Limited or Full Tort?

Whether you’re getting auto insurance for the first or fifth time, the hardest choice to make is whether you would have limited or full tort. The choice between limited and full tort is made even harder with the confusing definition available on most insurance companies websites. Ultimately, it’s important to fully understand this concept in order to choose the option best for you and your family

What is tort?
According to Merriam Webster, tort is “a wrongful act, other than a breach of contract, [through] which relief may be obtained in the form of damages.” For motorists, that means this type of insurance essentially pays damages to the insured after an accident. Specifically, tort covers injuries you may receive from a run-in with another vehicle. The other party must be at fault, otherwise the tort option doesn’t come into effect.
With full tort, you retain the right to sue the at-fault party for more than medical expenses and other accident-related expenses, such as pain and suffering. In essence, full tort is a security blanket for your family. If injuries from an accident force you to rack up medical bills, rehab bills and remain out of work, your ability to sue for damages, including pain and suffering, can greatly ease the burden.

Which is right for me?
The main appeal of limited tort is the price. It’s considerably cheaper than full tort, and property damages and injuries are still covered. Limited tort, however, restricts what policy owners can include in a civil suit. Some major exceptions exist, which may allow for some compensation beyond medical under limited tort. For the most part, policy owners lose only the right to sue for pain and suffering, but that can be a devastating if the accident severely injured you. 

Although full tort is considered the best option, choosing what’s right for you should be determined by your own needs and beliefs. One important question to ask yourself is whether or not you would sue the other party for damages. Although you would have the right to sue, you are never required to. If it goes against any beliefs you may have to pursue a suit, limited tort is just what the doctor ordered to help limit the cost of auto insurance. On the other hand, full tort provides the best security for your family, as it helps insure an accident doesn’t cause serious financial harm.

The truth is, there is no right or wrong answer. You have to decide whether or not you need the extra coverage of full tort, and if you can handle the extra expense each month on something you (hopefully) will never need to use. For more questions and to get a great rate on Colorado Car Insurance, contact an agent at Premier Group Insurance today.

The Truth about Active Safety Systems

One of the most valuable assets to come out of our technological renaissance can be found in the active safety systems in newer automobiles. Not only are these safety systems valuable because they prevent injuries and death by reducing accidents, but they’re also valuable in that they can help to reduce both Colorado auto insurance premiums and overall driver expenses.

How Active Safety Systems Help

Data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in 2008 showed that forward collision warning systems could potentially prevent 2.3 million crashes in the United States annually. They also found that 143,000 crashes per year could be prevented with adaptive headlights that help drivers see better around corners and 417,000 accidents could be prevented with emergency brake assistance, a system that applies the break for a driver when it senses a forward collision is imminent.

The Possible Downsides

One concern that the Institute’s safety report mentioned was regarding how drivers would adapt to utilizing active safety systems—especially since many drivers weren’t even aware of their existence. In a May 2006 report ordered by the European Commission, researchers found that safety equipment did not play a major part in the sales process as auto sales professionals felt that their customers weren’t necessarily interested in the topic. A 2011 report delivered by European company, eValue, mentions the problem of creating a rating system for active safety technology in order to improve what they describe as the, "low awareness" of car buyers.

If you purchase a vehicle with an active safety system, it's important that you understand how the system works and how you need to interact with it for maximum efficiency. Without truly understanding your system, its notification method may produce anxiety while you drive and you may not fully benefit from the technology.

Retaining the Driver’s Personal Safety System

Even more important, perhaps, is learning to utilize the technology without relying on it completely. In 2011, Wired magazine discussed the occasional failure of active safety systems. In their piece, they mentioned the importance of active driving at all times so that drivers can be prepared to react appropriately to a dangerous situation when their active safety system unexpectedly fails.

Your vehicle’s active safety system is a supplemental product that can help lower your insurance premiums, but it’s not infallible nor is it a miracle cure for bad driving. Learn how to work with it and how to work without it in the event of failure.

