installed where the original radio was located.  But all the other examples would not be covered.  To further clarify, the dvd and screens would be covered if they came with the vehicle.  But they would not be covered if they were installed after you purchased the vehicle because they would be installed in a location where they were not intended to be located.

Similar to exterior modifications, you can purchase additional insurance to cover electronic equipment that is not covered by the standard policy.

So, you want to trick out your new ride.  Maybe add a new set of shiny rims and tires.  And a spoiler would look nice.  How about lowering the vehicle a couple of inches?  When you’re all done, you’ve spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars for your customization. 

But what happens if your new add-ons are damaged or stolen?  Will you auto insurance policy cover the loss?

If you have a standard auto insurance policy, the answer would be “no.”  The standard auto insurance policy does not cover any modifications to your vehicle.  However, most insurance companies can cover your customized vehicle with special endorsements to your policy (you’ll have to pay a little more premium for this coverage).

If you have modified your vehicle and would like to make sure your insurance policy covers the customization, check with your insurance agent.

You may be surprised that the answer is “yes!”  Although most propety insurance policies exclude flood losses (a tsunami would be classified as a flood loss), auto insurance policies do not have a flood exclusion.  So, if a tsunami damaged your car, your auto insurance would cover the damages.  You would have to carry the comprehensive (also known as “other than collision” ) coverage for the damages to be covered.

In the wake of the devastating Japanese earthquake and tsunami on March 11, many might question if there is insurance available to cover earthquake and/or tsunami losses.  The answer is “yes.” 

For earthquake losses, a homeowner’s insurance policy can be modified to add this coverage to the policy.  However, not many insurance carriers offer this additional coverage.

For tsunami losses, a flood insurance policy would cover this exposure.  Flood insurance is written through the National Flood Insurance Program, a federal program.

For more on flood insurance, please see the following link:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_insurance

Do you own a pet?  Perhaps you have a Fido (dog) or a Whiskers (cat).  If you do, you probably noticed that vet costs have been increasing.  Personally, we took one of our dogs for an annual check-up last week and the vet bill was over $200!

With the increase in vet costs has come the introduction of pet insurance.  You can purchase pet insurance that will help to defray the vet bills. 

Is pet insurance right for you?  Check out the following article for some insight:

Do You Need Pet Insurance for Buddy?

Veterinary bills are increasing much faster than the overall rate of inflation. Part of this reason lies in the advancements of medical techniques and the increasing number of veterinarian specialists. These trends, however, come at a price. For example, performing a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam on the spine of a cat can cost upwards of $2,000. Removing a tumor on a dog can cost $4,000, and implanting a pacemaker can cost over $7,500. Even dealing with a dislocated ankle can run you around $5,000.

As a result, pet insurance sales are increasing rapidly. Is this a wise purchase? Much of the decision depends on how you view your pet. If you are emotionally close to your pet and see it as a loving family member who is nearly irreplaceable, then consider the following questions. If the answer to any of the questions below is yes, you should look into purchasing this coverage.

• Are you willing to go into debt to provide health care for your pet?
• Are you on a fixed or limited income?
• Would you be willing to spend over $5,000 to save your pet in a life-threatening situation?

If you decide to purchase this protection, you should carefully compare the rates and policy provisions of at least three well-established pet insurers.

Get more personal lines insurance and risk management tips and ideas from IRMI.

Copyright 2011
International Risk Management Institute, Inc.

A lot of people check around periodically to see if they can lower their auto insurance costs. After all, we are inundated with commercials to “Save money on your car insurance.” But the homeowner’s insurance policy is often overlooked. Review the article below to see if you can lower your homeowner’s insurance costs.

Lower Your HO Insurance Costs

Homeowners insurance premiums often take a substantial bite out of a family’s budget. You may, however, be paying too much for this coverage. The following are some approaches you can use to reduce your homeowners insurance costs.

Try to increase your deductible to the highest one you can afford, even if the premium savings do not appear to justify it. This will decrease your premium and increase the likelihood that your loss history will be excellent, since minor losses will be paid by you and not your insurance company. A loss-free record over time saves premium dollars. For example, if you currently have a $250 deductible on your homeowners policy, consider increasing it to $500 or $1,000.

Consider purchasing a monitored burglar alarm. Alarms have proven successful in reducing burglary rates. In addition, most insurers provide premium discounts to consumers with these alarms, some as high as 20 percent.

