Consider this approach: Gather your insurance policy documents in one place. You’ll need the declaration pages that show the insurance carrier, the effective dates, automobiles and coverages. You should also gather similar documents for your home, condo, renters or boat policies. Having more policies with one company affords bigger discounts.

Now that you have all the documents you need, call or visit someone that you can trust — your local independent insurance agent. Send your documents to him, and he will provide a competitive proposal that compares your current policy to the proposal. You decide if making a change is worth the little effort required to switch. Tim or Peter will make the transition as smooth as possible, by making sure you don’t pay for coverage you don’t need and dropping the old policy in the most effective way. The team of agents at most independent firms are trained and put their reputation on the line in the communities where they live and work. Haas Insurance Agency offices are located in Newtown, CT and Glastonbury, CT. Don’t hesitate to jump out of the online quoting maze to find out what value a professional can bring, especially when you’ll save as much or more than you could quoting everything alone without any help from someone that shares a mutual interest in your insurance protection at a great rate.

• Make sure you have plenty of windshield washer fluid
• Make sure the tread on your tires are at safe levels
• Don’t forget to put the ice scraper in the backseat of your car
• Make sure your windshield wiper blades operate properly, and you have new wiper blades for the season.

What are some of your tips for safe driving in the winter?  (leave a comment).

Medical coverage on the auto insurance policy is primary insurance and any auto injuries — even injuries while in someone else’s car — will be paid from a claim to the insured’s policy. Coverage limits can range from $1,000 to $5,000 and up to $50,000 or $100,000 for medical coverage. If a client has a high-deductible, like the maximum $5,800 on a Health Savings Account family plan in 2009, then medical coverage is appropriate to cover that deductible.

Reviewing your auto insurance to look for overpaying on medical coverage or to look for insurance gaps, is a worthwhile endeavor. You won’t find many agents talking about it, unless you ask. That is why we promote the information through every available channel at The Haas Agency. We care about our clients and live our motto, “Experience the Difference at The Haas Agency”.

Many people make the mistake of setting up their first insurance policies in their twenties. As they grow older and more independent, they fail to look back and update the coverages to meet new risks that they’ve assumed. This is a big responsibility, but one that can be managed in a few minutes witha a well-placed phone call to your insurance agent. I can promise the call will be worth the time to make it.

If you’ve been through any of the following life changes, you should take a serious look at your insurance liability coverages:

• Job change or career change with more or less income
• Marriage or divorce
• New children, family members and new members in the household
• Addition of young drivers
• Property sale or purchase
• Starting a new business
• New or used vehicle purchase
• New boat, jet ski, camper trailer, motorcyle, atv or scooter
• New pool, trampoline or dog
• Addition to the house, yard or landscape
• Big parties or events being planned

All of these types of changes and events happen everyday, and each one poses different types of risks. Liability coverage is part of your auto insurance and homeowners, and liability insurance protects you against harming other people’s property or causing accidental bodily injury to them. Claims are not frequent, but costs are very low to protect yourself against these risks. This is where a few minutes of preparation pays big dividends.

First, you should do whatever is possible to prevent accidents with safety measures. However, should an accident occur, you need to be sure in advance that you have enough protection to prevent an injured party from seriously damaging your financial well-being. You want to sleep well at night.

Take a moment to gather your thoughts about recent changes to your lifestyle and household. Consider what your plans are for the next year that involve any significant lifestyle changes. Gather your ideas about risks that might occur, then  call or e-mail your insurance agent to be sure your properly covered. You can contact any one of the Haas brothers to discuss your insurance needs by clicking here for our contact information.

We’re happy to help and make policy adjustments to keep your auto and homeowners insurance liability coverages properly balanced when life changes.

There will be more drivers riding their cars without insurance or without adequate insurance to protect you.  Uninsured motorist coverage is your way of protecting against this risk.

Imagine for a moment, another driver hits you from behind by failing to stop at a stop light – a common occurrence. Now imagine the other driver runs off or has no insurance, but that your seriously injured. Your uninsured motorist coverage will pay for hospitalization and rehabilitation to bring you back to health. However, these bills can mount rapidly and $50,000 — even $100,000 — may not be enough. We recommend at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident uninsured motorist coverage for individuals and small families that own property. More coverage is required, especially if you have no health insurance due to unemployment or for other reasons.