Understanding Your Insurance Policy Stipulations and Conditions

In the past few years, one-time Disney star Lindsay Lohan has had a lot of trouble driving without incident. As such, she’s become pretty high risk in the eyes of the insurance companies. On her most recent movie set, the insurance company temporarily insuring her for the movie stipulated that in order to be covered, she must not drive during the months and weeks that she was working on the film. Unfortunately, she did not comply with this rule and—after getting behind the wheel of a rented Porsche—had yet another incident.

Luckily for Lohan and the movie company, the insurer did not cancel her policy, but because she was out of compliance with the stipulations and conditions of the policy, they certainly could have. It’s never a good idea for you to push the boundaries of your insurance coverage and test the limits of the insurance company’s patience. Instead, it’s best to have a full understanding of the stipulations and conditions in your policy, which can include things like:

• A liability insurance policy might require a certain course of action in specific situations.
• A home insurance policy may state that it is for a primary residence only, meaning that you can’t use it for a property that you rent out.
• An auto policy might stipulate that it’s for personal use—which makes using it for commercial purposes completely uncovered.
• All insurance policies can stipulate that the insured is not to hide any details of the claims from the insurer or otherwise commit fraud.
• A health policy could stipulate that a pre-existing health condition is not covered.
• An auto insurance policy may stipulate that unlicensed drivers are not covered.

The key to understanding the conditions and stipulations of your Colorado insurance policy is to actually read them. If you want to discuss how your policies work and any specific conditions that you’re concerned about, give us a call at Premier Group Insurance today.

Insurance as a Budget Guarantee

Every day it seems that different events, retailers, and even people conspire against your ability to keep your spending on target, turning budgeting into a sport for which you must play the offensive position. But all hope isn’t lost; there are many ways you can keep your expenses on track and your bank balances in the green. Among all of the tricks out there, the purchase of insurance is one of the most deceptively simple and often overlooked.

Insurance Can Prevent Additional Expense

During a car accident, if your vehicle suffers any damage you'll likely need to get it fixed. In fact, you may not be able to go to work without doing so or renting a car in the interim. A Colorado auto insurance policy may not only provide payment for repairs in excess of the deductible, but it can also provide a loss of use benefit that pays for a rental during a certain period.

Likewise, a home insurance policy can pay to have the contents of your home replaced when they are damaged during an insurable incident and may pay for a hotel room or other temporary lodging.

Without insurance, both these events would quickly devastate your budget and could make it next to impossible to get back on track for the near future.

Level Premiums and Deductibles

It would be almost possible to accurately predict the amount that you need to pay for car repairs caused by accidents and then to budget for those expenses. Additionally, it would be impossible to predict all the other property you might lose over the course of a year and the cost to replace it. Insurance policies offer affordable premiums and deductibles that you can easily plan and budget for in advance.

Whether you're completing a midyear budget checkup or getting ready to start your 2013 budget planning, it’s time to allow insurance policies their place in your financial plan as a budget guarantee. Give us a call at Premier Group Insurance today and we can help you review your current insurance portfolio, identify any gaps in coverage and help you set out on the right foot for the future.

Protecting Yourself from Liability Claims when Your Home is for Sale

When your home is for sale you’ll have many prospective buyers walking through the property on any given day, exploring both the inside and out. They will poke and prod, crawl and crouch as they examine every crevice to decide whether it's a property they wish to invest in. Although these individuals will not be left unattended, since you or your real estate agent will be with them, they could be injured while on your property. It is generally your responsibility to pay damages from injuries that occur while you own the home, so it's important that you have the right liability insurance going into the home sale process.

Liability in Home Insurance Policies

Your home insurance policy has many limits; one of them may be for contents coverage, one for dwelling coverage, one for loss of use, and one are for liabilities. Check your insurance policy to see your liability insurance limits and make sure that they are reasonable when compared to the additional risk you take on when you invite strangers in to evaluate your home.

Umbrella Liability Insurance

You may wish to consider an umbrella liability insurance policy in the event that your current home insurance liability limits are too low. An umbrella liability insurance policy is a separate policy that steps in to pay claims that exceed the liability limits of your home insurance policy. They have their own limits which can range from $1 million or more. Best of all, they don’t just cover your home liability but also your auto liability.