Maintain your home in optimum condition. If a repair is needed, perform it as soon as possible. For example, loose or missing roof shingles should be repaired or replaced immediately. A home in excellent condition is much less likely to experience a loss.

Buy your home insurance and your auto insurance from the same company. Discounts normally apply when you do.

Get more personal lines insurance and risk management tips and ideas from IRMI.

Copyright 2011

International Risk Management Institute, Inc.

Do you have children that are approaching driving age?  How do you feel?  Personally, I’m pretty apprehensive about my two daughters driving in a few years.  Thankfully, although there is a lot more traffic compared to when I started driving, there are many new laws to address youthful driving.  For example, mandatory driving school and zero tolerance for drinking and driving.

But have you also given any thought to your parent’s driving?  Again, for me, I have a few more years before I need to address this issue.  But I have a couple of clients who are going through this process now.  These clients’ parents should not be driving.  Close calls and minor accidents led the clients to try and put a halt on their parent’s driving. 

Both cases provided examples of the two extremes that could result.  One parent admitted that he should stop driving.  The other was quite emphatic that his driving was fine.  He even changed doctors when his long time primary doctor agreed with the client. 

The point here is that many of our parents will be living past the point when they should be driving.  Like youthful drivers, we must also be prepared to have a tough conversation with our parents regarding their driving.

View the following video for more tips: http://www.libertymutualimages.com/ProfDave/#tough-conversation

You hate to think about it, but accidents happen.  Are you prepared if you are involved in an auto accident?  What should you do?  Who should you call?  What kind of information should you be getting from the other driver?

These are all good questions.  Unfortunately, most of us are not prepared to answer these questions.

Of all the question that you may ask yourself, calling the police might be the most important question.  No matter how small the accident, you should ALWAYS call the police.  It’s always good to have a third party opinion, and there’s none better than a police officer. 

Click on the link below and check out the video.  It helps answer these questions just in case you are involved in a car crash.

http://www.libertymutualimages.com/ProfDave/#crash-advice

Do you have a teenager who drives your vehicles?  Teenagers’ highest risk of death is from an automobile accident.  And teenagers have the highest rate of accidents compared to any other age group.

With today’s technology, you can monitor your teen’s driving habits.  There is a “black box” available that you can install in your car that will monitor your teen’s driving habits.  Is this too much oversight of our teen drivers?  Or, is it worth it since your teen’s life is at stake?

My daughters aren’t old enough to drive yet, so I don’t have to make the decision right now.  But, I’m sure it will be a hard decision when the time comes.  See details about this topic below:

Monitor Your Teen’s Driving

Automobile accidents are easily the leading cause of death for teenagers across America, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). For both genders, drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 have the highest average annual crash and traffic violation rates of any other age group. NHTSA data also show that unaccompanied 16- and 17-year-olds crash nine times more often than adults.

Research indicates that young novice drivers tend to underestimate the crash risk in hazardous situations. Teen drivers also tend to take more risks while driving, partly due to their overconfidence in their driving abilities. One way for parents to reduce their teen’s chances of being involved in an auto accident is to use technology to monitor their driving characteristics and provide appropriate feedback.

A number of “black box” products are now available on the marketplace to facilitate monitoring drivers. These small devices (often the size of a pager and starting at around $280) can be simply installed into the auto your teen drives by plugging them into the Vehicle Data Link Connector (on 1996 and new vehicles). They can detect and record your teen’s speed, aggressive driving such as “jack-rabbit” takeoffs, failure to wear a seat belt, unsafe backing techniques, driving locations, monthly mileage, and driving times. Thus, if your teen’s curfew is at midnight and they get home at 1:00 a.m., you will know it.

With some of these products, you can simply pop the memory card out of the “black box” and plug it into your PC to display the reports and graphs. You can then review the results with your teenager, providing a great educational opportunity based on solid, technology-driven evidence. Research indicates that this type of monitoring and coaching pays off big dividends in the form of safer teen driving. Numerous companies offer these products in the marketplace, with some of the more sophisticated ones costing upwards of $1,000. A few insurers offer discounts for families who utilize these devices.

Get more personal lines insurance and risk management tips and ideas from IRMI.

Copyright 2010
International Risk Management Institute, Inc.