Medical coverage is helpful in the same situation, when the at-fault party in an accident doesn’t have enough insurance. Medical coverage pays for the same types of expenses that are paid by uninsured motorist coverage, but medical coverage pays out immediately when bills are due. With uninsured motorist coverage, injuries may need to be fully restored before payments are made. Medical coverage is primary insurance and pays first with a claim against your policy. It’s a worthwhile coverage to have, especially if you do not have any health insurance on your own or if you have a high-deductible health insurance plan.

There are many issues to consider when deciding on the appropriate limit for uninsured motorist coverage and medical insurance coverage on your auto insurance. It’s best to consult someone who has experience with the issues involved, and it’s definitely a wise decision to review the coverages now. Don’t wait until it’s too late, especially these days when more people are driving without adequate insurance. We’re seeing many folks cut back on important expenses like auto insurance this year. A warning is in order. Now is the time to be even more vigilant and confirm that your auto insurance coverages are set right for your individual and family situations.

Insurance professionals know their producti They are aware of all carrier discounts and have more tools at their disposal than online shoppers. Professionals often beat automated online insurance pricing, especially when it comes to total protection planning.

Insurance works best when auto, home, life and other insurances are put together in a plan. Gaps in a family’s insurance plan can have devastating consequences.

Personal interaction and a consultative sales approach allow insurance professionals to better assess the client’s individual needs. For instance, in auto, a better price may be offered by splitting coverage between liability and comp/collision.

Brokers can also make suggestions to lower costs, and they can apply discounts clients would not otherwise be aware of. No automated online system can match the insurance professional’s ability to provide this level of personalized service.

Have you ever returned a leased car that has a few dings in it. Ugh! The dealer charges you for everything.

New car coverage can help, because damages are covered without consideration for depreciation, like normal collision or comprehensive coverage. And they use new parts, not refurbished parts. Check your policy to learn the specific details on your auto insurance.

Also, check with your agent about new car coverage or contact me now, and I’ll explain.

Ask your agent.  Will he or she suspend the car you don’t use during the winter? In most states, taking the car  completely off the policy can cause problems with the registration, but you can suspend coverage – or reduce coverage to minimum levels.

At best leave comprehensive coverage active on the car. In this manner, you retain insurance on the car to protect you from losses from fire, theft, and falling objects. These can easily happen in the winter when a car is outdoors, or even when it is garaged.

If you’re not sure about any of this, just contact me at 203-746-5077 or 860-659-1301 and I’ll review your policy and help.

This conversion provision states that the amount collected from the person who is at fault in an accident will not be deducted from the coverage available in the uninsured/underinsured provisions of the policy.

At this point an example is in order. Let’s say person A is injured in an accident and has $100,000 uninsured/underinsured conversion coverage. Person B causes the accident and has only $20,000 in bodily injury liability coverage. Person A’s injuries are $120,000 as a result of the accident. Person A would recover the $20,000 from Person B’s policy and since Person A has conversion coverage they would receive the full $100,000 benefit from their own policy because the coverage would not be reduced by payment received from Person B’s policy. Without the conversion coverage Person A would only have been able to collect $80,000 which is the $100,000 less the $20,000 from Person B’s policy.

Well, 26 years later I still have the same philosophy–that people should not insure the small losses that they can take care of themselves at the expense of not having enough coverage for a truly catastrophic loss. The only difference now is the deductibles are not $250, I advocate for $1000 deductibles. No one wants to part with a large deductible, however, if the philosophy is to only worry about the loss you cannot afford then you should insure yourself that way by paying out of pocket for the loss you can afford.

Putting the philosophy aside, the premium saved in many cases will more than make up the difference over time. For example, if there are two cars and the savings are $110.00 each six months by switching your collision deductible from $500 to $1000 it would take two and a half years of reduced premium payments to save the difference between the two deductibles. I think that is a risk worth taking, especially if you are a careful driver. The same holds true for your home insurance.

When you are ready to review your insurance protection plan, just contact me. We’ll design an insurance plan that meets your protection needs at the lowest possible cost.