California Insurance Information

• Identity fraud occurs when someone uses the personal information of another without their consent.
• Identity fraud is becoming more common and continues to increase.
• Nearly 10 million people in the United States are affected annually.
• Personal records were either stolen, lost or compromised in the millions in 2005. (more…)
   

No!

An agent who represents several companies will charge a broker fee.  The broker fee is non-refundable.  Now, don’t get me wrong, if the agent makes a mistake and you need to cancel the policy before it goes into effect, you should get the broker fee returned.  Keep in mind, all agents aren’t going to be this nice, because essentially the agent worked for free and all his time spent was for nothing.  (more…)

The California Office of Emergency Services offers these tips to help keep you safe and injury-free during an earthquake.

• In a High-Rise Building: Look for items that could fall, duck under a desk or table, move against an interior wall, and protect your head with your arms.  Do not use elevators.
• Outdoors: Move to a clear area away from trees, signs, buildings, or downed electrical wires and poles.
• On Sidewalk Near Buildings: Duck into a doorway to protect yourself from falling bricks, glass, plaster, and other debris. (more…)
   

An insurance agent does a lot of work to verify a quote.  Why, because he or she has to be accurate.  Of course, the quote is based on the information you provide.  Does the agent order reports?  NO, not before he has an appointment to write the policy.  The reports cost money and the agent would be foolish to order them prior to writing a policy. (more…)

There are all kinds of insurance. There are policies for cars, motorcycles, homes, life and health insurance. I will primarily discuss personal lines insurance. There is also insurance offered for business and more.

Is it important to have insurance?

Thats a wide open question. We have a need to insure against a liability and to protect our assets. Lets talk about the different insurance offered.

Car insurance is mandatory in California. You don’t have to have full coverage, just the minimum requirement set by law. That minimum is 15,000 per person, 30,000 per accident and 5,000 for property damage. The rest of the coverage is up to you.
What is your threshold for taking on the risk and not paying the insurance companies.  How much can you afford?  How much will you lose if you don’t have the added insurance? These are the kind of questions you should be asking yourself.  Am I insured properly?  Do I have assets to protect and the resources to pay for them? (more…)

I would like to invite anyone with questions for California insurance to email us your query. 

We are actively seeking people who have questions concerning California insurance.  We write weekly articles on questions or concerns for California residents. (more…)

Retirement years bring a lot of new surprises.  Although, your body may not react the same way, your insurance should be a source of some comfort. 

There are many discounts for retired people on car, home and other insurance.  Not only are there discounts for having multiple policies with one company, there are discounts for your age. 

Example: Car and home policy together with one company.  (Discount on both policies from 10 to as much as 25 per cent).

Example: Age over 50 or retired gets you more discounts for some companies on your home policies.  (You need to ask your agent about these discounts and the age requirements). (more…)

Today, I’m writing about my past articles.  These articles are written for you, the California consumer.

The article on Wild Fires in California let everyone know how important it is to have a knowledgeable and personal agent.  I wrote about agents who are brokers versus captive agents and what it means to you.  Another article titled, why do agents charge broker fees, tells you not to be afraid to pay a broker fee if the agent is saving you money.  Again, the agent is representing different companies and is asking you for, hopefully, a small fee for that service.

The articles contain many topics including: car, home, life and health insurance. (more…)

Your policy covers you anywhere in the United States.  But, there may be differences from state to state.  If you are staying in another state for a long period of time, say 3 months or more, you may want to change your insurance.  The determining factor is, where is my permanent residence?  What determines your residency is where you live, receive your mail and how long you live there during the year?  Is your driver’s license and car registered in the same state?  If you plan on going back to your state, you may not want to change your driver’s license and car registration to another state.  It can become costly to change back and forth.  Again, if you are moving permanently, then you will have to change your driver’s license, registration and insurance to that state.

States could have differences in minimum liability requirements, or be a no-fault insurance state.  Some states may offer coverage for loss of income, funeral expense, accidental death, etc., while other states may not.  Whatever the coverage differences, your policy will comply with the minimum standard requirements for liability in each state. (more…)

When shopping for insurance most people buy with price in mind.  Price is important, but its certainly not the only reason to base your decision making.

How important is the insurance company you choose?  Choose your insurance company wisely.  You want a top rated company that has good customer service and an excellent claims reputation. 

When shopping for insurance, who will find you the right company and the right price?  The answer to that is an insurance agent.  Now, you could get lucky and stumble upon the right agent, but the best way is to ask friends you respect.  I believe it is very important to have a knowledgeable agent, an agent that knows you and represents several companies that are highly rated.  One of my customers said, â€?I want an insurance company with good customer serviceâ€?.  I told my client, no matter who I put you with you will have good customer service. Why do I know this, because I’m the customer service. My insurance clients call me for any questions or policy changes.  You can’t expect to be an expert in insurance if you are not in the insurance industry.  Now, just like any other profession, we have agents that aren’t up to par.  Thats why you need to first find the right agent for you and establish a relationship.  Keep in mind, a good agent will want to be your agent for life.  Agents who are brokers represent several insurance companies.  Most brokers prefer to represent several companies to give his clients choices.  An agent who represents only 1 company is limited to what he or she can provide for you.  (more…)