Because the coverage you need is temporary, securing an umbrella liability insurance policy may be a better strategy than increasing the liability insurance coverage on your home insurance policy. Umbrella policies can also be very inexpensive, increasing your overall carrying costs very little.

It can be difficult to determine the best way to protect yourself from liabilities when you put your home on the market. Luckily, there is no need for you to make this decision alone. Give us a call and we can discuss your current limits and help you decide whether they keep pace with your risks. We can also discuss the benefits of having an umbrella liability insurance policy during the home sale process.

Arizona Residents: Use Your Smart Phone to Prove Insurance Coverage

How often have you gone to clean out your wallet only to find an expired insurance card within its folds and a new card nowhere to be seen? If you are one of those extremely organized people then it's possible that this has never happened to you because you switch out your auto insurance card every time your policy renews, but many individuals don't even realize they need a new card until they get pulled over and it’s too late.

Arizona residents will no longer feel the shame of not replacing their insurance card since the governor recently signed a bill that allows Arizona residents to show proof of auto insurance coverage with their Smartphone.

Wireless Proof of Coverage

With electronic gadgets taking over our documentation storage, it was only a matter of time before states began approving alternative methods to show proof of valid auto insurance coverage.

This approval allows insured drivers to use an application on their Smartphone to show an electronic facsimile of their insurance card. Drivers should note that, when showing an officer their Smartphone, they are not giving the officer permission to view any other data stored on the device.

Arizona isn't alone in approving the presentation of wireless coverage documentation when pulled over. Idaho has also introduced the same legislation and it's anticipated that even more states will join them. Alabama and Colorado may be quickly following suit, with Colorado allowing drivers to show electronic proof when registering their vehicles as well.

Smartphones and Insurance: Natural Partners

Smartphones offer insurance policyholders many helpful options for organizing their financial lives. They can utilize apps for home inventory creation, budgeting, bill payment reminders, and now offer electronic proof of you Colorado auto coverage. Many insurers are even getting in on the act by providing mobile policy access for questions and claims.

If you're interested in all the ways your Smartphone can be integrated into your insurance policy management, or want more suggestions on being as paperless as possible, give us a call at Premier Group Insurance or stop by.

Loss of Use—A Benefit Worth Keeping

Often, when we think about insurance, we think about how it covers many of the damages that occur during a covered peril such as a fire or flood. But there are more consequences to the damages these incidents cause to your property than just the loss of your tangible goods and shelter, because by making your property useless, insurable incidents force you to find a substitute until your repairs are done.

Loss of use is a valuable part of a home or auto insurance policy that can keep you and your family safe and active, even after a total loss.

Auto Loss of Use

If you are in an accident and your vehicle cannot be driven until repairs are made, the world doesn’t stop spinning. You still need to get to work, bring your kids to school, run errands, and more. When you have loss of use benefits in your auto insurance policy, your insurance company will pay for a car rental to get you around while you wait for repairs to be completed. You will be permitted to rent a car that is in a similar class to your own and the rental can generally last until you are able to pick up your own car again.

Home Loss of Use

There are some insurable incidents that do not require you to evacuate from your home or apartment afterward—such as damages that are limited to just one, small area of your home and carry no health hazards through the rest of your dwelling. But sometimes it’s not safe to be home until repairs are done, such as after a fire. When this happens, a loss of use benefit in your renter’s or home insurance policy will pay for a hotel or temporary rental until it’s safe to go back to your house or apartment. Your policy will have limits, restricting the total benefit to a certain percentage of the total limit of your policy.

It’s hard to imagine just how stressful it is to lose the ability to live in your home or drive your vehicle—even if the loss is temporary. Add in the extra burden of having to foot the bill for a short-term replacement and your life has become even more difficult than it needs to be—unless you have loss of use coverage. If you aren’t sure whether your home, renter’s or auto policy has this generous benefit or you want to add it to your policy, give us a call at Premier Group Insurance today!